In December 1942 twelve allied governments denounced the Germans for their treatment of the Jews, and in late 1943, Denmark's king increased pressure even more by urgently repeating appeals for a visit to one of the concentration camps. The government of Denmark was remarkably the only one that was very eager to protect its Jews (consequently all of them will survive the Holocaust) and anxious to really know about the conditions they were living in ("The Red Cross -).
The Nazis were promptly starting to give Theresienstadt, the previously selected camp, a whole makeover missing not one little detail. Many buildings were changed taking on new purposes, and some structures were even built just for the visit. A former villa that had been inhabited by a German citizen turned into a temporary infirmary for sick children. The long-ago cinema, which had been packed with old people living there, regained its purpose of an auditorium. The building, which had served as a shelter for the chronically ill was converted into a social center including a performance hall and a synagogue. A modern children's home was built along with a playground and even a swimming pool was constructed. ("Shofar FTP -).
Everything was cleaned up and polished which meant that especially sanitary conditions improved. The Jews had to scrub streets and sidewalks until the entire ghetto gleamed: "The residences along the route mapped out for the commission were literally white-washed to cover up all telltale signs of grime visible at a superficial glance- ("Shofar FTP -). The workers who cooked and distributed the food received white gloves ("Shofar FTP -).
The goal was to have it look like a nice, self-governing, Jewish town. The Nazis set up fourteen shops "( ) which were basically stocked with things pilfered from the .
baggage of the new arrivals at the camp- ("A brief history -)! Inmates could buy different items with the "Ghetto Crown- there.