Nursing care and context in Theresienstadt

Over the past 5 years, nurses'roles as caregivers in ghettos and concentration camps during the Third Reich increasingly have become the subject of interest. Historians have focused particularly on the ethical dilemmas of caregiving practices that often deviated from normal care standards and situations. This article examines nurses and their work in one concentration camp, Theresienstadt, to demonstrate that even under the unique and horrible conditions of camp existence, contextual differences between camps provided nurses with different difficulties and opportunities. Although an extreme example, this article demonstrates the critical link between care and context as nurses practice across various settings and situations.