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On November 24, 1941, the Germans established a Jewish ghetto in the
fortress town of Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Known by its German name, Theresienstadt, until its liberation on May 8, 1945, functioned
as a ghetto and transit camp on the route to Auschwitz. Most of those imprisoned in Theresienstadt were German, Czech, Dutch,
and Danish Jews; elderly and prominent Jews and Jewish veterans of World War I were also sent there.
Theresienstadt served an important propaganda function for the
Germans. The publicly stated purpose for the deportation of the Jews from Germany was their "resettlement to the east," where
they would be compelled to perform forced labor. Since it seemed implausible that elderly Jews could be used for forced labor,
the Nazis used the Theresienstadt ghetto to hide the nature of the deportations. In Nazi propaganda, Theresienstadt was cynically
described as a "spa town" where elderly German Jews could "retire" in safety. The deportations to Theresienstadt were, however,
part of the Nazi strategy of deception. The ghetto was in reality a collection center for deportations to ghettos and extermination
camps in Nazi-occupied eastern Europe.
Succumbing to pressure following
the deportation of Danish Jews to Theresienstadt, the Germans permitted the International Red Cross to visit in June 1944.
It was all an elaborate hoax. The Germans intensified deportations from the ghetto shortly before the visit, and the ghetto
itself was "beautified." Gardens were planted, houses painted, and barracks renovated. The Nazis staged social and cultural
events for the visiting dignitaries. Once the visit was over, the Germans resumed deportations from Theresienstadt, which
did not end until October 1944.
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Older people like this could be sent to Theresienstadt
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