Dear Ellie,
The last time I saw you were still just a little
boy. I'm sure if your reading this that you have grown much since then and
endured a lot throughout your life. I hope that the war is over and that both
you and your father are safe. I love you dearly. For me and your sister we are
not so lucky. After we were separated earlier this morning, both me
and Tzipora had met are end. I sit here on the verge of my own death and all
that is going through my mind is you and your father. I hope and pray that you
will sometime receive this message and when you do that times have changed and
you have made it out of this place alive. I know that you are strong and will
endure through to the end, helping your father who you love so dearly along the
way. You must not be weakened by the thoughts of your sister and I, but rather
strengthened. Have faith in your family and your religion. For it will carry
you through to the end. No matter what they take away from you, don’t let them
take away your faith and dignity. For once that is gone, you will have no more
and you will be no more. What these horrible people are doing to our culture
and religion is just obscene. Oh how I wish that losing my life would help you
to survive, but I am not assured that it will. I hope and pray in my few last
minutes on this earth that you will receive this letter someday in a better
world than we are in now and a more peaceful one. I remember that last words
that the officers spoke that tore us apart. He had said eight simple words,
"Men to the left! Women to the right!"(p.29) Who would think that
eight simple elementary words could be the end of us and could tear us apart at
the middle. Sending you and your father to a place the equivalent of hell and
me and Tzipora to our graves, the crematorium. The end is near; I don’t have
much time so my last words to you are that I love you not only as your mother
but as your family and your faith. Oh how I wish to give you my little strength
I have left to help you survive, to help you escape to a better life to a world
of peace and harmony. They are coming now so I must say my last goodbye. I love
you Eliezer, and you must never forget that....
Love,
Mom and Tzipora
Dear Mom and Tzipora,
ReplyDeleteThankfully I have received your letter. I know you'll never be able to read this, seeing that you aren't with us any longer, but it comforts me to write this anyway. Dad is gone now, too, so just writing this to you comforts me. It comforts me greatly - maybe you'll even be able to read it. Of course you won't be able to receive it physically, but I want you to still hear these thoughts I wish I could express to you. Maybe with God's help, you'll get my message. I don't know. Just a thought. Anyways, enough about that. The rest of my traumatizing journey in the concentration camps was absolutely agonizing. It took everything in my power to hang in there. But, I knew I had to survive. I just had to - for you two and Dad...... As you must know, losing Dad made living so much more difficult. I am an orphan now. But don't worry about that, Mom. I'll find my way.
Being in Auschwitz really altered my mind set. I've had a lot of time to think. Although many of the Auschwitz survivors feel incredible amounts of hatred and bitterness, but not I. I realized that everyone is human. Those SS officers may have tortured me, but they weren't completely filled evil. "They had families...that they loved" just like us. Besides, why should I pass on all of that hatred and tormenting that so many innocent people had to suffer through? That's not how it works. The hatred needs to stop here. Which brings me to the last thing I wanted to tell you. - I've been writing down somethings I remember from Auschwitz because lately it's all I can think about. So, I was thinking, maybe I should publish it into a book. That way others in generations to come will be able to read it. I do NOT want this to be swept under the rug. It was a tragic event that humans need to learn from, or how else will we know that history won't repeat itself? We don't know that and it terrifies me. Do you think I should try and write it as a book? I just want to make you proud. I love you so much. I really hope you get this message.
-Eliezer