In 2025, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, as well as the liberation of the Terezín Ghetto and the Gestapo Police Prison in the Small Fortress.
Words such as “liberation” and “the end of the war” evoke positive feelings, symbolizing an end to the suffering endured by the prisoners and conveying the idea of freedom. However, what did this anticipated freedom look like for the inmates held in the repressive Nazi facilities in Terezín? What did they experience in the last months of the war and the initial days and weeks of peace?
In this article, we aim to highlight a selection of significant moments from the numerous events that took place in both Terezín repressive facilities during this critical period. The liberation of Terezín is explored in greater detail in various articles and books, a list of which can be found at the end of this text. Additionally, you will find photographs and copies of documents describing the events mentioned, sourced from the collection of the Terezín Memorial.
After the last deportees left for the East at the end of October 1944, transports to the Terezín Ghetto continued to increase. At the turn of 1944 to 1945, and in the first quarter of 1945, prisoners from the reception camp in Sereď, Slovakia, arrived in Terezín. The Slovak Jews provided more accurate information about the fate of those who had been deported to the East. For those remaining in Terezín, this often meant the end of any illusions regarding the condition of their loved ones.
By the end of January 1945, Jewish individuals from mixed marriages in Germany, Austria, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia began to be sent to the Ghetto for what was referred to as “closed labor deployment.” Additionally, individuals classified as Jewish half-breeds from the Protectorate were also deported to the camp. In early February, the departure of a transport carrying 1,200 people to Switzerland was announced. Despite skepticism surrounding this announcement, the transport did indeed leave for Switzerland. The release of this group of Jewish prisoners resulted from negotiations and various efforts; on one hand, it aimed to save at least some European Jews, while on the other, it served as an effort by the Nazis to establish contact with the Western world and, to some extent, to weaken the anti-Nazi coalition. The chief negotiator was a former minister and prominent Swiss conservative-Catholic politician Jean-Marie Musy. And he also had his reasons for this operation, especially to clear his reputation as a politician associated with the fascist movement.
In February 1945, the SS Command in Terezín issued two work orders to the Jewish authorities in the Ghetto, which captured considerable attention from the inmates. One order required the construction of a building with gas-tight spaces and specialized ventilation equipment, as well as the installation of a fence around a section of the moat in the Terezín fortifications. The prisoners were highly suspicious of these orders; however, the commander reassured them by claiming that the building would serve as a food warehouse and a poultry farm.
At that time, a dysentery epidemic was sweeping through the Police Prison in the Small Fortress, resulting in the inmates’ extremely poor health and appalling hygiene. Their living conditions continued to worsen, as they were forced to perform labor in inadequate clothing and footwear, compounded by a lack of sufficient food.
In March 1945, Hungarian Jews, who had previously been assigned to fortification work near Vienna, arrived in the Ghetto. Early in April 1945, a second delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross visited Terezín. A significant sign that the war was nearing its end was the departure of a group of Jews who had been deported to Terezín from Denmark. On April 15, 1945, these individuals were transported by Swedish Red Cross buses to Sweden, as Denmark was still under Nazi occupation.
Evacuation Transports in the Spring of 1945
From the second half of April 1945, the Terezín Ghetto inmates – approximately 17,000 at that time ‒ began to encounter a new reality. They were joined by prisoners from other concentration camps who arrived in so-called evacuation transports. These transports included individuals from Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, and other locations. Within the freight cars, alongside the living, many prisoners were gravely ill or deceased, having brought with them the dreaded threat of spotted fever.
