Rywka Lipszyc was a young Jewish girl who wrote a poignant diary during her time in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during World War II. Her diary provides a personal and intimate glimpse into the life and thoughts of a teenager living under the extreme conditions of Nazi persecution.
In I945, Rywka’s diary was found in the ashes of a destroyed crematorium in the liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp.
Rywka was born on September 15,1929. Her diary, much like Anne Frank’s, offers an intimate and poignant portrayal of the Holocaust from the perspective of a young girl.
Below are some excerpts from her diary.
“I keep repeating the verse: ‘I lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?’ Yes, only from Him. I can’t go on without faith. I would lose all hope, all strength.”
“Another day has passed in the ghetto. Hunger, cold, and the endless struggle for survival. It’s so hard to stay strong, but I must. For myself and for those who depend on me.”
“I am just a tiny spot; even under a microscope, I would be very hard to see—but I can laugh at the whole world because I am a Jew. I am poor and in the ghetto; I do not know what will happen to me tomorrow, and yet I can laugh at the whole world because I have something very strong supporting me—my faith.”
“I dream of a better world, a world where we are free, where we can live without fear. I want to learn, to read, to write. I want to live, truly live.”
“Why is there so much hatred in the world? Why can’t we live in peace? I don’t understand. But I believe that love will conquer hate in the end.”
Rywka Lipszyc was sent on a death march to Bergen-Blesen and was there when the camp was liberated. She was sent to a hospital in Niendorf on July 25, 1945, for being very ill and weak. She disappeared at age 15, on September 10, 1945, and was last seen at Niendorf, Timmendorfer Strand, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Her hospital records showed she was still alive on that date, but it is disputed whether Rywka was dead or alive after that date.
Sources
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/wie-eine-14-jahrige-das-ghetto-von-lodz-erlebte-3708139.html
https://koret.org/grantees/saga-of-rywkas-diary/
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