Bohušovice nad Ohří

Bohušovice nad Ohří is a town located predominantly on the left bank of the Eger River (Ohře), about 5 km south of Litoměřice, in the vicinity of Theresienstadt (Terezín). A major incentive for the development of the settlement was the construction of a railway from Prague to Dresden (the local section of it was opened in 1850). Town status was granted to Bohušovice for the first time in 1920, but it was taken away by the Nazis during WWII. The town only regained its status on 6 October, 1998. During the war – before the Nazis built an extension of the railway leading directly to Theresienstadt – incoming Jews had to march in rows to the nearby Theresienstadt ghetto through the town of Bohušovice. For the elderly and the sick the march, with heavy backpacks and suitcases, was devastating. Although many of them were still in possession of their food supplies at this stage, they were mostly lacking drinking water according to the testimony of many witnesses. The local population looked on as the Jews marched to Theresienstadt through their town - some with contempt and indignation, others shocked at the cruelty of the guards. Some inhabitants of the town would pass the Jews water at an unnoticed moment or take and pass on their messages, such as the local train-station employee Karel Košvanec.