Pavel Weiner was born into a Jewish family in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1931. Before the Holocaust, Pavel lived a normal life with his family. He was an active and curious kid who enjoyed museums, concerts, traveling, and playing sports. When the war started, his life changed rapidly. Pavel was forced into the Terezin ghetto, but he tried to see some good in it. Pavel and some roommates, around 40 kids, started writing and drawing the horrible things they were experiencing while living in the ghetto. They documented their true experiences while living life in the ghetto and called their magazine Neshar. Pavel was one of the main creators and contributors. The boys would share their work with each other during shabbat dinners but eventually had to hide what they were doing. Once the images and stories got out it helped others to understand more about what was really happening in the ghettos. The children were made to do daily labor for the Nazis, but still Pavel and his friends managed to create 10 magazines speaking out about life in Terezin. 

Stepping up and deciding to do something during a hard time was very brave of Pavel. He showed wisdom, vision, conscience, compassion, and perseverance by creating the magazines and speaking out. We think Pavel is inspiring. He was around our age yet he tried to do the best he could with the little he had and tried to make an impact. Pavel is a role model in so many ways. For example, he helped organize the magazine and most likely encouraged the other children around him to submit to it. His motivation is inspiring and shows us that standing up for what you believe in is very important, and you do not have to be scared. 

We created a scene to represent who Pavel was and what he did. The background shows a photograph of Jewish children around the time of the Holocaust, and we put a wire in front of them to show that they were hurt from this experience. The children have blurred faces to represent all of the innocent kids that died and were unable to tell their stories. The figure of Pavel is shown sitting on a bench wearing overalls and a hat. He is positioned in front of the wire and the kids, implying that he pushed through this tragedy and tried his best to move ahead. On the bottom of the scene there are papers and crayons that represent his friends who supported and helped him along the way. Pavel is holding his diary that he eventually published as A Boy in Terezin. 

There are still so many people who experienced the Holocaust who have never had the opportunity to tell their story. Pavel’s story is relevant to today because there are other people like him that are going through tough times and some choose to use art to tell their stories. This project helped us to realize that there are so many unsung heroes, of all ages, that do not get enough recognition. Even doing something seemingly small like making a magazine can have such an impact.