The newcomers were housed not only in buildings within the town but also in wooden barracks in the surrounding area. Many of them resisted any form of discipline, endangering other inmates by stealing food and clothing, and contributing to the spread of typhus infections. As a result, various measures had to be taken to address these challenges. Riot police were reinforced not only during the transportation of prisoners but also while guarding the buildings where these individuals were housed. The increasing tension ultimately led to the formation of a volunteer guard unit made up of former soldiers from the Czechoslovak Army. Towards the end of April 1945 the last Elder of the Jews of the ghetto, Benjamin Murmelstein during his speech to the members of the transports AE talked about problems with such persons from the evacuation transports. And at that moment he announced that all men up to the age of 50, who have not got any permanent job position, have to participate in the these guards. A major crackdown by the security service occurred on May 3, 1945, against Polish prisoners who were revolting in the so-called Western barracks. These prisoners demanded increased food rations and sought unrestricted movement throughout Terezin. However, it is important to note that not everyone exhibited a lack of discipline. Many newcomers, if their health and physical condition permitted, immediately took part in the operations of the Ghetto and contributed to the efforts to eliminate the spotted fever epidemic.
Spotted Fever
Doctors in the Terezín Ghetto first encountered typhus, known as spotted fever, as early as 1943. At that time, the spread of the disease was successfully contained. However, in April 1945, typhus appeared among prisoners brought in by evacuation transports. The first case was reported on April 24, 1945. By early May, the first nurse, who was also an original inhabitant and prisoner of the Ghetto, contracted the disease.
Typhus did not spare the Terezín Small Fortress either; it likely began spreading there toward the end of 1944. Although several prison doctors suspected the presence of the disease among the inmates, they needed laboratory tests to confirm their suspicions. The doctors lacked experience with typhus, as there had been little exposure to the disease during the First Czechoslovak Republic. Compounding this issue was the simultaneous outbreak of dysentery in the Fortress, which complicated the ability to identify spotted fever patients.
According to Dr. Benno Krönert, the police prison doctor responsible for the Terezín repressive facilities, spotted fever was already spreading among the workers involved in the construction of an underground factory on the outskirts of Litoměřice, where prisoners from the Small Fortress were also employed.
SS Officers and Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Present in Terezín around the Turn of April and May 1945.
At the end of April, the SS men and their family members began preparing to leave Terezin due to developments on the front lines. Some prisoners were required to assist in preparing their travel equipment and food. As a result, part of the staff of the local SS office agency, along with the women and children of SS officers, departed on April 24, 1945. In the days that followed, documents from the archive of the Main Office of Reich Security (RSHA), which were stored in the Sudeten and Podmokly (Bodenbach) Barracks, were burned. Inmates were strictly forbidden from taking the charred remains of documents that scattered through the adjacent streets. SS patrols on motorcycles enforced this prohibition, while a special labor commando of prisoners collected the papers in bags. Despite this, some documents managed to fall into the hands of the inmates.
Around mid-April, Paul Dunant, a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was present in the Ghetto. On May 2, 1945, he officially assumed control of the Ghetto and the nearby Police Prison under the protection of the ICRC. Nevertheless, on that same day, the last execution occurred in the Small Fortress, claiming the lives of 51 resistance fighters: https://newsletter.pamatnik-terezin.cz/posledni-poprava-v-terezine/
Starting on May 3, SS officers ceased intervening against the increasing number of escapes from the Ghetto and allowed the presence of dozens of “Aryan” mixed marriage spouses in Terezín who came to visit their partners.
Preparation for Medical Aid to Terezín, Karel Raška and the Establishment of the Czech Help Action
Reports about the critical situation and spread of the typhus infection in the Ghetto reached the Czech National Council, a resistance organization operating in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia from February 1945 until liberation in May 1945. The Council’s Social and Health Commission appointed epidemiologist Karel Raška from the National Institute of Public Health to combat the dangerous disease.
Raška traveled to Terezín on May 2, 1945. After initial difficulties in communicating with the commander of the Gestapo Police Prison in the Small Fortress, Raška eventually obtained permission to enter and evaluate samples taken from prisoners. The analysis confirmed the presence of spotted fever. Paul Dunant assisted him in negotiations with the SS. Upon returning to Prague, Raška brought back a team of several doctors, nursing staff, and technical personnel to Terezín. Among the nurses were final–year medical students from the Bulovka Hospital, as well as doctors and paramedics from nearby Roudnice nad Labem.
