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Illustrated page of a child's diary written in a Swiss refugee camp. The diary entry describes how they crossed the border into Switzerland. The text reads, "We came out of the woods and into a clearing: we had to be as quiet as possible because we were so close to the border. Oh! I almost forgot! Before we came out of the woods, they made us stand still for a quarter of an hour while they went to explore the area and to cut through the fence. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, we began to walk again. We saw a small guard station that was literally in front of the hole in the fence, fortunately the guard was not there. One by one, silently, we went through the hole in the fence. What emotion! Finally, we were in free territory, in Switzerland." Switzerland, 1943-1944.
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Media Essay
Anne Frank (Abridged Article) - Photograph
Anne Frank, age twelve, at her school desk. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1941.
Photo
Anne Frank at her school desk
Anne Frank, Ellen Weinberger, Margot Frank and Gabrielle Kahn having a tea party with their dolls at the home of Gabrielle Kahn in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1934
Article
Anne Frank Biography: Who was Anne Frank?
Margot and Anne Frank before their family fled to the Netherlands. Bad Aachen, Germany, October 1933.
Timeline Event
Anne Frank Born
Anne Frank at 11 years of age, two years before going into hiding. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1940.
Article
Anne Frank: Diary
Media Essay
Anne Frank - Photograph
Deportation of Jews from the Lodz ghetto. Poland, August 1944.
Article
Anonymous Girl Diarist from the Lodz Ghetto
Stanislava Roztropowicz kept a diary from 1943-1944. In it, she describes her family's decision to hide an abandoned Jewish girl, Sabina Heller (Kagan).  Sabina Kagan was an infant when SS mobile killing squads began rounding up Jews in her Polish village of Radziwillow in 1942. Her parents persuaded a local policeman to hide the family. The policeman, however, soon asked the Kagans to leave but agreed to hide baby Sabina. Her parents were captured and killed. Sabina was concealed in a dark basement, with minimal food and clothing. She was discovered and taken in by the Roztropowicz family in 1943. This image shows an entry written on the back cover of the diary kept by Stanislava, one of Sabina's rescuers. Stanislava recorded events of the war, updates on the eldest Roztropowicz child who was in forced labor, and the progress of Sabina, whom the family decided to call "Inka."
Artifact
Back cover of Stanislava Roztropowicz's diary
On September 23, 1941, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), the Lodz ghetto schoolchildren presented Jewish Council chairman Rumkowski with an album of hand-drawn New Year's greetings from 43 of the schools. Included were signatures representing some 14,000 of the students. The greetings combine traditional holiday wishes with thanks for the schools and for the daily meals. This detail from a signature page shows the signature for Chaim Cale (# 6383).
Article
Chaim Benzion Cale
Chaim Kozienicki
Article
Chaim Kozienicki
Alice Goldberger (1897-1986) was born in Berlin, Germany. Trained as a youth-work instructor, she ran a shelter for disadvantaged children and their families. When Hitler came to power, Alice, who was Jewish, had to give up her post. She immigrated to England in 1939. When war broke out, Alice was interned on the Isle of Man as an enemy alien. While there, she organized a children's facility. Hearing of Alice's work in the camp, psychoanalyst Anna Freud (daughter of Sigmund Freud) intervened to secure her release. Alice then became the superintendent of a nursery for the children of working wartime mothers. In 1945, after the end of the war and the liberation of Nazi camps, Alice became caretaker, advocate, and teacher to 24 refugee children who were brought to England and were ultimately housed in an estate called Weir Courtney. She worked diligently to create a childhood for these young survivors of horrific experiences during the Holocaust. As Alice herself wrote in 1957: "I wanted the children to feel that the world is still full of good and friendly people, who stretch their hand across oceans and wide countries to help their fellowmen."   This is one of the pieces of art created by children at Lingfield House, on the Weir Courtney estate, reflecting happier times under Alice's care. The diary included drawings and writings by Sylvia, Eva, Hanka, and Hedi.
Artifact
Children's art: Lingfield House diary
A page from the diary of Eugenia Hochberg, written while she was living in hiding in Brody, Poland. The page contains a timeline of important events that happened during the war, such as deaths and deportations of family and friends. Brody, Poland, July 1943–March 1944.
Article
Children's Diaries during the Holocaust
Media Essay
Children's Diaries during the Holocaust - Photographs
Stanislava Roztropowicz kept a diary from 1943-1944. In it, she describes her family's decision to hide an abandoned Jewish girl, Sabina Heller (Kagan).  Sabina Kagan was an infant when SS mobile killing squads began rounding up Jews in her Polish village of Radziwillow in 1942. Her parents persuaded a local policeman to hide the family. The policeman, however, soon asked the Kagans to leave but agreed to hide baby Sabina. Her parents were captured and killed. Sabina was concealed in a dark basement, with minimal food and clothing. She was discovered and taken in by the Roztropowicz family in 1943. This is the front cover of the diary kept by Stanislava, one of Sabina's rescuers. Stanislava recorded events of the war, updates on the eldest Roztropowicz child who was in forced labor, and the progress of Sabina, whom the family decided to call "Inka."
Artifact
Cover of Stanislava Roztropowicz's diary
Timeline Event
“Czech Family Camp” at Auschwitz Liquidated
Group portrait of teenage boys in the Lodz ghetto. Dawid Sierakowiak is in the 3rd row, 4th from right. Dawid kept a diary from before the war where he meticulously noted not only events but also his own feelings, moods, and opinions. Dawid was an avid reader and an excellent observer.
Article
Dawid Sierakowiak

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