Diaries reveal some of the most intimate, heart-wrenching accounts of the Holocaust. They record in real time the feelings of loss, fear, and, sometimes, hope of those facing extraordinary peril.
Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel met and fell in love in the Sobibor killing center. After the young couple made a daring escape during the camp uprising and fled into hiding, Selma began a diary to record their experiences. The diary was written in 1943-1944 while Selma was in hiding in German-occupied Poland.
This page recounts Chaim and Selma's life in hiding following their escape: "We are in a little hayloft and live together in a little corner. There is a sheet on top of the straw below us and we cover ourselves at night with hay."
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