Jiri Bader, born in Kyjov, Czechoslovakia, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in the Terezin ghetto in July 1944. To mark the occasion, his family and friends made him an album illustrated with his life story, from his birth until his arrival in the ghetto. The illustrations were drawn by caricaturist Max Placek, a relative of Jiri's who was also from Kyjov. In October 1944, Jiri and his father Pavel were deported to Auschwitz and murdered. Jiri's mother, Grete, and his sister, Vera, survived. In later years, Vera Bader donated the album and other artifacts to Yad Vashem for posterity. Jiri's Bar Mitzvah album forms part of the permanent exhibition in the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem. To read more >>
