Thursday, June 7, 2007

‘Polish Anne Frank’ Comes to Light in Discovered Diary



I actually learned about this from the Newspaper rather than from TV news or the Internet. AP report Via the NY daily news here

the diary of a 14-year-old Jewish girl dubbed the "Polish Anne Frank" was unveiled on Monday, chronicling the horrors she witnessed in a Jewish ghetto - at one point watching a Nazi soldier tear a Jewish baby away from his mother and kill him with his bare hands.
The diary, written by Rutka Laskier in 1943 shortly before she was deported to Auschwitz, was released by Israel's Holocaust museum more than 60 years after she recorded what is both a daily account of the horrors of the Holocaust in Bedzin, Poland and a memoir of the life of a teenager in extraordinary circumstances.


Apparently her diary was kept by a childhood friend all these years but was finally released when it’s value as a historical document was realized. Check the link and read some of the quotes from her book. Even these small snippets are very moving. Considering the impact that Ann Frank’s diary has had, this is an enormous find. Another voice speaks from beyond the grave.

-Swinebread

7 comments:

Dean Wormer said...

I read that article.

I had to force myself.

One of the things that drives me crazy as a rational adult is that history seems to be so damn malleable.

The holocaust can't be allowed to fade from memory as the last few survivors pass away. Nor can the scope and breadth of that evil be allowed to be diminished.

Never, ever forget.

That's why Laskier's diary is so important, in my view.

ladybug said...

This may be more interesting in fact; Anne Frank's father censored portions of her diary, especially ones that had to do w/sex, and also parts that made the family (or herself) in a less than complementary light.

I forgive Anne for probably writing some not-so-great prose that showed she was a just a teenage girl (maybe a bit self-absorbed, or even little neurotic), but I don't forgive her father for trying to turn her into a saint.

I'd be interested to know why the "family friend" kept it all this time, and why NOW is the time to release it.

I'm also hoping that some one will provice some historical analysis on this work.

The Moody Minstrel said...

If this is proven to be legit, I wonder what Ahmadinejad will have to say about it...or all those other Holocaust deniers.

Don Snabulus said...

Probably nothing different. There were thousands of living witnesses that survived the Holocaust, guarded the prisoners, or liberated the detainees and yet we still have deniers.

I just read an article that says most of Ahmadinejad's original Iranian supporters are very disappointed in his aggressive and unhelpful behavior.

Swinebread said...

Dean – it is hard, but there’s some beauty in the tragedy. I imagine I ‘d like to give this to my teenage daughter if I had one.

LB – I remember that about AF’s dad. Oh well at least her book survived and the deleted sections survived. So we have a complete work now.

Moody – lead by being an idiot… argh!

Sanb – argh part 2

Pandabonium said...

Thanks, Swinebread. I hadn't read about this. There is an interesting article about it here too: >'Gimme Back My God!'>

Swinebread said...

panda - thanks for the link and the blog, I try to keep it light around here, but her story and picture compelled me to post.