February 1, 2003 – Petr Ginz

The Diary of Petr Ginz

The Czech Republic began the first distribution of My Brother’s Diarywritten by young Petr Ginz, who died in Auschwitz at age 16. In addition to his diaries, he had written eight novels and countless short stories by the age of 14. The diary entries were written before he entered Theresienstadt, where he spent the last two years of his life. 

His name became well-known when the crew of the Columbia space shuttle carried a copy of a moonscape he had drawn. Unfortunately, the space shuttle exploded over Texas and all seven astronauts died. As the nation mourned the loss of these explorers, they learned more about the treasure they carried with them and about the amazing story of the young man whose work they took into space.

Learn more about Petr’s remarkable life.