Educational Materials produced by
the United Nations Holocaust Programme
Study Guide "The Last Flight of Petr Ginz"
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, in partnership with The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority and The Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University, has produced this study guide for middle and high school students to accompany the film The Last Flight of Petr Ginz. The film is a production of The Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University and The Documentary Institute at The University of Florida, and tells the story of a young Jewish boy from Prague who loved to write and draw.
Petr began writing in a diary in 1941, when he was 13 years old and living in Prague under Nazi occupation. Through the factual and succinct telling of his daily deeds – school, home, a walk in the afternoon, a list of books he read, visiting friends – and his expressive illustrations, Petr draws us into a world of wonder, inspiration, creativity and imagination. At the age of 14, Petr was taken from his family in Prague and sent to the ghetto and transit camp of Terezin. Petr continued writing and creating art during his two years in Terezin, until the Nazis sent him to his death at Auschwitz when he was only 16 years old.
This study guide attempts to open a window into Petr’s life through his creativity. His imagination was his only escape from the Nazis – it transported him to Prague, outer space, and other far away places beyond the confines of Terezin, where he was imprisoned. Petr’s writings and artwork can give us insight into the experience of one Jewish boy and how he dealt with the circumstances he found himself in during World War II. Through Petr's story, we might begin to understand something about the history and human that was the Holocaust.
Download the Study Guide "The Last Flight of Petr Ginz" in other languages:
| [English language, PDF Document] |
[French language, PDF Document] |
| [Russian language, PDF Document] |
[Spanish language, PDF Document |
[Czech language, PDF Document] |