Auschwitz: Journal Entry Of A Holocaust Survivor

Spring, 1943
It’s been three months since i have arrived in Auschwitz, i haven't turned to my journal in a while but tonight i felt the need to. I woke up in the middle of the night to screaming , i look around me to see if anybody else heard what i heard, some of the inmates in my barracks were standing near the doors to find out what had happened. Several gunshots fired around us woke up the whole camp , i hear two ss guards outside my barracks speaking about two jewish males that died trying to escape auschwitz , they continue speaking about the two males for a very long time. The two ss guards finally end their conversation , so i climb back into my bunk and try to get some rest. It has been two weeks since that night, a lot has happened …show more content…
it is heartbreaking to see families come in to auschwitz thinking that they will be safe from the war, it is even more devastating when they find out that making a bad decision, could result in ending their life. I cherish the moments that give me strength, without these moments, i wouldn't have the power to wake up everyday and fight through the challenges i am given by the world. Two weeks have passed since my recent journal entry, it is now august the third , i felt the need to turn to my journal today, i am apart of the Kanada Kommando, i work in a warehouse separating the belongs of inmates who have been transferred to auschwitz. A Lot of the inmates who work in the warehouse with me find a way to smuggle their valuables , most of us find extra food to eat and we also find clothes and new pairs of shoes to wear, it is a risk to do these things so we try not to get caught . today in the warehouse, one of the inmates named emma was caught stealing food, two ss guards searched her pockets and her barracks for any other evidence , they found two golden earrings in her pocket and some bread slices in her barracks. The two ss guards escorted her out of the warehouse, they made an announcement to the whole camp, we gathered outside the barracks while they lined up several inmates against the firing wall. Many of the inmates against the firing wall were accused of stealing, the ss guards shot each of the inmates one by one and made sure we watched them be put to their deaths. After the ss guards were done killing the inmates, they made an announcement saying ‘’ if you want to live then you don't make the same mistakes these people did’’ ‘’ these bodies show you what will happen if you make the same mistakes’’. I stood in shock , staring at the bodies on the ground in front of me , i told myself to not worry