Ceremonial rooms, mortuary and columbarium at Terezín

Death was omnipresent and could strike at practically any time. The lack of basic foods, disease, inadequate hygiene, long shifts of backbreaking work and the terror of the occupiers all claimed victims. The ceremonial rooms, mortuary and columbarium (in reality nothing but a store for urns) were in constant use.

Several hundred metres south of the square stands what is known as the Central Mortuary. It has been modified as a place of remembrance, while visitors can also view nearby ceremonial rooms. The tour includes a columbarium where the remains of victims were stored in cardboard urns. In 1944 the camp’s commanders decided to dump the ashes in the River Ohře, an act of disrespect marked at the spot today by a burial mound and headstone. The buildings of the ceremonial rooms, mortuary and columbarium today house an exhibition entitled Funeral Services in the Ghetto and the Central Mortuary.