When the first Aufbaukommando work detail arrived in Terezin to prepare for future prisoners’ arrival, a primary task was preparing the numerous fortress barracks for lodging. What they encountered were filthy, old buildings in dire need of fixing-up. The result was not much of an improvement. Wooden bunks, often three-tiered, were constructed out of roughly hewn wood. These bunkrooms would contain 100 to 400 people.  Yet even these thousands of bunks total did not come close to supporting the housing of Terezin’s burgeoning population, which reached a peak of 58,497 in December of 1942 (nearly 10 times the amount Terezin was intended to sustain long-term).

"Accomodation"
Drawing by Fritz Lederer

Alternate living areas included spaces in what had previously been private homes, as well cramped building hallways, damp basements and drafty, leaking attics—all of which were completely inappropriate for human habitation but turned to in desperation. Freezing in the winter, steaming in the summer, littered with sick individuals, and dirty with human waste and filth, all these wretched environments spawned disease, sickness, and breeding grounds for vermin, lice, and bed bugs. Coupled with the severe lack of water, heating, and sanitary facilities, Terezin was just as deadly as a gas chamber for many people. Fortunate Jews with enough prestige managed to acquire better living situations for themselves, some even managing small apartments for themselves and their families in the private residences. However, those with such luck were few and far between. The best some enterprising prisoners could do was to acquire a nook or cranny in an unnoticed portion of a building that could be isolated off by a curtain or screen for some degree of privacy. These dwellings, called kumbals, were particularly appreciated for what small degree of romance could be sponsored in the oppressive and dismal camp environment. In the bewildering confusion of this crushing and oftentimes lonely setting, love affairs were not an uncommon form of relief.

"Kumbals"
Painting by Norbert Troller