A major twentieth-century Czech author, Jirí Weil gave literary testimony to the fate of Czech Jews during World War II. Himself a victim of anti-Semitism in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, Weil published several literary works after 1945 that revolve around Jewish life in the face of persecution and deportation, including his short stories in Barvy (1946; translated as Colors, 2002), the novel Zivot s hvezdou (1949; translated as Life with a Star, 1989), Zalozpev za 77 297 obetí (Elegy for 77,297 Victims, 1958), and another novel, Na strese je Mendelssohn (published posthumously in 1960; translated as Mendelssohn Is on the Roof, 1991).

Jirí Weil was born on 6 August 1900 to Czech Jews, Karel and Olga Weil, in Praskolesy near Horovice (West Bohemia), where his father was a co-owner of a small plant that manufactured picture and mirror frames. The enterprise eventually failed, and the family moved to Prague, where Weil first attended the well-known Kremencárna, a Realgymnasium...