The Terezín Fortress, a former Austrian military garrison, is Czechia's most-important Holocaust-remembrance site, and remains largely unchanged from those days. Visitors can stroll the melancholy grounds, where during WWII the occupying Germans transformed the fortress into a holding ghetto and transit camp. Some 150,000 people, mostly Jews, eventually passed through here, many en route to Nazi-run death camps in Poland.
Learn Terezín's Horrific Story
The Nazis infamously transformed Terezín into a showcase camp in order to fool international observers into thinking Germany's antisemitic policies were somehow "humane." Official visitors to the fortress, including representatives of the International Red Cross, were told that Terezín was a Jewish "refuge," where Jews had their own administration, banks, shops, cafes and schools, as well as a thriving cultural life. This outrageous charade, sadly, completely fooled the observers.
Stroll the Main Fortress
The main sights are spread out over several buildings within the main fortress of the original 18th-century Austrian garrison. Highlights include the Ghetto Museum, which showcases wartime life inside the Terezín ghetto, and the former Magdeburg Barracks (200m south at Tyršova 204), which served as the seat of the Jewish "Town Council."
Don't Miss the "Small Fortress"
A separate Lesser Fortress, east of the Main Fortress, was used by the Gestapo during the war as a POW camp and holding facility for political prisoners. You can tour the former guard offices and prison cells, including the execution site where some 2600 prisoners lost their lives. Watch a short documentary film (English subtitles) on the fortress' sad history.
