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Scene from a Nazi propaganda film in Theresienstadt

In a scene from a Nazi propaganda film, Dr. Paul Eppstein (right), Council of Elders chairman, addresses Dutch Jews. Theresienstadt ghetto, Czechoslovakia, August 1944.

Theresienstadt ration card issued to Alice Winternitz (front)

The Nazis made Jewish leaders responsible for the distribution of food supplies and other necessities allotted to ghetto residents. Due to grossly inadequate supplies, the Juedische Selbstverwaltung Theresienstadt (Jewish Administration of Theresienstadt) issued ration cards such as this one. The columns count points allotted for various goods identified by letters of the alphabet. Boxes were removed as residents exchanged points for food or other goods. This view shows the front of the card. Issued in the…

Deportation of German Jews to Theresienstadt

Scene during the deportation of German Jews to Theresienstadt ghetto. Jewish deportees from the Hanau, Gelnhausen and Schluechtern districts wait with their luggage on the platform at the Hanau station before boarding the deportation train. Hanau, Germany, May 30, 1942.

Czech Jews are deported from Bauschovitz to Theresienstadt ghetto.

Czech Jews are deported from Bauschovitz to Theresienstadt ghetto. Czechoslovakia, between 1941 and 1943.

Hana Mueller Bruml describes the vibrant cultural life in the Theresienstadt ghetto

In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.

Theresienstadt: Concentration/Transit Camp for German and Austrian Jews - Animated Map/Map

Hana Mueller Bruml describes her deportation to and arrival at Theresienstadt

In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.

Hana Mueller Bruml describes black market activity in the Theresienstadt ghetto

In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.

Painting of the Vltava River in Prague by Theresienstadt prisoner Bedrich Fritta

1943 painting of the Vltava River in Prague created from a photograph by Bedrich Fritta when he was imprisoned in Theresienstadt. Fritta (1909-1945) was a Czech Jewish artist who created drawings and paintings depicting conditions in the Theresienstadt camp-ghetto. Fritta was deported to Auschwitz in October 1944. He died there a week after his arrival.

1943 portrait of Edgar Krasa drawn by Leo Haas in Theresienstadt

1943 portrait of Edgar Krasa drawn by Leo Haas in Theresienstadt. Haas (1901-1983) was a Czech Jewish artist who, while imprisoned in Nisko and Theresienstadt during World War II, painted portraits and produced a large volume of drawings documenting the daily life of the prisoners.

Hana Mueller Bruml describes preparations for a Red Cross visit to Theresienstadt

In 1942, Hana was confined with other Jews to the Theresienstadt ghetto, where she worked as a nurse. There, amid epidemics and poverty, residents held operas, debates, and poetry readings. In 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz. After a month there, she was sent to Sackisch, a Gross-Rosen subcamp, where she made airplane parts at forced labor. She was liberated in May 1945.

Deportation from Hanau

Deportation of German Jews from Hanau to Theresienstadt. Hanau, Germany, May 30, 1942.

Deportation of German Jews from Hanau

Deportation of German Jews from the train station in Hanau to Theresienstadt. Hanau, Germany, May 30, 1942.

The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia

Learn about the Holocaust in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, including deportations to and from the Theresienstadt camp-ghetto.

Bertha Wolffberg Gottschalk

Bertha was born to Jewish parents in the capital of East Prussia. Her father served on the Koenigsberg city council. In 1887 Bertha married Hugo Gottschalk, and the couple settled in the small town of Schlawe in northern Germany. There, Hugo owned the town's grain mill. The Gottschalks raised their four children in a home near a small stream, ringed by orchards and a large garden. 1933-39: Bertha and her daughter Nanny have moved to Berlin--Hugo passed away in 1934 and they were afraid of the growing…

Deceiving the Public

The Nazis frequently used propaganda to disguise their political aims and deceive the German and international public. Learn more.

