Fourth Courtyard in
Small Fortress
Gate into Prison yard
with guard tower on top
The photograph above shows the guard
tower above the entrance into the Fourth Courtyard. (The identity
of the two tourists has been protected with a blue dot.)
The photograph below shows the prison
yard with group cells on the left (number 26 on the map) and
solitary confinement cells (number 28 on the map) on the right.
These locations are shown on the map
of the fortress which we were given on the tour.
Prisoners were executed
on raised portion of prison courtyard
The group cells on the left in the photograph
above could hold 400 to 600 prisoners. Cell No. 44 was for prisoners
who were condemned to die. On May 2, 1945, there were 49 men
and 3 women who were executed, just before the army of the Soviet
Union arrived to liberate the Small Fortress and the Theresienstadt
Ghetto.
In the center of the photograph above,
you can see that there is a raised section of the courtyard (number
27 on the map) which looks like an outdoor stage. After three
prisoners from cell No. 38 attempted an escape in March 1945
and were caught, one of the escapees and two other men and a
woman were selected at random to be executed here as a warning
to the other prisoners. The other two escapees were captured
and stoned to death in the First Courtyard, according to the
pamphlet handed out to visitors at the Small Fortress.
Two of the group cells on the left side
are open to visitors. One of them is shown in the photograph
below.
Prison cell with wash
basins under the window
Memorial to victims
is inside administration building in Fourth Courtyard
Click here to see a map
of the fortress which shows the location of the Holocaust
Memorial in the photograph above.
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