Notebook containing a diary written in pencil and in pen. Austria and Germany, July 1943 through 1945. German.
A first hand shuddering testimony, by a young woman, whose name is not clear from the diary (possibly her name was Erna), native of Brunn, Czechoslovakia.
The diary was written in labor camps and in Bergen Belsen concentration camp, in a simple copybook, at first in pencil and the last leaves were written in pen. Dating is general and only here and there appears a specific date. The writer delineates in detail different happenings, clings to memories common to her and to her beloved one ("addressee" of the texts), and hopes with all her heart to stay alive and unite with him when war ends. A recurrent motif throughout the diary is that past memories and hopes for the future fill her with superhuman forces to survive the present.
First part: Description of forced labor in slavery conditions in Austria, trips in cattle wagons, and malnutrition.
The second part was written mainly in Bergen Belsen. The writer tells about the day of arrival in the camp as a particularly difficult day: a march of seven kilometers with thousands of people, and arrival at the camp of 70,000 people. At first she struggles for a place to sleep but later is appointed as a "Blockleiter" – in charge of a bloc. Her position grants her different rights and she notes that she is happy with her role and that she is the only woman fulfilling this role; now, according to what is said in the diary, she suffers less than others and even is complimented for her good looks. The last half leaf – in pencil – she writes with much pain about the hunger, despair, lack of force, and the great love for her beloved one. 68 pp, 55 written pages. Fair condition, two detached leaves, spotting to cover.