A diary is like a chronicle, a chronological summary of someone’s life, or at least part of it. Nowadays people use social media to document their daily life. Unlike social media, diaries are meant to be secret. That’s why the words from Holocaust diaries which were published after World War II, should be treated with the utmost respect, and seen as sacred.
Below are just a few words of diarists, some survived and some didn’t but all their words are powerful reminders.
ANNE FRANK
Date: July 15, 1944
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
“It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”
ELIE WEISEL
Date: 1945
Location: Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.”
RENIA SPIEGEL
Date: July 15, 1942
Location: Przemyśl, Poland
“My dear Diary, my guardian angel. I don’t know what will happen to me, where I’ll be in a few hours, days, weeks. Everything is so very uncertain. I am all alone now, and I am so afraid.”
VICTOR KLEMPERER
Date: February 8, 1942
Location: Dresden, Germany
“Today, once again, I had to endure hours of waiting, to be humiliated and harassed by the Gestapo. The fear never leaves me. I have become a shadow of my former self, a ghost wandering through the ruins of my life.”
ETTY HILLESUM
Date: September 15, 1943
Location: Westerbork Transit Camp, The Netherlands
“There are moments when I feel like my body and soul are being crushed under the weight of despair, but I will not let it break me. I want to be the thinking heart of these barracks. I want to be the voice that speaks even when everything else falls silent.”
ELSA RINDER
June 10, 1943
Location: Lviv Ghetto
“Mother fell ill today. There are no medicines to help her, and I feel so helpless. I spent the day by her side, holding her hand and praying. It’s all I can do. The thought of losing her is unbearable, yet I must stay strong for her and for my brother.”
MOSHE FLINKER
June 21, 1943
Location: Brussels, Belgium
“I watched as the SS took away our neighbors today. The sound of boots on the pavement, the cries for mercy—it will haunt me forever. I felt so powerless, hiding behind the curtains, unable to help. What kind of world allows such cruelty?”
Sources
https://perspectives.ushmm.org/collection/holocaust-diaries
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/project/diaries-and-journals
History of Sorts 