Terezin Memorial - Magdeburg Barracks

Join a 6-hour excursion from Prague to the Terezin Memorial. Visit the site used by the Nazis as a combination ghetto and concentration camp during WWII. Learn about this tragic chapter in the history of the town and the catastrophic fate of many thousands of innocent victims. Explore the entire complex of the former Nazi concentration camp with your guide. Hear narration that includes authentic personal memories, chilling experiences, and episodes from Terezin’s grim history. Learn how people lived, suffered, survived, and died at Terezin. Hear how some of the prisoners managed to maintain their faith, optimism, and dignity.

Gain entry to 3 of the main historical sites of the Terezin Memorial and learn about the historical events which took place here during WWII and the people who were affected. Visit the Small Fortress, where a guided tour is included, and the Main Fortress - the ghetto - at your own pace (no guiding service is provided there). Start the tour at the Small Fortress outside of the ticket office where you meet your tour guide. From 1940 to 1945 the Small Fortress served as the prison of the Prague Gestapo. Visit the permanent exhibition that is devoted to the history of the political prison; it bears witness to the persecution of the Czech nation under the Nazi regime during the Second World War and records the fates of Czech prisoners transferred to other concentration camps within the Nazi German Reich. Afterwards, make your own way to the former Terezin Ghetto where the Ghetto Museum, Magdeburg Barracks, prayer room and crematorium are located. You will not be needing a guide there so you will continue on your own. The Ghetto Museum is located in the former municipal school and you will see there the Permanent exhibition: Terezín in the Final Solution, 1941-1945. In addition to this documentary exhibition, there is also a Memorial Hall of the Terezín Ghetto’s Children, devoted to its youngest victims, plus a selection from the world-famous drawings made by children from the Ghetto. The Magdeburg Barracks was established in Terezín on November 24, 1941. After the Nazi occupation of the Czech lands, the Magdeburg Barracks played a particularly important role in the Ghetto. The Barracks housed the offices of the different departments of the Ghetto’s so-called Jewish self-administration, as well as flats of some of the Ghetto’s leading officeholders. The Magdeburg Barracks were though also known as a venue of major cultural events, divine services, lectures, and meetings. The Crematorium, Terezín Jewish Cemetery, and Columbarium are located approximately 0,5 kilometers by walk from the Terezin Ghetto and 1,5 kimoteres from the Small Fortress. If you travel to Terezin by bus you find two bus stops there - one in the former ghetto (on the square) and one in front of the Small Fortress. If you travel by car, there is a parking lot in front of the Small Fortress and in the ghetto you can park on the square (free of charge). Make sure that you have enough time for your visit - the guided tour in the Small Fortress takes approx. 1 hour, however, there are also some other places which you can see there after the tour, so it is best to have at least 1,5 hours for the Small Fortress and other at least 2 hours for the visit of the former ghetto.

Terezin was a military fortress built in the 18th century was converted into a concentration camp during World War II. The part called „Big Fortress“ became a ghetto-concentration camp for Jews, whereas the „Small Fortress“ was used as a Gestapo police prison. Terezin was not only a place of suffering but also a place of courage, self–sacrifice and the never ending struggle to save those who were destined to be victims of the Holocaust. What you will see? The Small Fortress Since June 1940 the Small Fortress served as a Gestapo prison because the main Gestapo prison in Prague started to be overcrowded. The prison existed until the 8th of May 1945 and during the 5 years of its existence approximately 35 000 prisoners went through its gates. They were mostly political prisoners and prisoners of war, as well as Jews, Roma, handicapped and regular criminals. Our private guide will show you the entire prison. We will start at the administrative court where prisoners arrived, see the office of the commander, then we will walk through the men’s section of the prison where we will see the mass cells, Jewish cell and the solitary cells. We will walk through the wall tunnels, see the shooting range and the fourth courtyard of the prison with bigger mass cells later built by the Nazis due to lack of space in the prison. We will also watch a short 10 min propaganda movie made by the Nazis for the International Red Cross. The Big Fortress The Big Fortress is located approximately 1 mile away from the smaller fortress and since November 24 it served as a Ghetto for Jews. During 3,5 years of its existence around 155 000 jews passed through its gates. 63 transport left Terezin for the extermination camps in Poland, carrying 87 000 prisoners. Only 3600 of them survived the war. Approximately 35 000 people died in the Ghetto itself, mostly from diseases and lack of nutrition. Visit with our private guide the Museum of the Ghetto located in the former barracks for boys. There we will learn about the history of Holocaust and the life in the Ghetto. The entire ground floor section of the museum is dedicated to the children that lived and perished in Terezin. The last section of the museum is focused on the extermination camps. Afterwards we will visit the hidden chapel. The hidden synagogue in Terezin was one of six such hidden synagogues in Terezin. The one we will visit is hidden in a storage room because any signs of Jewish religion were banned by the Nazis. We will then continue to the Magdeburg barracks where we will see what the dormitories looked like and we will learn about culture in the Ghetto. Many of the Jewish prisoners were accomplished artists. At the end of the tour our private guide will take you to the Krematorium which is located outside of Terezin’s walls. It was built in 1942 and the victim’s bodies were cremated there. Next to the Krematorium lies a mass graveyard.

