Otto Kraus was one of the first prisoners to secretly warn others about the true nature of Auschwitz. Deported from the Theresienstadt Ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1943, he sent a coded message back to the ghetto using the Hebrew word “MAVET” — meaning “death.” Many could not believe the truth.

This story follows Otto Kraus — a Czech Jewish writer, teacher, and Holocaust survivor. It explores the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, life inside Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, the Children’s Block at Birkenau, brutal death marches, and Otto’s struggle to rebuild his life after the war.

Despite losing nearly his entire family, Otto survived and dedicated his life to preserving the memory of the Holocaust through literature and testimony.