Terezín

Terezín (in German: Theresienstadt ) is the name of old a military Forteresse and garrison town of the Région of Ústí nad Labem (Ústecký kraj) in Czech Republic.

History

At the end of the 18th century, the Empire of Austria sets up the fortress near the junction of the Elba and of the Ohře and Theresienstadt in the honor of the empress Marie-Therese baptizes it.

Its construction begins in 1780 and lasts 10 years. The fortress covers an entire surface of 3,89 km ², in the center of a floodplain. The fortifications are designed in the tradition of Vauban. In times of peace, the fortress accommodates a garrison of more than 5.000 soldiers; in time of war, it could have accuillir until 11 000 soldiers. Theresienstadt will however never be used in time of war. In second half of the 19th century, it will be used as prison.

During the First World War, the fortress was used as prison camp. Gabriel Princip, the assassin of the archduke François-Ferdinand and his wife, died there of the Tuberculose in 1918.

Terezín during the Second world war

principal Article: Concentration camp of Theresienstadt

During the Second world war, the Gestapo transformed Terezín into Concentration camp, towards which approximately 144.000 Juif S were off-set. A quarter of them perishes there, mainly because of atrocious living conditions (hunger, stress, diseases, epidemic of Typhus at the end of the war). 88.000 of them were off-set with Auschwitz and in other concentration camps. At the end of the war, there were only 19.000 survivors.

Terezín today

After the war, the city was renamed Terezín. It preserved a garrison until in 1996, date on which the army left the city, causing an negative impact on the local economy. Terezín continues to try to be detached from its military past and to become a modern and active city. She considerably suffered from the floods in 2002.

External bonds

Terezín - Czech.cz in French

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