In October 2025, the Terezín Memorial published the Diary of Věra Segerová (1927–1943) and the Terezín Diaries of Arnošt Klein and Marie Kleinová. The volume contains detailed diaries and notes kept by three prisoners of the Terezín Ghetto between 1941 and 1945: Věra Segerová (1927–1943), her uncle Arnošt Klein (1898–1944), and her aunt Marie Kleinová (1901–1983). The publication was initiated by their relative, Mr. Petr Psík. The texts are accompanied by explanatory notes and supplemented with color pictorial appendices. The book can be purchased at the Terezín Memorial bookshop and souvenir shop for CZK 240. A copy can also be requested by post at: jandova@pamatnik-terezin.cz.
The first major section of the book consists of the pre-Terezín essays and diary entries written by Věra Segerová, a gifted girl who loved both writing and drawing. Her literary works, diverse in theme, are written in an accessible style and feature engaging plots whose endings often touch on the persecution of the Jewish population. Věra’s artworks are now kept in the Jewish Museum in Prague. She was deported to the Ghetto together with her parents, Josef and Františka Seger, on September 8, 1942. After spending less than five months in Terezín, she and her parents were transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp on February 1, 1943. All three were murdered. Věra Segerová was a cousin of Hana Brady (1931–1944), whose life story was told by Karen Levine in the internationally acclaimed book Hana’s Suitcase.
Arnošt Klein’s life in the Terezín Ghetto, where he was deported in May 1942, is documented in his diary, pocket calendars, and the memoirs of his sister Marie. These records detail aspects of daily life, such as labor deployment, mealtime experiences in Terezín, leisure activities, and the constant struggle against fleas that tormented the inmates. Beginning in July 1942, Arnošt was employed as a copyist in an art workshop established by the Nazis (Lautsch-Werkstätte), where he created numerous reproductions of popular artworks of the time. After the workshop was closed in August 1943, he transitioned to working as a warehouse hand and construction carpenter in the Montage-Gruppe-Reimann, a group primarily focused on woodworking and the assembly of wooden equipment. Ultimately, Arnošt left Terezín on September 28, 1944, as part of the first autumn liquidation transport. Tragically, his life was cut short in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The third personal source that complements the previous two sets of documents is found in the poignant wartime and postwar memories of Arnošt’s sister, Marie Kleinová. Her recollections vividly describe her imprisonment in the Terezín Ghetto, as well as the profound loss of those closest to her during the Nazi occupation. The memories of those who were murdered prompted existential questions that many Holocaust survivors grappled with. However, she never found an answer to the troubling question of where God was during this time and why He allowed so much senseless violence and death.
Marie Kleinová attempted to publish the manuscripts of her murdered relatives as early as 1948, with the assistance of PhDr. Pavel Eisner (1889–1958), a prominent Czech translator, literary scholar, linguist, and publicist. However, the Communist takeover in February of that year, along with the subsequent political changes in Czechoslovakia, delayed the realization of her intentions for over seventy-five years. This book serves as an imaginary monument to the Seger and Klein families, ensuring that their memory will endure and not fade into oblivion.
Tomáš Raichl and Tomáš Fedorovič