Czech Help Action
The Czech Help Action (Czech acronym ČPA) commenced its work in Terezín on May 4, 1945. Raška reached an agreement with the Ghetto authorities to clear out the Sudeten Barracks and prepare them for the sick. He was promised the assistance of 200 men and women who would help with these preparations. The Ghetto officials expected that the ČPA’s support would also extend to the Ghetto and focus on controlling the epidemic throughout Terezín.
The headquarters of the ČPA was established in the Small Fortress, specifically in the former barracks of the SS guard unit, where a hospital was set up with the help of doctors and prisoners. On May 5, the doctors entered the Fourth Courtyard for the first time, which had become the epicenter of the epidemic. What they discovered there was horrifying. Bodies of the deceased were piled up in the Courtyard, left unburied for several days. Many inmates were lying on bunks in their cells, suffering from high fevers and delirium.
A temporary hospital was established in the former Women’s Courtyard in the Small Fortress, dedicated to caring for those recovering from spotted fever and enteric fever. Similarly, the former SS cinema, several cells in the First Courtyard, and the rooms of the Manor House, which had previously served as accommodations for guards and their families, were also repurposed for medical use.
It soon became apparent that the ČPA was primarily focusing its efforts on the Small Fortress, while local doctors in the Ghetto had to manage the deteriorating situation on their own. However, in contrast to the doctors from the ČPA, those from the ranks of Ghetto inmates were ill-equipped to combat typhus. The ČPA had supplies from Czech pharmaceutical companies, while the struggle against the epidemic in the Ghetto was led by prisoner Dr. Richard Stein. The primary expert on typhus was Dr. Aaron Vedder, a Dutch doctor who had been an associate professor of bacteriology and hygiene at the University of Amsterdam before his imprisonment. He was tasked with implementing various procedures to combat the epidemic, which were put into effect before the arrival of the Soviet medical service.
Departure of the SS
On May 5, the SS officers left both Nazi repressive facilities, ending their rule over the prisoners in Terezín. This brought a change in the leadership of the Ghetto. The former Jewish Elder, Dr. Benjamin Murmelstein, who was distrusted by the inmates, resigned from his position in the Council of Elders. Paul Dunant then entrusted the leadership of the Self-administration to several existing members of the Council of Elders: Dr. Leo Baeck, Dr. Alfred Meissner, Dr. Heinrich Klang, and Dr. Eduard Meijers.
Departures of Prisoners from the Ghetto
From the end of April to around May 10, approximately 1,000 prisoners left the Ghetto. In the following three days, until quarantine was declared over Terezín, about 5,000 people departed. Around 3,000 individuals underwent mandatory medical examinations, while the rest escaped without them. Many former inmates with Czechoslovak citizenship were also released, except for those deemed indispensable for various operations in Terezín. Additionally, some doctors in the Small Fortress worked to address illegal departures.
Disagreements between the ČPA and the Ghetto Leadership
The collaboration between the ČPA and the Jewish Self-administration in the Ghetto faltered, giving rise to deepening disagreements, especially between the time of the camp’s liberation and the arrival of Soviet medical aid in Terezín.
The number of infected individuals in the Ghetto was on the rise, reaching 120 to 150 new cases per day at the peak of the epidemic. Additionally, more evacuation transports continued to arrive.
Documents drafted by the leadership of the former Ghetto after liberation contain accusations against Raška and the ČPA for allegedly making distinctions between prisoners based on their origin. However, other sources indicate that some Jewish inmates tended to favor Czech and Slovak Jews over those from Eastern Europe. The leadership of the Jewish Self-administration even called for Karel Raška’s dismissal, but circumstances in Terezín soon changed.
Despite these complaints, it remains a moot point whether the capacity of the ČPA in Terezín at that time would have been sufficient to control the epidemic in both the Small Fortress and the town if the medical team had been divided between the two facilities. Would it have been possible to eliminate the disease in the Small Fortress quickly, especially considering the state of medical care available there prior to the ČPA’s arrival?