Max Krakauer

Max was the oldest of six children born to Jewish parents in the small Moravian town of Hodonin, where his father ran a dry-goods and clothing store. His family spoke both Czech and German at home, and Max attended German-language schools in Hodonin and Lipnik. He completed his education in 1920. Born with a heart condition, Max lived a sheltered life. 1933-39: Max's father, Bernard, was getting on in years and wanted to retire. Max was not strong enough to take over the business, so the Krakauers sold…

Bertha Falkenstein

One of two children, Bertha grew up in the small village of Bergheim where her father was a farmer. After she married Leo Falkenstein, the couple settled in Hochneukirch, 20 miles northwest of Cologne. There her husband was employed in his father's cigar manufacturing business, "Isak Falkenstein and Sons." Bertha and Leo had six children whom they raised in the Jewish faith. 1933-39: In 1937 Bertha's daughter Johanna brought her two girls to live briefly with them in Hochneukirch. Johanna's husband, Carl,…

Bernard Krakauer

Bernard was one of seven children born to a German-speaking, Jewish family in the small Moravian town of Mikulov in the central part of Czechoslovakia. The family later moved to the town of Hodonin where Bernard opened a dry-goods and clothing store. In 1899 he married Berta Koselova, and the couple had six children. During World War I Bernard served in the Austro-Hungarian army. 1933-39: In 1938 Bernard retired, and since none of his sons wanted to take over the business, Bernard sold it. He, his wife,…

Zdenka Popper

Zdenka was one of four children born to a Jewish family in Kolinec, a southwestern Bohemian town near the German border. Her father was a farmer and a lumber and grain merchant. Situated in the foothills of the Bohemian Forest, Kolinec was surrounded by rolling hills. Zdenka attended business school in the nearby town of Klatovy and, in 1927, moved to Prague with her uncle. 1933-39: Zdenka remembers how worried her mother was about the rise of German antisemitism in 1932. After listening to a radio…

Ruth Gabriele Silten

Gabriele was the only child of Jewish parents living in the German capital of Berlin. Her grandfather owned a pharmacy and a pharmaceuticals factory, where Gabriele's father also made his living. 1933-39: In 1938 the Nazis forced Ruth's grandfather to sell his factory and pharmacy for very little money to an "Aryan" German. After that, her father decided they should move to Amsterdam where it was safer for Jews. She was 5 years old and wanted to stay in Berlin. She didn't understand why she had to leave…

Fritz Silten

Fritz was the youngest of two sons born to a Jewish family in the German capital of Berlin. In the late 1920s he earned a doctorate in chemistry and pharmacy. In 1931 he married Ilse Teppich, and in 1933 the couple had a daughter, Gabriele. 1933-39: Fritz worked in his father's pharmacy until 1938, when the Nazis forced them to sell the business for a fraction of its value to an "Aryan" German [Aryanization]. Leaving his parents behind was agonizing, but concern for the safety of his wife and daughter…

Ilse Silten

Ilse, born Ilse Teppich, was the eldest of two daughters born to a Jewish family in the German capital of Berlin. Her father owned a dry cleaning business in the city. When Ilse finished secondary school, she was sent to a finishing school in Switzerland where she studied to be a photographer. In 1931 she married Fritz Silten. 1933-39: In 1933 Ilse gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter named Gabriele. Five years later, when Fritz's father was forced by the Nazis to sell his business for a…

Leo Falkenstein

One of three children, Leo grew up in the small town of Hochneukirch, 20 miles northwest of Cologne. As an adult, Leo entered his father's cigar manufacturing business, "Isak Falkenstein and Sons." Leo and his wife, Bertha, lived in a house next to Leo's parents. Leo and Bertha had six children whom they raised in the Jewish faith. 1933-39: Leo and Bertha's daughter Johanna has brought her two girls to live with them for a while here in Hochneukirch. Johanna's husband, Carl, has been having trouble…

Berta Koselova Krakauerova

Berta was born to a Jewish family. Orphaned when she was a child, she was raised by her Uncle Poldi in Vienna. In 1899 she married Bernard Krakauer, a Jewish businessman from her hometown of Mikulov. As was the custom for orphans, Berta wore a black dress at her wedding. The couple settled in the town of Hodonin, where Bernard opened a dry goods and clothing store. They raised six children. 1933-39: With their children grown, Berta's husband retired in 1938. He sold the business and moved with Berta and…