Eastern bloc war camp through a photographer's eye

A visit to a transit camp in Eastern Europe by Westcountry photographer Guy Harrop.

One of the most sinister places I have ever visited is Theresienstadt concentration transit camp established by the SS during WWII in Bohemia, Czech Republic.  The Gestapo set up a prison there in 1940. Tens of thousands of Jews were murdered and over a hundred thousand people were held there before being sent to their deaths at the notorious camps of Auschwitz and Treblinka.

Walking through the Jewish cemetery and into the camp the air is still, a feeling of death and sadness surrounds you. Empty buildings littered with crammed bunks and wooden tables, cold stone floored cells, a maze of tunnels not big enough to stand in, rotting gallows and interrogation rooms – all void of life.

My grandmother was part Jewish and for me to experience a place of such sacrifice and cruelty humbled me to tears. It is important as a photographer to share experiences with your eyes, sometimes good and bad. Several of my photos from Czech Republic have been published in International papers and magazines, particularly in the Czech Republic.

www.guyharrop.com