Liberation and Soviet Medical Aid
On May 8, 1945, the day Nazi Germany capitulated, Paul Dunant authorized Dr. Karel Raška to represent the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Terezín. Dr. Raška recognized the urgent need to establish contact with the approaching Red Army to request assistance in managing an epidemic in the area. Both he and Dunant attempted to reach the Red Army in Saxony, but due to the difficult conditions on the road, their efforts were unsuccessful, and they returned empty-handed. Determined to prevent the spread of infection, Raška sought to quarantine the town to stop infected prisoners from escaping and potentially spreading the epidemic further.
Later that evening, as Red Army units moved through Terezín, Raška negotiated to join a convoy of Soviet tanks traveling to Prague. His goal was to seek medical assistance for Terezín. In Prague, Raška met with resistance leaders, members of the Health and Social Commission of the Czech National Council (ČNR), and representatives of the Red Army. Unfortunately, the initial negotiations for medical aid for Terezín did not succeed. However, Dr. Raška’s wife, Dr. Helena Rašková, played a crucial role in the effort. She convinced Prime Minister Fierlinger and the commander of the Prague garrison, General Rybalko, of the urgent need for immediate help for Terezín. In a short time, a Soviet medical operation was mounted, which included the setup of five army hospitals staffed to accommodate 5,000 patients. This operation also featured mobile bacteriological laboratories, delousing stations, and personnel consisting of 52 army doctors, 75 nurses, and 213 additional medical staff and support personnel. Major General Dr. N. P. Ustinov, the Chief of the Medical Service of the First Ukrainian Front, was appointed commander of the auxiliary operation.
The Soviet military authorities took control of Terezín on May 10. Major M. A. Kuzmin was appointed as the commander of the town. On May 11, the Czech National Council officially abolished the Ghetto in the Bohušovice-Terezín district, with the stipulation that all remaining internees would follow the organizational and medical orders of Dr. Karel Raška, who served as a commissioner for the Czech National Council and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
On May 10, the Jewish Self-administration issued an appeal to All Former Ghetto Inhabitants, urging them to start work and help maintain the town’s operations. The following day, a decree was issued by the Czech Help Action (ČPA) detailing the conditions under which individuals could be released from the Ghetto and Police Prison. People could only leave after undergoing a thorough examination to confirm they were asymptomatic for infectious diseases. They also had to be deloused and were required to report to the official doctor at their new place of residence.
One of the first actions of the Soviet medical aid team was to close Terezín and declare a strict quarantine across the entire town on May 13, 1945. This quarantine lasted until May 28, 1945. At this time, the release and repatriation of prisoners were suspended, with one exception: a transport of about 1,200 people to Slovakia. Doctors from the ČPA, who had been working in the Small Fortress, also moved to the former Ghetto to provide assistance, where the epidemic was gradually being contained.
During the quarantine, Terezín was not entirely cut off from the outside world. People could listen to the radio and move around the town, including in buildings that were not marked as infectious. The Self-administration in Terezín published a newspaper called Theresienstädter Nachrichtendienst, which reported on events both in Terezín and around the world.
Effective measures were taken to halt the uncontrolled spread of the epidemic and to gradually eliminate it. A report by the Czechoslovak State Auxiliary Hospital in Terezín, dated June 20, 1945, confirmed that the epidemic had been overcome. Death records indicate that approximately 1,500 individuals died during this period, with about 500 of those deaths attributed to spotted fever. In June and early July, Soviet medical personnel began to leave gradually. By early July, most Czech healthcare workers and other staff also concluded their mission. The remaining patients were transferred to the district hospital in Litoměřice. The quarantine signs were removed from Terezín, along with the yellow flag that had warned of disease-infested buildings.
Repatriation
The successful elimination of the epidemic allowed preparations to begin for the repatriation of liberated prisoners back to their homes. A Repatriation Commission, formed in Prague on May 22, 1945, started its activities at the end of May following the completion of the quarantine. At that time, nearly 24,000 former inmates remained in Terezín. Czechoslovak nationals were prioritized for repatriation. Those released had to undergo a medical examination, deregister from the camp registry, and surrender any documents and food vouchers they had received.
