Dresden Barracks in Theresienstadt
ghetto
Dresden barracks can
be seen through pavilion in Brunnen park
Rear view of the Dresden
barracks for women
The Theresienstadt ghetto opened in November
1941 and on December 6, 1941 the first women prisoners were brought
to the Dresden barracks building shown in the photograph above.
At first, the children stayed with their mothers, but later the
older children were housed in separate quarters. The Dresden
barracks is a huge building with 243 rooms and an open courtyard
in the center. There were prison cells in the basement for women
who violated the rules of the ghetto, and there was also space
set aside for theater and cultural performances. As the ghetto
became more and more crowded, the newcomers were forced to sleep
on the bare floor in the attic.
Door into Dresden barracks
The Dresden barracks is identical to
the Magdeburg barracks, also for women, which is located at the
other end of Hauptstrasse. Today the Magdeburg barracks houses
a Museum.
The Dresden barracks, which was not open
to the public in 2000 when I visited, has a series of courtyards,
where the prisoners were allowed to play soccer.
The rear of the Dresden barracks on Wallstrasse
is near the small bastion which juts out from the northwest corner
of the old fortress. It is identical to the one behind the Magdeburg
barracks, which is now a Museum. To the left of this building,
but not shown, is the spot where a smaller barracks building
once stood. This barracks was used during the war to house mothers
with children under the age of 3, but it burned down after the
war. Next to the former location of this barracks is the eastern
end of Stadt park.
The photo below shows the Hamburg barracks
near one of the parks in Theresienstadt.
Hamburg barracks, photo
taken in 2000
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