A Journey into the Unreal: Visiting and Photographing Theresienstadt, 23 June 1944

On 23 June 1944, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) inspected the ghetto town of Theresienstadt. It was the first time that this humanitarian organisation had ever visited deported Jews. After protracted negotiations, the inspection was finally entrusted to a junior member of ICRC staff who had no experience of visiting civilian detainees. His findings about the prevailing situation in Theresienstadt were generally positive and were used by the Nazis as propaganda. After the war, the ICRC representative was harshly blamed for his lack of perceptiveness. This article questions the established view of the ICRC visit to Theresienstadt by placing such inspections in the broader context of activities undertaken by the ICRC on behalf of inmates. By conducting a more careful reading of the written report and an analysis of the attached photos, this article challenges the commonly accepted idea that the ICRC representative was completely duped by the Nazis’ Verschönerungsaktion in Theresienstadt.