An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-43

"Unless every smallest detail in your daily life is in harmony with the high ideals you profess, then those ideals have no meaning."

Etty was a Jew living in Holland during the time of the Holocaust. She starts writing as a way to explore and document her inner life after she begins seeing a therapist (who later becomes her lover and has a physical relationship with her from day one as part of the "therapy" -- yeah, you can probably guess what I think of HIS ethics . . .). At any rate, whenever I read journals like this I'm astounded at the writers' ability to write so much and so clearly about their lives. I feel like I was reading this journal at just the right time and I saw a lot of myself in Etty, although I think that when you show more strip anyone down to her most personal self, we all are able to relate. Because this book was about Etty's exploration of her own heart and soul, and as the book wore on, her relationship with God, you didn't have to worry too much about keeping characters straight because they seemed incidental on Etty's personal journey. About halfway through the book, the tone of the book changes really drastically as Etty begins to fear for the situation of Jews. Her change in consciousness happens so quickly that if this would have been fiction, I would have found the leap from "safety to danger" a bit unbelievable and asked for more buildup. But I think Etty was a person who just didn't bother with politics, and so when the politics DID start affecting her and those she loved personally, it did feel very abrupt, even though a different journaler may have been chronicling such things all along.

While there were many aspects of Etty's character I related to, there are also parts of her character I couldnt' relate to at all--I guess because I've never been faced with something like she's faced. In Anne Frank's diary, I could imagine the fear the Franks must've felt every time they thought someone would discover them. Etty waits out in the open and does not try to escape being shipped to the camps--in fact, when she gets a pardon, she refuses to take it because she feels it's "unjust" for her not to suffer the way the rest of her people are suffering. Although, now that I think of it, I may have come to a similar conclusion if I knew that all those I loved would also be going . . . who can say how we'd react when faced with something like that. Hopefully we'll never know.

The entire journal is written outside of the camps, but at the end of the journal there's an appendix with letters that Etty wrote from within Westerbork, a "final stop" on the way to Auschwitz. This was the most haunting part of the book, because after getting to know Etty through her journal, now you see her as a real person and she writes about the people around her in the camp as real as well. It was a chance to see that part of history--inside the camps--in a way that I've never experienced before and probably never will again. No fiction or movie can capture all the little nuances--the inmates who stayed cheerful till the end up against those w ho broke down immediately, the clothes, the cots, the people who went around "caring" for the Jews, the rapport (!?) they had with the German soldiers . . . it would feel contrived anywhere else, which is why I'm thankful I got to see it through a real person's eyes. show less

Breaks my heart every time I read it.

NO OF PAGES: 226 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: This diary sets out the story of a twenty-seven-year-old woman from Amsterdam. They cover the years 1941 and 1942, years of war and oppression for Holland, but for Etty a time of personal growth and, paradoxically enough, of personal liberation.NOTES: SUBTITLE: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941 - 1943

NO OF PAGES: 287 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Etty Hillesum was born in Middleburgh on 15 January 1914. She died in Auschwitz on 30 November 1943. As the dark night of Nazism descended upon Europe, she kept this extraordinary moving diary. It bears witness to Etty Hillesum's faith in life.NOTES: SUBTITLE: Etty Hillesum - Born 1914 Died Auschwitz 1943

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¿Quién era Etty Hillesum? ¿De dónde surge la atracción por sus escritos? Fue una persona que eligió voluntariamente la deportación, una judía que se solidariza con los demás perseguidos. La singularidad de su testimonio radica en su valor humano, ético y trascendental.
En todos sus textos puede percibirse la afirmación indefectible de la vida: «Me doy cuenta dice, que dondequiera que haya seres humanos, hay vida». Desde el convoy de la muerte y el exterminio que la lleva a Auschwitz con su familia y 938 personas más, arroja una tarjeta-postal con estas palabras: «Vosotros me esperaréis, ¿verdad?». Ésta es, pues, la labor del lector, quien a través de estos textos recobra la memoria y el testimonio de su vida, tan show more patente en su palabra. Ella nos abre constantemente una esperanza en las cegueras de la historia. show less

A 9 de Março de 1941, quando Esther (Etty) Hillesum começou a escrever, no primeiro dos oito cadernos de papel quadriculado, o texto que viria a ser o seu Diário, estava-se longe de pensar que começava aí uma das aventuras literárias e espirituais mais significativas do século. Ela tinha vinte sete anos de idade e morreria sem ter feito trinta.
CRÍTICAS DE IMPRENSA
«Este é o livro mais importante que apareceu em português em 2008.»
João Bénard da Costa, Público
«Há textos que são a transformação de uma vida. O "Diário" é um desses textos.»
Alexandra Lucas Coelho, Público
EXCERTOS
«Foi novamente como se a Vida, com todos os seus segredos, estivesse próxima de mim, como se eu a pudesse tocar… E ali sentia-me show more imensamente segura e protegida. E pensei: «Como isto é est ranho. É guerra. Há campos de concentração. Pequenas crueldades amontoam-se por cima de pequenas crueldades. Quando caminho pelas ruas, sei que, em muitas das casas por onde passo, há ali um filho preso, e ali um pai refém, e ali têm de suportar a condenação à morte de um rapaz de dezoito anos.» E estas ruas e casas ficam perto da minha própria casa.
Sei do grande sofrimento humano que se vai acumulando, sei das perseguições e da opressão… Sei de tudo isso e continuo a enfrentar cada pedaço de realidade que se me impõe. E num momento inesperado, abandonada a mim própria — encontro-me de repente encostada ao pei to nu da Vida e os braços dela são muito macios e envolvem-me, e nem sequer consigo descrever o bater do seu coração: tão fiel como se nunca mais findasse…» show less