A dark past

Not the "happiest" of places to visit, but on the way from Dresden to Prague we made a stopover in the town of Terezin (Theresienstadt).

This small town became an infamous Jewish ghetto during Word War II, with the Nazis taking advantage of the walled city and turning the entire town into a garrison. To outsiders it was presented as a model Jewish settlement, but in reality it was a concentration camp where almost 33,000 inmates died as a result of hunger, sickness, or the sadistic treatment dealt out by their captors. Terezin was also used as a transit camp for European Jews enroute to Auschwitz.

Many of the 80,000 Czech Jews who died in the holocaust died here in Terezin, where conditions were extremely difficult. In a space previously inhabited by 7,000 Czechs, over 50,000 Jews were now gathered. Food was scarce and in 1942 almost 16,000 people died, including Esther Adolphine (a sister of Sigmund Freud), and Friedrich Munzer (a German classicist). Medicine and tobacco were strictly prohibited, and possession could be punished by hard labor or death. Single men and women were officially forbidden to meet, or to communicate with a gentile without German permission, however married couples often remained together and were able to sleep in the same quarters.

Ironically, in 1918, another infamous historical figure died in Terezin. The "Sarajevo assassin", Gavrilo Princip, died of tuberculosis whilst being held here. Princip's shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria led to the outbreak of World War I.

Just outside the walls of Terezin stands the "small fort". Seperate and unrelated to the nearby Jewish ghetto, this prison took in over 32,000 prisoners, including 15,000 children. Most prisoners were later sent on to concentration camps, but about 2,600 were executed here, starved to death or succumbed to disease. Of the 15,000 child prisoners only a possible 1,100 survived.

Walking the streets of Terezin itself, and later visiting the prison, was an eery experience. And although at certain points it was almost too dificult to be there, I think it was important to see.

Alli xxx