The Diary of Petr Ginz

Ginz, Petr. Chava Pressburger editor. Translated from the Czech by Elena Lappin. Foreword by Jonathan Safran Foer

ISBN 10: 1843545543 / ISBN 13: 9781843545545

Published by Atlantic Books, London, 2007

About this Item

First UK edition, first impression. Very minor edge wear to top and bottom of jacket and spine, not price clipped (£16.99), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, in almost 'as new' condition. 182pp, illustrated. In 1941, Petr Ginz was a young teenager living in Prague with his parents and sister. Adventurous, artistic and optimistic, he wrote poems and novels and edited a children's magazine inside the work camp at Theresienstadt. Originally written in his special code-language, Petr's diaries described daily life for the Ginz family and documented the introduction of anti-Jewish laws from a young adult's point of view - pithy and unsentimental. The writing stopped in 1942 when Petr received his summons, but the books survived in a Prague attic. They recently came to light in extraordinary circumstances and, they were published in the Czech Republic in 2005 to a storm of publicity. Edited by his sister Chava, and including background material and beautiful reproductions of Petr's artwork, this book encapsulates the soul and wisdom of a child caught in an adults' war. Petr Ginz died at the age of sixteen when he was transferred to Auschwitz concentration camp and gassed.

Seller Inventory # 002178

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Diary of Petr Ginz
• Publisher: Atlantic Books, London
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1843545543
• ISBN 13: 9781843545545
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Jacket design by Peter Dyer
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Petr Ginz was a Czech 'Mischling' who was sent to Theresienstadt work camp in 1942, aged 13. Two years later he was sent to his death in Auschwitz. His recently-discovered diaries make for mesmerizing and poignant reading.

In 1941, Petr Ginz was a young teenager living in Prague with his parents and sister. Adventurous, artistic and optimistic, he wrote poems and novels and edited a children's magazine inside the work camp at Theresienstadt. Originally written in his special code-language, Petr's diaries described daily life for the Ginz family and documented the introduction of anti-Jewish laws from a young adult's point of view - pithy and unsentimental. The writing stopped in 1942 when Petr received his summons, but the books survived in a Prague attic. They recently came to light in extraordinary circumstances and, they were published in the CzechRepublic in 2005 to a storm of publicity. Edited by his sister, Chava, and including background material and beautiful reproductions of Petr's artwork, this book encapsulates the soul and wisdom of a child caught in an adults' war.

About the Author

Petr Ginz died in 1944, aged sixteen. His sister, Chava Pressburger, who introduces his diary (The Diary of Petr Ginz 2007) now lives in Israel.