A little history: It was originally a fortified town named after a Habsburg Princess. It was built in 1780s with state of the art star shaped walls designed to keep the Prussians out. In 1941. the Nazis removed the towns 7000 inhabitants and brought in 60,000 Jews, creating a concentration camp. This was the Nazis' model "Jewish Town", a concentration camp dolled up for propaganda purposes. Here, in this "self governing Jewish resettlement area," Jewish culture seemed to thrive, as citizens put on plays and concerts, published a magazine, and raised their families. But it was all a carefully planned deception, intended to convince the Red Cross inspectors that the Jews were being treated well. Virtually all of Terezins Jews (155,000 over the course of the war) ultimately ended up dying either here or in extermination camps further east.
It was very eerie. The whole town felt deserted.
The abandoned train tracks....
Cemetery
Gate to the small fortress
Work Makes you Free
It was a very depressing place to visit. But it's important to look at the ugly parts of history, too.
After a long day, a little foot washing in the hotel bidet was necessary!
Here are the pictures from our day at Terezin:Terezin
Before our trip, my Mom recommended reading "The Lost Wife". It is a historical novel that includes stories from Terezin. It was brought to life for me during our visit.
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