canceled parcel admission stamp for Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp

Parcel admission stamp for Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp, depicting the surrounding landscape of Bohemia. The camp was established by the Germans in November 1941 about 40 miles north of Prague in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia created after Nazi Germany occupied the western region of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. It was a multi-use camp, acting as a settlement, transit camp, and propaganda tool. The stamp, which was printed in Prague, was issued by the Prague Jewish Council beginning in July 1943. Inmates at Theresienstadt could receive inspected packages of food and clothing from people outside the camp if the packages had this stamp. An inmate could request a package every two months. The Jewish Council in Prague would notify the sender to come pick up the stamp if they lived in Prague; if they lived outside of Prague, the stamp would be attached to the notice. Living conditions in the camp were horrible and about 33,000 inmates died there. On May 2, 1945, as the end of the war approached, the International Red Cross took over administration of the camp. The German staff fled on May 5 and 6, and on May 9, Soviet troops arrived and assumed responsibility.