Hana Brady facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hana Brady
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| Born |
Hanička Bradyová
16 May 1931 |
| Died | 23 October 1944 (aged 13) Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
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| Cause of death | Zyklon B (hydrogen cyanide) poisoning |
| Other names | Hanička |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | George Brady (brother) |
Hana Brady was a young Jewish girl from Czechoslovakia. She was born on May 16, 1931. Sadly, she was killed at the age of 13 in a gas chamber at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a terrible time when millions of Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis.
Hana's story became well-known through the 2002 children's book Hana's Suitcase. This non-fiction book was written by Karen Levine. It tells the story of Hana's life and how her suitcase helped teach children about the Holocaust.
Hana's Story
Hana Brady was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her family lived in a town called Nové Město na Moravě. When Hana was eight years old, Nazi Germany took over Czechoslovakia. New rules, called the Nuremberg Laws, made life very hard for Jewish people.
Hana and her older brother, George, saw their parents arrested by the Nazis. They never saw them again. Hana and George were then sent to a place called the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
In 1944, Hana was moved to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Her brother George survived because he was forced to work. But Hana was sent to the gas chambers just hours after she arrived on October 23, 1944.
The Mystery of Hana's Suitcase
Hana Brady's story became known because of her suitcase. In 2000, a Japanese educator named Fumiko Ishioka displayed the suitcase. Fumiko was the director of the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center.
Fumiko visited Auschwitz in 1999. She wanted to borrow items that belonged to children. She hoped these items would help teach children about the Holocaust.
I went to Auschwitz in 1999 and asked for a loan of some children's items. I specifically asked [for] a shoe, this little shoe, and I asked for a suitcase.
A suitcase – that really tells you a story of how children, who used to live happily with their family, were transported and were allowed to take only one suitcase.
[The suitcase] shows this journey. I thought an object like a suitcase would be a very important item to let children in Japan learn what happened to children in the Holocaust.—Fumiko Ishioka
The suitcase was a powerful way to share the story of the Holocaust with kids. It helped them understand what happened to children during that time.
In Japan, the Holocaust is so far away. Some people don't see any connection whatsoever. But when they look at the suitcase, these children were really shocked.
That really helped them a lot, to focus on this one little life that was lost. They could really relate her to themselves and try to think of why such a thing could happen to a girl like her. Why the Jewish people? And why children?
They then realized there were one and a half million children.—Fumiko Ishioka
The suitcase had Hana's name, birthdate, and the German word Waisenkind (orphan) written on it. Fumiko started researching Hana's life. She eventually found Hana's surviving brother, George, in Canada.
The story of Hana Brady and how her suitcase led Fumiko to George became a CBC documentary. Karen M. Levine, the producer of the documentary, was asked to turn the story into a book.
Karen Levine said:
I first read about Hana's suitcase in December 2000. I read about Hana's suitcase in The Canadian Jewish News. My heart started to beat. I fell in love with the story instantly. This was a different kind of Holocaust story. It had at its centre a terrible sadness, one we all know too well. But it had a modern layer to it that lifted it up, that had connection, and even redemption.
In 2004, Hana's niece, Lara Brady, noticed something odd. The suitcase on display looked newer than in old photos. The handle was also in a different spot.
Fumiko and George Brady asked the Auschwitz museum director about it. They learned that the original suitcase was destroyed in a fire in 1984. This happened while it was on loan to an exhibit in England. A replica was then made based on pictures.
Even though the suitcase is a replica, it still helps teach people about human rights and peace. Its message remains very strong.
Awards for the Book
The book Hana's Suitcase became very popular. It won many awards, including the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for non-fiction. It also received the National Jewish Book Award and other Canadian awards for children's books.
The book was nominated for the Governor General's Award. It has been translated into over 20 languages and published worldwide. In 2006, the book won the Yad Vashem award. This award was given to George Brady in Jerusalem.
Plays and Films
A play based on the book was written by Emil Sher. A film called Inside Hana's Suitcase was released in 2009. The suitcase shown in the CBC documentary was also the replica, not the original. The real suitcase was destroyed in a fire in England in 1984. An audiobook version of the story is also available. In 2011, a Hebrew version of the play was performed in Holon, Israel.
