Theresienstadt Ghetto

Theresienstadt Ghetto (Terezín) is a World War II Nazi ghetto and concentration camp located in the fortified town of Terezín in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Established by the German authorities in 1941, the site combined an 18th-century Habsburg fortress with purpose-built camp facilities.

The site now contains museum exhibitions, preserved prisoner barracks, original administrative buildings and the Small Fortress prison. Visitors commonly see displays of personal items and prisoner art, the Ceremonial Hall, the Jewish cemetery and guided tours of the Small Fortress’s former Gestapo detention areas.

The garrison fortress that became Theresienstadt dates to the late 18th century; the Nazi ghetto and transit camp were created in 1941 and used until 1945. During the camp period tens of thousands of Jews were held there and many were later deported to extermination camps.

Terezín sits about 60 km north of Prague in northern Bohemia, set within the agricultural lowlands of the region and built around a geometric bastioned fortress.

• Access: Reachable from Prague by road in roughly one hour; the site is served by regional buses and guided day tours.
• Visiting time: Guided tours cover both the walled garrison town and the Small Fortress prison; allow at least half a day to see the main exhibitions and memorials.

What to See #

• Fortress complex: Located in the former Habsburg fortress town of Terezín, this compound includes the Small Fortress (used by the Gestapo) and the walled garrison town where the ghetto's barracks and museums stand.
• Ghetto Museum and Ceremonial Hall: Houses the Ghetto Museum and the Ceremonial Hall with exhibits of documents, prisoner art and personal belongings collected from internees.
• Jewish cemetery: A large Jewish cemetery and several memorials mark burial sites and mass graves from the camp period.