LETTERS
28/VII/1943
My dear Hela:
You can not imagine my happiness because of your writing. You are the only one who is able to understand Erna´s suffering. She is very alone, without anyone to speak a coherent word. She lives with Chasbel and his family, you can imagine her life. Now she hopes for the bitter to stop, otherwise it would be imposible to endure. Yes, my dear, there would be so much to talk about. Why don´t you write to me if you obtained the shoes and the dress. Write to me about Mordele´s gift.
The postal service in Sackenhoym is good. All of the relatives are there. Except for Cyrel. The Gut parents are not there. How are you? How much I have missed you already. Regards I have already given to Maria.
I do not have any more patience to write. I only ask you to mantain yourself well.
You should not cry, you can rely on Erna on this. The sky, the moon and the stars are witnesses. Schmill Chasbel was with Erna and her daughter, he wanted them to go with him, but they did not want it so. He wanted to give them everything. I pity him. He is a noble man. Now be lovingly greeted and kissed. Live well, your Richt.
Liebe Hela!
You can not imagine my joy when reading your letter. You should know how much I miss you. My dear Hella write to me a lot. I will not write much to you. My dear father is in Sackenhoym. He is camp chief. Ber was just here. He greets you and wishes to see you soon. I greet you too, and send you a lot of kissses. Write everything to me.
Deine (unreadeable name)
My dear Hela:
You can not imagine my happiness because of your writing. You are the only one who is able to understand Erna´s suffering. She is very alone, without anyone to speak a coherent word. She lives with Chasbel and his family, you can imagine her life. Now she hopes for the bitter to stop, otherwise it would be imposible to endure. Yes, my dear, there would be so much to talk about. Why don´t you write to me if you obtained the shoes and the dress. Write to me about Mordele´s gift.
The postal service in Sackenhoym is good. All of the relatives are there. Except for Cyrel. The Gut parents are not there. How are you? How much I have missed you already. Regards I have already given to Maria.
I do not have any more patience to write. I only ask you to mantain yourself well.
You should not cry, you can rely on Erna on this. The sky, the moon and the stars are witnesses. Schmill Chasbel was with Erna and her daughter, he wanted them to go with him, but they did not want it so. He wanted to give them everything. I pity him. He is a noble man. Now be lovingly greeted and kissed. Live well, your Richt.
Liebe Hela!
You can not imagine my joy when reading your letter. You should know how much I miss you. My dear Hella write to me a lot. I will not write much to you. My dear father is in Sackenhoym. He is camp chief. Ber was just here. He greets you and wishes to see you soon. I greet you too, and send you a lot of kissses. Write everything to me.
Deine (unreadeable name)
Amsterdam 29 April Monday
Dear Juanita,
I did receive your letter and want to answer you as quick as possible. Margot and myself are the only children in our house. Our grandma is living with us. My father has an office and my mother is busy at home. I have not far from school and I am sitting in the fifth class. We have no hour classes we may do what we prefer, of course we must get to a certain goal. Your mother will certainly know this system. It is called Montessori. We have little work at home.
On the map I looked again and found the name Burlington. I did ask a girl friend of mine if she would like to communicate with one of your friends. She wants to do it with a girl about my age not with a boy.
I shall write her address underneath. Did you yourself write the letter I received from you, or did your mother write it? I include a post-card from Amsterdam and shall continue to do that collecting picture-cards I have already about 800. A child I used to be at school with went to New York and she did writh [sic] a letter to our class some time ago. In case you and Betty get a photo do send a copy as I am curious to know how you look. My birthday is the 12th of June. Kindly let me know yours. Perhaps one of your friends wil [sic] write first to my girl friend, for she also cannot write English but her father or mother will translate the letter.
Hoping to hear from you I remain your Dutch friend Annelies Marie Frank.
P.S. Please write me the address of a girl. [Anne ends with the name and Amsterdam address of her own friend, Susanne Ledermann.]
Dear Juanita,
I did receive your letter and want to answer you as quick as possible. Margot and myself are the only children in our house. Our grandma is living with us. My father has an office and my mother is busy at home. I have not far from school and I am sitting in the fifth class. We have no hour classes we may do what we prefer, of course we must get to a certain goal. Your mother will certainly know this system. It is called Montessori. We have little work at home.
On the map I looked again and found the name Burlington. I did ask a girl friend of mine if she would like to communicate with one of your friends. She wants to do it with a girl about my age not with a boy.
I shall write her address underneath. Did you yourself write the letter I received from you, or did your mother write it? I include a post-card from Amsterdam and shall continue to do that collecting picture-cards I have already about 800. A child I used to be at school with went to New York and she did writh [sic] a letter to our class some time ago. In case you and Betty get a photo do send a copy as I am curious to know how you look. My birthday is the 12th of June. Kindly let me know yours. Perhaps one of your friends wil [sic] write first to my girl friend, for she also cannot write English but her father or mother will translate the letter.
Hoping to hear from you I remain your Dutch friend Annelies Marie Frank.
P.S. Please write me the address of a girl. [Anne ends with the name and Amsterdam address of her own friend, Susanne Ledermann.]
