‘There was absolutely no chance of being a kid’: new exhibition explores how war shapes children’s lives

Childhood in War examines what life looks like when play, education and family life is disrupted by hostilities

When John Hajdu was three, his parents gave him a teddy bear small enough to fit into his hands: 86 years later, it is the only surviving object from his childhood.

The bear, which the 89-year-old simply calls “teddy”, stayed with him as his father was taken to a labour camp, his mother sent to a concentration camp, and he hid in a non-Jewish neighbour’s cupboard before being forced into the Budapest ghetto.