Terezín – fortress and prison

Gate to Terezín

Terezín is czech name for Theresienstadt, a former military fortress and garrison town in the northern region of Czech Republic.

Terezín history

In the late 18th century the fortress was erected near the confluence of the Labe (Elbe) and Ohře rivers. The fortress was named after the Austrian empress Maria Theresa.

Terezín During World War II

During World War II, the Gestapo used Terezín, as a ghetto, concentrating Jews from Czechoslovakia and Germany, from the Netherlands and Denmark. Terezín was not an extermination camp, of the 144,000 Jews who arrived there, about 33,000 died in the ghetto mostly because of the appalling conditions arising out of extreme population density. About 17,000 people survived.

Fortress of Terezín

Terezín liberation

Part of the fortification (Small Fortress) served as the largest Gestapo prison in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, separated from the ghetto. Around 90,000 people went through it, and 2,600 of those died there. Finally Terezín was liberated on May 9th, 1945 by the Soviet Army.

The town Terezín

Today Terezín is a small town, well known for the Terezín Memorial and noted for its production of furniture and knitwear.

The distance from Prague to Terezín is around 65 km.

Terezin – links

Private transfers and trips from Prague to Terezín

Terezín – accommodation, practical info

Comments

jews by: lea romo

Last update: 2009-04-17


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