The Diary of Petr Ginz is a newly discovered eyewitness account by a fourteenyear- old Jewish boy of life in Nazi-occupied Prague. Early entries are marked by short, declarative sentences, evocative of a ghostly march into the darkness of death.
Petr writes about typical boyhood pranks and life’s mundane daily rituals, peppered with accounts of escalating deprivation imposed by the Nazis. Notable in his account is the struggle of the Jews to maintain a sense of normalcy: “…a lot is happening, but it is not even visible. What is quite ordinary now would certainly cause upset in a normal time.”
Petr was a voracious reader; he was also inquisitive, observant, and intent on preparing himself for the freedom he believed would come. His artistic talents blossomed during his years in Theresienstadt as editor, writer, and artist for Vedem, the secret newspaper he helped to establish. His keen eye for detail and his ability to bring his experiences into sharp focus open a window into his personal experience of the Holocaust. Drawings, notes, photos.