Today was a day we knew was going to be deep and thoughtful. We all woke up early had some cappuccino and breakfast.
And got on a bus to Terezin Concentration Camp with our Czech guide. Altogether there was 150,000 Jews sent to Terezin, 83,000 were sent to other camps for extermination, 35,000 died in Terezin, and less then 12,000 survived.
Our first stop was the main barracks for the Jews held in Terezin Concentration Camp. The train tracks were rerouted to stop at the entrance to the main barracks due to the sheer number of people being shipped in and out of Terezin.
Terezin was a town until 1942 when the 7,000 Czech citizens were evacuated in order to isolate the concentration camp.
Terezin Concentration Camp was originally built as a fortress in 1780 by Joseph II of the Hapsburg family, the emperor of Austria. He named it after his mother Maria Teresa. It was meant to be a stronghold against the Prusssians however, never used for this purpose. Seen below are the fortified walls. At the height of the camps population, some 50,000 Jews were able to be guarded by160 guards due to the structure of the fortress.
After we visited the main barracks, we visited the Gustapo prison also located in the fortress of Terezin. The graveyard in front of the prison marks the graves of known and unknown people killed in the prison. It is marked with both the Star of David as well as a cross.
The entrance to the prison says "Arbeit macht frei" which means "works sets you free" in German. This phrase was posted over a number of Nazi concentration camps.
The doors open to isolation cells, showers, and torture rooms in the prison.
This room held 60-90 Jewish prisoners. They had no furniture, water, or ventilation in the room. Prisoners in this room often suffocated.
To give you an idea, our group of 20 nearly filled the room standing.
The larger bunk rooms had three full walls of bunks that housed nearly 400 prisoners.
After touring the prison, we returned to the main part of the camp and visited the children's house. It was where some of the boys were housed and also where most of the children went to school.
The story of the prisoners in Terezin is told through their art including sketches, paintings, poems, etc. This is a display in the children's house in Terezin.
A massive crematorium was built in 1942 for the Jewish prisoners who died in Terezin.
Because we want to be respectful of what we saw and learned in Terezin, we will have 2 posts for day 9.