When the Theresienstadt Ghetto was established in 1941, it was a way station for Jews to be sent to extermination camps. By 1944, however, the ghetto was home to thousands of Jewish artists and scholars, an oasis of rich cultural life in a desert of death and suffering. The convening of so many Jewish artists was not a coincidence but rather a propaganda tool. In preparation for the arrival of the Red Cross, the Nazis “beautified” the ghetto, and the works of the artists were put on full display as a ruse for the allied forces. While the Nazis exploited...