Terezin
The photos below may not be for the faint-hearted. Terezin (Ter-e-zeen’) is between Prague and Dresden, and was a famous ghetto. Over 35,000 people died there, mostly from poor health and mistreatment, and tens of thousand of others were transported out to death camps. It is a living memorial, a working town today, with the original ghetto preserved and/or represented as much as possible. The Nazis used the ghetto as propaganda for the International Red Cross and others to try to prove that Jews were being well taken care of in their designated towns.
Of the photos below, you’ll see 90-year-old Pavel Strasky with Maria and me who was a resident, shipped to Auschwitz, and survived. He works as a guide there and is a fascinating, energetic man. Maria’s eyes are closed with laughter because, just as our guide was about to shoot the photo, he said to her, “May I?” and put his arm around her.
You’ll also see a meticulous log book of deaths. We know a great deal about what life was like in these ghettos because records were methodically kept. You can see more photos later today on my Facebook page.
Maria, Pavel Strasky, and me.
A list of deaths, as the sign says, indicating hopelessness.
On their way to a gas chamber in a concentration camp.
A hidden prayer book used at secret services.
Inside one of the eight secret synagogues. Some religious events are still held there today.
Some of the better accommodations inside a private home.
Ovens in the crematorium.
© Alan Weiss 2012. All rights reserved.
Pat Tith
Everyone, Jew or non Jew, needs to see one of these camp to see what human beings who are out-of-control are capable of doing to their fellow human beings.
Alan Weiss
You’re right. It’s almost unimaginable until you visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington or one of these locations.
Brad Wasserman
Alan,
Thank you for visiting and posting these important Holocaust pictures. It helps to spread the message that events like these cannot be forgotten. My son visited similar concentration camps last spring in Poland.
Alan Weiss
It’s absolutely soul-searing. The museum in Washington shows an entire village, with photos, that was eradicated, and takes you through a box car used for transport. Such atrocities required the active commitment of thousands of people. It’s hard to imagine.