Start your tour in Prague with a hotel pickup and drive to Terezín in your own private air-conditioned car. Learn about the history of the Czech Republic from your guide/driver and what it was like during the occupation in World War II and the tragic fate of the Jews in former Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe. Upon arriving at Terezín, first visit the Large Fortress and the Terezín Museum. Afterwards, walk through the Magdeburg Barracks, the hidden synagogue, the Jewish cemetery, the Menorah monument, and the crematorium. Last but not least, visit the Small Fortress to spend time exploring the Gestapo prison, the single and mass cells, and a secret tunnel that most visitors do not get to see – this will take place with a local tour guide who has exclusive access for your tour. Throughout your tour, listen as your local guide provides historical context, personal stories, and information about the daily lives of the prisoners, including the cultural activities and propaganda efforts organized by the Nazis to deceive the international community about the camp's true nature. After your visit, drive back to Prague to visit the Jewish Museum and be dropped back off at your starting point.

Discover the history of Terezin (Theresienstadt), the 18th century fortress town in the Bohemian countryside turned into a hybrid Nazi concentration camp and Jewish ghetto. Travel from Prague to Terezin Memorial by a private car and explore the infamous site with an Expert Guide. Recreate the events of Holocaust in Czech Republic. Choose the 4-hour option to discover the Small Fortress of the Terezin Concentration Camp with a Private Guide from Terezin. From 1940 to 1945 the fortress served as a political prison of the Prague Gestapo for the opponents of Nazi regime. During the tour you will learn about the persecution of the Czech nation under the Nazi regime during the Second World War, and how dangerous it was for Czech people to stand against fascism. The sightseeing route will cover the SS guards offices, prison cells, showers, sick room, hospital and the execution site, so you will get a full image of the daily life of Terezin prisoners. After the 70-minute guided tour, you will have some free time to explore the rest of the Terezin Memorial on your own before your driver takes you back to your Prague accommodation. Choose the 5-hour option to discover the Magdeburg Barracks and Holocaust memorials of the Terezin Concentration Camp with a Private Guide from Prague. On this fully guided tour you will follow an alternative sightseeing route to learn more about the Holocaust and Jewish prisoners of the Terezin ghetto. Visit the former Magdeburg Barracks, which were used as a seat of Jewish self-government during WWII, and learn about the truth and lies of the Nazi’s propaganda about the Terezin ghetto. Other points of interest include the Jewish Prayer Room, National Cemetery, Park of Terezin Children, Cemetery of Soviet Soldiers, Jewish Cemetery and Crematorium.

Explore the history of Terezin town by visiting the most interesting places. Learn about the history of the unique military fortress from the 18th century, the Ghetto Museum, the Magdeburg Barracks, the loft, the synagogue, the Small Fortress, the Terezin Memorial, and the crematorium. Start your tour at a “Retranchement 5” building where is the visitors center. Climb the walls of the Main Fortress and find hidden spots that most groups miss because they're off the beaten track. Explore the Small Fortress, which was a prison for Nazi regime opponents from 1940 to 1945 under the Prague Gestapo. See the prison cells, showers, delousing room, hospital, execution cells, and a national cemetery nearby. Visit the Terezin Memorial, the National Cemetery in front of the Small Fortress. There are about 10 thousand people buried here. In particular, there are victims from the Small Fortress, the Terezín ghetto, and the concentration camp in nearby Litoměřice. Visit the Ghetto Museum, located in the former school building in the very center of Terezin. In the ground floor there is a Memorial hall of children. The first floor exhibition covers the inception of the persecution of Protectorate Jews, their life in the ghetto, and extermination camps. Visit a small prayer room (synagogue), which served as a place of worship for Jewish prisoners during the ghetto. See the loft where people lived. Continue to the Terezín Memorial - Crematorium and Jewish Cemetery. The crematorium was built by ghetto prisoners in 1942. About 30,000 corpses were cremated here. Everything is in original condition. Finally, visit the Magdeburg Barracks, which were used as a seat of Jewish self-government during the WWII. See a replica of a prison dormitory from the ghetto period. The exhibitions on the cultural activities of involuntary inhabitants of the ghetto continue the displays at the Ghetto Museum. It may happen that we visit the objects in a different order. We will be using a minivan to get around, but expect to walk at least 2 miles. The tour starts in the morning in Prague, the journey to Terezín takes a little over an hour, we spend about 3.5-4 hours in Terezín and the return journey to Prague takes an hour again. In total the trip takes about 6 hours, but can be adjusted to your wishes if possible.