Ota B. Kraus

Ota B. Kraus was born in 1921 in Prague

Kraus was born on 1 September 1921 in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia. His parents, Richard Kraus and Marie Strass, owned a factory that made women's clothing. As a boy he loved reading, played tennis and table tennis, and was a member of the scouts.

After the German occupation he became an active Zionist. He spent 2 years working on farms to prepare for moving to the Land of Israel.

In May 1942 he and his family were deported to Theresienstadt, where he led a team in a vegetable garden. In December 1943 he joined his family on a transport to Auschwitz and became a counselor in the children's block run by Fredy Hirsch. After a selection by Josef Mengele, he was sent to the Schwarzheide camp in Germany.

After the war he returned to Prague and learned that his parents and brother had not survived. He studied literature, philosophy, English and Spanish at Charles University. In 1947 he married Dita, whom he had met in Auschwitz, and they had 3 children.

He wrote in Czech and English and worked as a teacher. He died on 5 October 2000 in Netanya, Israel.