My friend had a very cruel destiny, and I must confess that am unable to look at his portrait without a recurring feeling of pain.
He was the son of a Christian mother who had lost her Czech husband in the war and later created a couple with a survivor of one of the notorious labor-camps.
Peter was one, perhaps two years older than me, but we shared many of the boyish interests that create teenage friendships. In 1948, we said to each other goodbye.
Peter and his parents emigrated to the US, while I left for Israel.
In later years I learned that my friend was drafted to the US army, stationed in Korea, wounded in his head, and repatriated to a spend the rest of his tragic life in a veteran hospital.
Samuel Bak, January 7, 2023 email UNO Omaha-Collection
Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center, The University of Omaha, Nebraska