It was a place of death and despair that was dressed up to look like a model town in a bid to fool others that one of the greatest atrocities in history did not happen.

Months before the true horrors of the Holocaust were revealed the Nazi regime went to great lengths to try to convince the world they were not running concentration camps.

And the Czech camp Theresienstadt became the location to try out the deception after representatives from the International Red Cross were invited to inspect it, with the cruel camp directors forcing the inmates to build fake homes and shops to con the delegation into thinking it was a town.

Theresienstadt was a fortress built near Prague in the Bohemia region of Czechoslovakia between 1780 and 1790, named after the mother of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II who ordered its construction as part of a series of fort defences.

Theresienstadt, pictured, was a former Czech fortress turned into a concentration camp by the occupying Nazis during the Second World War. It was used primarily as a transit stop for Jews and political prisoners before they would be moved on to Auschwitz and other death camps. The sign translates to 'work sets you free', propagating the lie they were there to work

In 1944 the Nazis allowed the Red Cross to inspect the camp to try to dismiss rumours they were executing prisoners and they forced the inmates to create a 'modern Jewish settlement' by building fake shops and homes

The SS was able to successfully convince the Red Cross delegation the prisoners were being treated humanely, although they refused to let the visitors question the inmates directly. Camp bosses, including commander Heinrich Jockl, 'the monster of Theresienstadt' (pictured at his trial in 1946) considered the visit so successful they ordered a propaganda film to be made of the 'town' to show the world

By the 20th Century it had become obsolete and began being used as a jail for military and political prisoners.

But after Nazi Germany invaded it was taken over by the Gestapo in 1940 and turned into a ‘Jewish ghetto’, with a smaller fortress within the main building also used for political prisoners.

From 1942 onwards tens of thousands of Jews were imprisoned at Theresienstadt, with the camp serving as a transit stop before they were moved on to extermination camps, including Auschwitz.

To try to dispel rumours the camp was being used to exterminate prisoners, the Nazis presented it as a ‘model Jewish settlement’.

In order to prepare for the visit, the inmates were 'screened' and around 200 of the more 'socially prominent' were transferred to two-bed rooms to make it appear they lived in relative comfort.

On June 23, 1944, a delegation from the Danish and International Red Cross, including doctors and civil servants, was welcomed by an SS-appointed ‘mayor’ who gave them a tour of the ‘town’.

Many Jews had been deported to Auschwitz in preparation while remaining prisoners were ordered to clean up the area and build fake shops and cafes to imply those who lived there had access to everyday amenities.

In reality the camp was as cramped and cruel as the others with tens of thousands of prisoners killed there, either being executed or succumbing to illness and disease. In order to prepare for the visit, the inmates were 'screened' and around 200 of the more 'socially prominent' were transferred to two-bed rooms to make it appear they lived in relative comfort.

The propaganda film was shot over 11 days at the camp, pictured, in September 1944 by a crew of inmates. It was directed by prisoner and experienced Jewish actor Kurt Gerron. The entire crew, including Gerron, were later killed, with the director executed in a gas chamber just one month later

The delegation stayed in freshly decorated rooms in the ‘prominent’ section of the camp for wealthy prisoners while they were also treated to a performance of a children’s opera written by an inmate.

They were given a tour of the facilities based on a pre-determined route.

Nazi officials asked questions to prisoners about their happiness along the way, with the inmates ordered to ignore any direct questions from the delegates.

Despite the overwhelming censorship, the delegation was said to have left with a ‘positive impression’ of Theresienstadt.

It gave the Nazis impetus to produce a propaganda film nicknamed ‘The Fuhrer Gives a Village to The Jews’, directed by an experienced Jewish actor Kurt Gerron, who was also a prisoner.

The shoot lasted 11 days in September 1944 but to ensure those who made it kept quiet, most of the cast were deported to Auschwitz while Gerron himself was executed in a gas chamber in October.

It was intended to be widely distributed as a means to quell the allegations against concentration camps but although a few screenings were staged, the end of the war prevented its full release.

The film, commonly known as The Führer Gives a Village to the Jews, was never widely shown due to the advance of the Allies and the end of the war, although some screenings took place in Germany. Most of the footage is believed to have been lost over the years

Some of the footage survives today but it was mostly destroyed before the war’s conclusion.

In reality prisoners were shot and starved to death, while others succumbed to disease due to the abhorrent conditions, with around 60,000 people crammed into a barracks designed to fit 7,000 soldiers.

By 1944 the Nazis began deporting the prisoners en masse to death camps before it was liberated by Soviet troops in May 1945.

It has since been the subject of many plays, films and documentaries highlighting how it was used as a propaganda tool.