Věrka Kohnová, a young Czech girl who was murdered during World War II, was dubbed “the Czech Anne Frank” because of her similar age and diary entries to the other Jewish diarist. Věrka was born in Pilsen on June 26, 1929, to Melanie and Oktar Kohn. Her father was an official at Gustav Teller, an iron and metal goods company, and her mother was a shopkeeper. They lived in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, with their two daughters, Hanka and Verka. Věrka was only 12 years old when the Nazis shipped Jews from Pilsen off to concentration camps and murdered them along with thousands of other Jewish people across Europe.
Memorial plaque for Věrka Kohnová, Městský obvod plzeň.
Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918 after the disbanding of the Austro-Hungarian state during the First World War. One of Hitler’s main goals as the Nazis rose to power was annexation of the Sudetenland, which was the border of former Czechoslovakia and home to a predominantly German ethnic population. Hitler promised to wage war on Europe if Germany was not given this territory; thus, the countries of Britain, France, and Italy brokered an agreement in September 1938 to cede the Sudetenland to Hitler if he cooperated and did not seek out any more territory. However, in March 1939, Hitler and his forces invaded the Czechoslovakian provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, breaking the Munich Pact and starting the Second World War.
Map of the Sudetenland, Sudetenland.net
Věrka’s experience was similar to that of thousands of other European Jews. Jewish people in Czechoslovakia were forced to identify themselves by wearing the Star of David and eventually hide in their homes out of fear of being deported to ghettos or concentration camps. Věrka’s diary documents the last year of her life, which was filled with fear and uncertainty. The excerpt below from Radio Prague’s audio series about the diary emphasizes Věrka’s dread about the thought of leaving her home.
“Who will come to live in their rooms? What will happen to her things? They are housing Nazis in confiscated Jewish homes. The new arrivals are sure to throw their stuff away. Will she ever see her bookshelf again and the picture of the happy puppy that she's had since she was a little girl? She looks around the room. She's sick to her stomach. Someone rings the doorbell. A short, nervous ring. Aunt Marie's here. Věrka knows how dangerous it is for her to come to see them. Jews are not allowed to have visitors. They must not be helped.” (Radio Prague).
Věrka Kohnová’s diary, Radio Prague International
On January 22, 1943, Věrka and her family were forced to leave their home in Pilsen and shipped on Transport S to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Terezin. They were kept there for about six weeks until they were moved again on March 11 to the Izbica ghetto. This was a Nazi transfer station in occupied Poland where Jews were placed before being transported to extermination camps. Věrka Kohnová died in the Izbica ghetto at 13 years old with the rest of her family. Although Věrka would never again see her home in Pilsen, her legacy lives on through the words in her diary.
The edited version of Věrka’s diary by Jana Poncarová and Jiří Sankot, Databáze knih
The diary was saved by her aunt, Marie Kalivodová, for 65 years, and, in 2006, published in Czech, German, and English. A new edition was edited by Jana Poncarová and Jiří Sankot in 2023. Věrka Kohonova’s story is a terrible reminder of the consequences of hate and genocide. Her first person point of view gives the readers an insight into the effects Hitler’s invasion had on her life. Although millions of people died during the Second World War, many of their stories are lost to history. The survival of Věrka’s words gives a voice to Czech people, Jewish people and anyone Hitler deemed “other”.The very existence of her diary highlights the importance of the preservation of history and the stories told by the men, women, and children who are affected by this hate.
Written by: Leiana Coleman
Works Cited
“Books - Jana Poncarová.” Jana Poncarová, 12 Apr. 2025, janaponcarova.com/books.
Commemorative Plaque for Věra Kohnová. www.liberationroute.com/pois/1068/commemorative-plaque-for-vera-kohnova.
“The Czech Anne Frank: Diary of Věrka Kohnová.” Radio Prague International, 23 May 2025, english.radio.cz/czech-anne-frank-diary-verka-kohnova-8851787.
Czechoslovakia. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/czechoslovakia.
SRO, Nux. “Věra Kohnová | Database of Victims | Holocaust.” 2013-2025, www.holocaust.cz/en/database-of-victims/victim/101234-vera-kohnova.
Wikipedia contributors. “Věra Kohnová.” Wikipedia, 31 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C4%9Bra_Kohnov%C3%A1.
