Helga Weiss

The remarkable diary of a young girl who survived the Holocaust—appearing in English for the first time. In 1939, Helga Weiss was a young Jewish schoolgirl in Prague. Along with some 45,000 Jews living in the city, Helga’s family endured the first wave of the Nazi invasion: her father was denied work; she was forbidden from attending regular school. As Helga witnessed the increasing Nazi brutality, she began documenting her experiences in a diary. In 1941, Helga and her parents were sent to the concentration camp of Terezín. There, Helga continued to write with astonishing insight about her daily life: the squalid living quarters, the cruel rationing of food, and the executions—as well as the moments of joy and hope that persisted in even the worst conditions. In 1944, Helga and her family were sent to Auschwitz. Before she left, Helga’s uncle, who worked in the Terezín records department, hid her diary and drawings in a brick wall. Miraculously, he was able to reclaim them for her after the war. Of the 15,000 children brought to Terezín and later deported to Auschwitz, only 100 survived. Helga was one of them. Reconstructed from her original notebooks, the diary is presented here in its entirety. With an introduction by Francine Prose, a revealing interview between translator Neil Bermel and Helga, and the artwork Helga made during her time at Terezín, Helga's Diary stands as a vivid and utterly unique historical document.

Helga's Diary: A Young Girl's Account of Life in a Concentration Camp

In 1938, when her diary begins, Helga is eight years old. Alongside her father and mother and the 45,000 Jews who live in Prague, she endures the Nazi invasion and regime- her father is denied work, schools are closed to her, she and her parents are confined to their flat. Then deportations begin, and her friends and family start to disappear. In 1941, Helga and her parents are sent to the concentration camp of Terezin, where they live for three years. Here Helga documents their daily life - the harsh conditions, disease and suffering, as well as moments of friendship, creativity and hope - until, in 1944, they are sent to Auschwitz. Helga leaves her diary behind with her uncle, who bricks it into a wall to preserve it. Helga's father is never heard of again, but miraculously Helga and her mother survive the horrors of Auschwitz and the gruelling transports of the last days of the war, and manage to return to Prague. As Helga writes down her experiences since Terezin, completing the diary, she is fifteen and a half. She is one of only a tiny number of Czech Jews who have survived. Reconstructed from her original notebooks, which were later retrieved from Terezin, and from the loose-leaf pages on which Helga wrote after the war, the diary is presented here in its entirety, accompanied by an interview with Helga and illustrated with the paintings she made during her time at Terezin. As such, Helga's Diaryis one of the most vivid and comprehensive testimonies written during the Holocaust ever to have been recovered.

A Young Girl's Account of Life in a Concentration Camp

Helga's Diary

Il diario di Helga. La testimonianza di una ragazza nei campi di Terezìn e Auschwitz

Calcula-se que das 15.000 crianças que passaram pelo campo de internamento de Terezín, na antiga Tchecoslováquia, apenas 100 chegaram com vida ao fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Helga Weiss, uma dessas raras sobreviventes, é autora de um dos mais comoventes testemunhos do Holocausto. Em 1938, por ocasião da ocupação nazista de seu país, a menina de 8 anos, filha de um bancário e uma costureira, começou a escrever em um caderno suas impressões. Textos e desenhos registram com o olhar infantil tudo que aconteceu com sua família, desde a segregação dos judeus ainda em Praga até a desumana rotina de privações e doenças de Terezín, onde um carro fúnebre fazia frequentemente o transporte de gêneros alimentícios. Depois de três anos em Terezín, Helga e sua mãe viveram uma tétrica peregrinação por campos de extermínio como Auschwitz, quando a garota escapou por pouco da câmara de gás. Ao final da guerra, Helga, então com 15 anos, acrescentou o relato dessa experiência a seu diário. Em cada palavra e desenho, há uma lembrança de um passado que não pode ser esquecido. Artista plástica respeitada, Helga Weiss, 83 anos, vive em Praga, no mesmo apartamento em que morou com os pais antes da deportação.

O diário de Helga

Helga Weiss begint in 1939 als tienjarig meisje met het bijhouden van een dagboek. Ze schrijft over het begin van de oorlog in haar woonplaats Praag, waar door de sancties van de nazi's het leven voor de Joden steeds moeilijker wordt. Ze mag niet meer naar school, haar vader verliest zijn baan en steeds meer familieleden en vrienden verdwijnen. Ze wordt met haar ouders naar het getto van Theresienstadt gestuurd.

het oorlogsdagboek van een Joods meisje

Het begon met een ster

Als Helga 1939 ihr Tagebuch beginnt, ist sie noch ein Kind. Der Einmarsch der Deutschen in Prag und die antisemitische Brutalität der Nationalsozialisten reißen sie aus ihrer heilen Welt: Ihr Vater darf nicht mehr arbeiten, die Schule ist ihr plötzlich verschlossen, sie darf die Wohnung nicht verlassen, Freunde und Verwandte verschwinden. Als schließlich auch Helgas Familie deportiert wird, erst nach Theresienstadt, später nach Auschwitz, spendet ihr das Tagebuch Trost und Kraft. Wie durch ein Wunder überleben Mutter und Tochter die Transporte, das Lager und die Todesmärsche der letzten Kriegstage - und mit ihnen dieses einzigartige Zeitzeugnis.

Ein Mädchen, das Auschwitz überlebt hat

Und doch ein ganzes Leben

»Helgas dagbok är en mycket viktig och omskakande bok. Betyget blir 10/10.« Dagensbok.com »Denna gripande bok utgör en lika självklar läsning som Anne Franks dagbok!« Bibliotekstjänst »En sådan här bok bör egentligen inte recenseras. Den ska bara läsas av alla.« Bloggen Holavedsbrudar När Helga Weiss börjar skriva dagbok 1938 är hon nio år gammal och bor i Prag. Hennes familj drabbas hårt av nazisternas invasion, och det dagliga livet blir alltmer märkt av nya lagar, ofrihet och tvång. När dagboken avslutas är Helga femton år och har mirakulöst överlevt de fruktansvärda förhållandena i koncentrationslägren Theresienstadt och Auschwitz. Helgas dagbok är ett skrämmande och gripande dokument över Förintelsens fasor. Likt Anne Franks dagbok är den en unik och viktig ögonvittnesskildring, men med skillnaden att Helga överlevde – och lever än idag. Efter kriget blev hon en av Tjeckiens mest erkända konstnärer. Helgas dagbok är illustrerad med Helgas egna teckningar som hon gjorde under sin tid i fångenskap. Rättigheterna till boken har sålts till sjutton länder hittills.

Helga Weiss

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