August 31, 1939
Dear anyone who will ever find this,
I can't take this world anymore, it's driving me crazy. I see people getting beaten in the streets, just because of what they believe in. These shadowy streets are filled with nothing but somber. If you step out of your home and into the city of Wrocław, all you see is gloomy people walking in the streets that are petrified and depressed feeling that no matter what they do, the German's will take them away and beat them. Feeling worthless, no where to go, nowhere to escape this treacherous world we are living in. Atleast I'm not a Jew in Germany, now I truly feel bad for them. Your own people hating you, just because of the religion you believe in. Doesn't matter even if your great grandparents are German, your are considered filth if you're a Jew. Word has gone out throughout Poland that the German people are planning some sort of an attack on Poland. We mostly found out about this because of the Polish Resistance, I admire them greatly. So brave, they try everything to risk their lives for Poland. A lot of the Resistance members are even young teenagers. They're the main source of informations for these type of tragic news. And I'm really scared hearing about this. All alone in my room writing this makes me wonder if there will be war. I pray every night hoping things will get better in Europe. But, there's nothing more than newspapers and radio stations talking about something related to violence and killing. My mother and older sister are out working as much as they can for rations. I'm only thirteen, so I usually stay hope like a nervous wreck and clean the house. Food lately has been scarce than it has in the past. Most of our breakfast, lunch, and dinner consists of potatoes. They're pretty cheap, and you could store them for quite a long time. I never thought I would be this sick of potatoes. If this ever ends, I will hope to stop eating potatoes, they just get more and more dull everyday when I eat them. I don't blame my mom and sister though, some families can't even afford a loaf of bread. Since fathers and brothers were forced to fight for Poland, leaving mothers stuck taking care of their children alone. Unfortunately, my father left for war but my brother luckily hasn't. Thank God he's a student in college, which is the only reason why he's not fighting. Almost every healthy man was taken to be trained to fight ever since word came out about Germany planning something for us. Poland didn't take any chances, and immediately drafted men to become apart of the Polish Army. Word also has gone out that Germany is planning something terrible for the Jews. This made my heart drop, what if they mean killing? What if Germany wants all of us Jews to be permanently exterminated? If something like that actually happens, what will happen to me, my family, my friends, my neighbors? Everyone I know and care for? Everyone that's Jewish and affected by this? The world needs to know about the mayhem that's going on before something completely horrible and tragic happens and it's too late. Before we can't stop it, we have to start fighting back. I pray for the best.
-Sonia
since it was an overnight field trip where you got to sleep in cabins. The bus ride there was kind of long ride considering everyone was really excited to already be there. The bus ride was also uncomfortable because the terrain was bumpy, but it was worth going. I did not know what to expect because I've never had a field trip similar to this before. We already knew who would be in our cabins, and luckily I had some of my best friends in my cabin. Once we arrived we took our bags into the cabins, unsettled, and started our activities for
