A New History of the Terezín Ghetto:

Anna Hájková in conversation with François Guesnet

On 27th January 2024 at 7pm at Velehrad

Terezín was operated by the Nazis between November 1941 and May 1945 as a transit ghetto for
all Czech Jews, as well as those from Central and Western Europe. Today, Theresienstadt is best
known for the Nazi propaganda of the International Red Cross visit, cultural life, and children. But these aspects explain little what defined the lives of its 140,000 inmates. The Last Ghetto offers both a modern history of this Central European ghetto and the first in-depth analytical history of a prison society during the Holocaust. Theresienstadt produced its own social hierarchies under which even small differences among prisoners decided their fate. During the three and a half years of the camp’s existence, prisoners created their own culture and habits, bonded, fell in love, and forged new families. Based on extensive archival research and witness testimonies, The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt, published by the Oxford University Press, casts light on how human society works in extremis.

To mark the Holocaust Memorial Day, Velehrad, in cooperation with the Czech Embassy
and the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies, will host paperback release of Anna Hájková’s
The Last Ghetto, on 27 th January 2024 at 7pm.

The book will be available for purchase for £18 (cash only).
Refreshments provided.

Dr Anna Hájková is Reader in modern European Continental History at the University of
Warwick, where she is the director of Centre for Global Jewish Studies.
François Guesnet is Professor of Modern Jewish History at University College London. He
specializes in Eastern European Jewish History and is co-chair of the editorial board of  Polin:
Studies in Polish Jewry

To register for the event please email marta.tomsky@velehrad.org.uk by 24th January