Petr Ginz

Petr Ginz (1 February 1928 – 28 September 1944) was a Czechoslovak boy of partial Jewish background who was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto (known as Terezín, in Czech) during the Holocaust.

He was murdered at the age of sixteen when he was transferred to Auschwitz concentration camp and gassed to death upon arrival.

His diary was published after his death.

Ginz was the son of Otto Ginz, the manager of the export department of a Prague textile company and a notable Esperantist, and Marie Ginz (née Dolanská).

Ginz's father was Jewish, while his mother was not.

His parents met at an Esperantist congress.

His mother was from Hradec Králové, where her father was a village teacher.

Ginz received frequent visits from his relatives during Christmas holidays, including his grandfather, who owned an antique and rare book shop in Jungmann Square.

Ginz was a very intelligent boy.

Between the ages of 8 and 14 he wrote five novels: From Prague to China, The Wizard from Altay Mountains, Around the World in One Second and A Visit from Prehistory — the only surviving novel.

The novels, including Návštěva z pravěku (Visit from Prehistory), were written in the style of Jules Verne and illustrated with his own paintings.

He was interested in the sciences and yearned for knowledge.

Due to his parents' interest in Esperanto, that language was one of Petr's native languages (the other being Czech).

According to the anti-Jewish laws of the Third Reich, children from mixed marriages were to be deported to a concentration camp at the age of 14.

His diary has been published in English under the name: The Diary of Petr Ginz 1941–1942.

Before his transport, Ginz wrote a diary between 1941 and 1942 about his life.

This diary, written in a matter-of-fact way, has been compared to that of Anne Frank.

This diary was lost but found and published by his sister Eva (now Chava Pressburger) as Diary of My Brother.

Young Ginz was transported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in October 1942.

His efforts in sciences and thirst for knowledge remained and he tried to study even in the concentration camp.

He often read from a library full of confiscated books to which he had access.

He was placed in Domov č.1 (Home No. 1, building L417).

He became one of the most significant individuals of the community.

He established and prepared for publication the periodical magazine Vedem, which means "We Lead".

He also wrote an Esperanto–Czech dictionary as well as several other short novels that have since been lost.

One such piece of writing is called "Rambles through Theresienstadt" in which he interviews people and comments on people, buildings, and even the crematorium.

The breadth of his interests, abilities, and character are shown by his remaining writings and by the testimonials of friends who survived.

He was interested in literature, history, paintings, geography, sociology, and the technical fields.

The magazine Vedem was published every Friday for two years.

Petr was assigned to one of the last transports to Auschwitz concentration camp from Terezín.

The magazine was founded shortly after his arrival at Terezín in 1942.

Besides Ginz, several other boys from the Domov č.1. also contributed.

Petr Ginz became a chief editor and he contributed under the code name nz or Akademie (Academy).

One of his closest collaborators was Hanuš Hachenburg who wrote many poems.

Ginz gave most of his writings and paintings to his sister before his transport, so a majority have survived to today.

He was murdered in the gas chambers in 1944.

His sister was also deported to Terezín in 1944, but she survived.

It was published in Spanish, Catalan, and Esperanto, as well as the original Czech, and in English in April 2007 as The Diary of Petr Ginz 1941–1942.

A review appeared in an issue of The New York Times dated Tuesday 10 April 2007.

Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, whose mother and grandmother were survivors of Auschwitz, was asked by S. Isaac Mekel, director of development at the American Society for Yad Vashem, to take an item from Yad Vashem onto the American Space Shuttle Columbia.