Although Terezín’s most infamous era was WWII when it served as a
prison camp for enemies of the Reich (mainly Jews), it was originally built at the end of
the 18th century as a strategic stronghold against invaders from the east. It quickly
became apparent however, that Terezín was ineffective as a defensive structure, and it was
adapted to serve mainly as a prison. The assassins of Archduke Ferdinand—the man whose
death started WWI—were jailed and eventually died in Terezín. During WWII, the camp was
first used as a prison for political prisoners of the SS, but was slowly converted into a
concentration and transit camp for Jews, Romas, Communists, and homosexuals. Terezín was
unique, however, in its designation as a prison for high profile prisoners. The abundance
of artists, writers, and intellectuals kept in Terezín would produce some of the war’s
most striking and stark images of life in a Nazi concentration camp. All in all, 200,000
men, women, and children would pass through Terezín’s transit centers; 40,000 died at the
camp, while 120,000 moved on to death camps in the east. Only 8,000 of the prisoners to
pass through Terezín would survive the war.