The work of the Repatriation Commission was challenging due to a shortage of fuel and transportation means. Each departing individual received a repatriation card or a certificate required for entry into their respective countries, along with financial assistance and travel provisions. Larger groups of former inmates, such as around 1,000 Dutch individuals, as well as Hungarians, Romanians, Yugoslavs, and Greeks, also began to leave Terezín.
A special group was represented by the repatriates to Germany, which included many elderly and sick individuals. However, there were no organizations in Germany that could assist with the return of the liberated prisoners, and German Jews requested a delay in their repatriation. The situation was addressed with the command of the First Ukrainian Front, which coordinated with the occupation administration in western Germany. Initially, at the end of May, a small group of repatriates left for Jena and Weimar, followed by a journey to Chemnitz. This city notably arranged transportation for its liberated fellow citizens and organized a banquet to welcome them upon their arrival. With the assistance of the occupying authorities, other groups were subsequently sent to German territory. Many Germans and Austrians were contemplating whether to return to their former homes. The last large transport of German repatriates left for Berlin on August 10, 1945. On August 21, a group of 85 individuals was sent to the DP (displaced persons) camp in Winzer near Deggendorf, Bavaria, where they awaited the arrangement of documents for their journey overseas. Two transports carrying Polish Jews traveled through Pilsen to Landsberg and then on to Palestine. Over 1,500 repatriates departed for Poland.
The repatriation process also included children, many of whom were orphaned. Orphans from the Czech lands were cared for by Přemysl Pitter as part of his aid operation. Other children were sent to the UK and various countries through different aid organizations. A large group was transported from Prague to Windermere near Carlisle in mid-August 1945.
On August 15, 1945, the former Ghetto’s Self-administration was abolished, marking the end of one stage in the history of the repressive facilities in Terezín. This was focused on saving as many former prisoners as possible from a dangerous disease. For the liberated individuals, a new chapter in life began, but this often brought many new challenges.
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Sources:
Hans Günther ADLER, Terezín 1941–1945, Tvář nuceného společenství (Terezín 1941–1945, The Face of the Coerced Community), Prague 2003 (in Czech).
Vojtěch BLODIG, Poslední dny války, první měsíce míru. Terezín v roce osvobození (The Last Days of War, The First Months of Peace. Terezín in the Year of Liberation), Terezínské listy 23, 1995 (in Czech).
Miroslava LANGHAMEROVÁ, Situace v Terezíně po skončení války (The Situation in Terezín after the End of the War), Terezínské listy 18, 1990 (in Czech).
Miroslava LANGHAMEROVÁ, Životní podmínky vězňů v policejní věznici Terezín v letech 1940–1945 (Living Conditions of Prisoners in the Terezín Police Prison in the Years 1940–1945), Terezínské listy 46, 2018 (in Czech).
Alexander LUKEŠ, Svatý týden v Terezíně (Holy Week in Terezín), Prague 2008 (in Czech).
Jan PICK – Richard POLÁK – Josef PACOVSKÝ, Terezín očima hygienika. Zpráva z terezínského koncentračního tábora o boji proti hmyzu a skvrnitému tyfu (Terezín through the Eyes of a Hygienist. Report from the Terezín Concentration Camp on the Fight Against Insects and Spotted Fever), Prague 1948 (in Czech).
Radana RUTOVÁ, MUDr. Karel Raška v Terezíně (Dr. Karel Raška in Terezín), Terezínské listy 50, 2022 (in Czech). Recording of the lecture “The Liberation of Terezín and the Role of Dr. Karel Raška” delivered by historian Radana Rutová in the K. H. Mácha Library in Litoměřice on May 15, 2024. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAvqIELmA1g [30.4.2025]. Collection of the Terezín Memorial
Collection Terezín online at the Jewish Museum in Prague
Article Poslední transporty a konec války v Terezíně (The Last Transports and the End of the War in Terezín). Available from: Poslední transporty a konec války v Terezíně (Last Transports and the End of the War in Terezín | Holocaust) [30.4.2025]. Monograph Malá pevnost Terezín (Small Fortress Terezín), Prague 1988 (in Czech).
