Schönwald, Czechoslovakia

Schönwald (Krasny Les) was a fortress located roughly 30 kilometers from the town of Usti nad Labem (Aussig) in northern Bohemia. The fortress, which was owned by the city of Aussig, served during the years 1940-1941 as a POW camp for French soldiers. In September 1941, the Gestapo decided to use the place as an internment camp for the Jewish population of Usti nad Labem. The Reich’s Association of Jews in Germany was charged with the preparation and maintenance of the camp. The deportation of Jews to the Schönwald camp, under the pretext of a housing shortage, commenced no later than November 1941. The camp population was composed mainly of elderly Jews. The few younger Jews in the camp were engaged in forced labor. Although the camp received a certain degree of autonomy, conditions in the camp were described as harsh: the fortress was poorly maintained and poorly equipped, and was virtually unreachable during the winter months. On 13 November 1942, 42 persons were deported from Schönwald to the Theresienstadt ghetto. Further deportations left on 11 June 1943, 1 October 1944, and 18 November 1944. Presumably, the camp ceased to function as an internment camp for Jews around that time.