Written by a Holocaust survivor to the commander of the Auschwitz death camp. "To the S.S. officer, former commander of the Auschwitz death camp It is finally time for you to hear these things from me, the former inmate, number 17724 of Auschwitz. It is I who was led with my family like cattle, in a train cart made for cattle, in suffocating-crowdedness, for two nights and days to your camp, without given any water or the possibility of relieving myself for the duration of the trip. There was no room to sit down so we had to take turns doing so. It is I, who was brutally dragged out of the cart when we arrived at that dreadful place, immediately separated from my family, most of whom I never saw again, stripped down and led naked, while bitten, in a herd of other animalized human-beings for selection. I was chosen to live for now, and suffer, until the last drop of marrow is drained and used out, from inside of me. It was I who was made to wear a slim striped pajama and two left handed wooden shoes, had a number tattooed into my flesh and thrown together with countless others to a giant pen called "the Gipsy camp". It was I who was humiliated in every possible way, starved beyond recognition and given porridge made out of unwashed cattle beet in a chamber pot taken from the belongings of Jews. I had to feed myself together with nine other inmates, to sip without a fork or spoon, while staring at my friends' hands making sure they are not eating more then their share. It was I who was given fifteen lashes with a heavy electrical wire for trying to take a potato peel from the waste of the S.S. kitchen. It was I who was slaved for sixteen hours in a salt mine for 160 grams of bread and half a litter of liquids a day. It was I who ran, ducked and jumped at the whim of the duty officer who occasionally made life-and-death selections. The testing scale for life was how far you could jump and how fast you could run. And I survived, although many times the thought of putting an end to the struggle has crossed my mind. Here is a segment for you, from a newspaper published this week in Israel: “a delegation of 50 youths, from the united kibbutz movement made a memorial ceremony, laid a flower-bouquet and raised the Israeli flag. At the end of the ceremony one of the boys chanted the mourners kaddish and they all sang together the Israeli national anthem, ha-tikva, the hope. Can you guess where the ceremony took place? It was in Auschwitz! I wanted you to know that one of the girls in the delegation is my granddaughter, the granddaughter of an ex-prisoner of Auschwitz.
My dear ones,
This is a farewell letter. We are going to a concentration camp in France, to Drancy. You know already what will happen to us after this. I ask you urgently: send a message via Paris to Ana and to my mother. Perhaps one can still do something for us. I have the impression that everything is all right in Titmoning. Write to Father. The situation is distressing. Perhaps a quick rescue might still help. My dear ones, keep this letter, it is perhaps the last one and perhaps you will show it one day to my dear mother. Tell her that I was with her in my thoughts until the last moment of my life. If my father should be rescued, take care of him and see to it that he does not do, God forbid, something stupid. Life without me will be unbearable for mother. I implore you, do whatever is still possible to rescue me. Thank you very much for everything you have done for me, most of all, thanks to mother. I conclude because my heart bursts with pain. Remember me and do everything via Paris. Kisses from me,
Yours, Hela
This is a farewell letter. We are going to a concentration camp in France, to Drancy. You know already what will happen to us after this. I ask you urgently: send a message via Paris to Ana and to my mother. Perhaps one can still do something for us. I have the impression that everything is all right in Titmoning. Write to Father. The situation is distressing. Perhaps a quick rescue might still help. My dear ones, keep this letter, it is perhaps the last one and perhaps you will show it one day to my dear mother. Tell her that I was with her in my thoughts until the last moment of my life. If my father should be rescued, take care of him and see to it that he does not do, God forbid, something stupid. Life without me will be unbearable for mother. I implore you, do whatever is still possible to rescue me. Thank you very much for everything you have done for me, most of all, thanks to mother. I conclude because my heart bursts with pain. Remember me and do everything via Paris. Kisses from me,
Yours, Hela
My darling,
On this, the last night of my life, I bid you farewell. Our days of happiness were short-lived, but beautiful. At this moment I am remembering our love, from its beautiful beginning until its cruel end. You were the love of my life, and I would willingly have sacrificed everything to save you. And our innocent little Otto – why has it been decreed that this rough, ruthless hand should put an end to his short life? I remember my loved ones for the last time. If you are lucky enough to see them again, I send a last kiss to my beloved sister, to my brother and Olga, to Maxi and Lidi, and especially to Danny and Lianka, with all my heart. I wish them all a happier life than our own. They must fight bravely for our freedom and avenge the innocent blood of their loved ones. My darling, thank you with all my heart for your devotion, your love, and for the happiness you have given me. Stay the way you are today – a dauntless hero who never gives in. I will think of you and pray for your rescue until my last breath. Lastly, please send my best wishes to all your friends. Farewell, love of my life! Ellie and your little Otto send you kisses for the last time! Goodbye Auschwitz Birkenau
On this, the last night of my life, I bid you farewell. Our days of happiness were short-lived, but beautiful. At this moment I am remembering our love, from its beautiful beginning until its cruel end. You were the love of my life, and I would willingly have sacrificed everything to save you. And our innocent little Otto – why has it been decreed that this rough, ruthless hand should put an end to his short life? I remember my loved ones for the last time. If you are lucky enough to see them again, I send a last kiss to my beloved sister, to my brother and Olga, to Maxi and Lidi, and especially to Danny and Lianka, with all my heart. I wish them all a happier life than our own. They must fight bravely for our freedom and avenge the innocent blood of their loved ones. My darling, thank you with all my heart for your devotion, your love, and for the happiness you have given me. Stay the way you are today – a dauntless hero who never gives in. I will think of you and pray for your rescue until my last breath. Lastly, please send my best wishes to all your friends. Farewell, love of my life! Ellie and your little Otto send you kisses for the last time! Goodbye Auschwitz Birkenau