The Shadow of History: The Formative Years of Jan Saudek Born in Prague in 1935, Jan Saudek’s life was inextricably woven into the turbulent fabric of twentieth-century Czech history. His early childhood was defined by the profound trauma of Nazi occupation and the systematic persecution of his Jewish heritage. The shadows of the Holocaust loomed large over his family; while Saudek and his twin brother, Kája, survived the era, many of their relatives were lost to the horrors of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. This early encounter with loss and displacement instilled in him a deep-reac…