Prague

The first assembly point for Jews from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was established in Prague. It was located at the Radio Market (Radiotrh) site on the grounds of the Prague Trade Fair (Pražské vzorkové veletrhy). One of the reasons for choosing this site was its proximity to the Prague–Bubny railway station. A transit camp was set up here shortly after Reinhard Heydrich became acting Reichsprotektor. It was in operation from October 1941 until July 1943. With the end of the deportations, the huts were used as warehouses for furniture confiscated from Jews between August 1943 and July 1944.

After arriving at the assembly point, those awaiting deportation were allotted a place to stay in one of the wooden huts. Transport numbers were written in chalk on the floor to indicate the space allotted to each deportee. The prisoners slept on mattresses on the floor and were held in poor sanitary conditions; there were only outdoor latrines. The process of registering all the deportees usually lasted between three and four days. On the day of deportation, they were arranged according to their transport numbers and escorted to Bubny railway station by the Ordnungspolizei (German police force) and the uniformed Protectorate police force. The deportees then boarded the trains.

The first five transports were dispatched to the ghetto in Łódź/Litzmannstadt between 16 October and 3 November 1941. Most of the subsequent transports were sent to the Terezín ghetto. In total, 44,712 people were deported from Prague.