What Happened Here?

Terezín and the Final Solution

Nazi soldiers marched through Europe, instituting anti-Jewish measures in country after country. Jews were registered, and their property confiscated. They were deprived of all protection and restricted in all activities. Then they were sent to concentration camps and extinction.

As part of the “Final Solution,” the Nazis turned the garrison town of Terezín into a Jewish ghetto. It served three purposes: a way station to the death camps in Poland, a means of decimating the population and a propaganda tool to promote a “self-governed Jewish settlement area.”

Terezín was ideal for Nazi purposes. It was surrounded by massive foritifications and easily guarded; its barracks could house a great number of people; and it was located close to rail lines. By September, 1942, the original population of Terezín (3,000 people) had been evicted and up to 60,000 Jewish prisoners moved in.

Over the course of the war, some 140,000 men, women and children were deported to Terezín. Of these, 87,000 were put onto transport trains to the east. Less than 4,000 survived.

Gestapo Prison in the Small Fortress
Gestapo terror tactics included the rounding up of all members of the opposition. From 1940 on, as existing jails filled, the Nazis used the Small Fortress of Terezín as a Gestapo prison.

The majority of prisoners had been arrested for protesting the Nazi regime. They included members of an extensive resistance movement that existed under cover of organizations such as Defense of the Nation, the Petition Committee, the Sokol Organization, firemen, communist party members and other groups.

Overall, 32,000 inmates were incarcerated in the Small Fortress. For most, it was but a way station to Nazi trials, jails, penitentiaries and death camps. For others, it was the end itself - 2,500 prisoners died there from the horrendous living conditions, disease, torture and execution.

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What Happened Here?

Terezín and the Final Solution