The Holocaust: Through the Eyes of a Doll
By Christina J.
I am made of porcelain, and I belonged to Helan. She was five years
old, and ever since her second birthday, we had been inseparable. Everyday
before lunch, we crossed the street and played on the local playground.
At the playground we enjoyed the sliding board and the swings. When lunch
time arrived, Helan's mother, Anna, would call us from their front porch
to tell us it was time to eat. After lunch, Anna would read us a story
and then tuck us in for a nap. Then one day our routine was interrupted
by a group of soldiers. They knocked on the door and demanded that Helan's
family wear yellow stars on their clothing. Because Helan's family was
Jewish, they were considered bad and made to wear stars so everybody would
know that they were different. Then Anna was told that anyone who was Jewish
was forbidden to go to the local markets and buy their necessities. Anna
immediately came upstairs to tell us the bad news. She told us that we
were not allowed to play at the public playground anymore or were not supposed
to play with any children that didn't have stars on their clothes. Then
she told us to go back to sleep and try to dream of happier times.
Even though we were suppose to be napping, I laid awake and over
heard Anna speaking about the camp that we would soon be leaving for. As
she was talking to Helan's father, Anna said that we would not have a choice
in the decision and would have to leave immediately. The next morning a
soldier came to take us away. He took us to the train station and made
us board a cattle-car. It was smelly, damp, and crowded. The trip took a
long time and many people became sick since we were unprotected from the
cold weather and rain. Finally, the train arrived at camp Auschwitz, where
the Nazi soldiers committed unspeakable acts against all the Jewish people.
First, they made them strip off all their clothing and sprayed them with
white solution. The spray was supposed to kill and get rid of body lice.
Then the soldiers put the Jewish people into small cold cells. Helan and
her family were not fed for an entire day. The following day the soldiers
came and ripped me from Helan's arms. I was never to see her again.
As the soldier carried me away, I could see other soldiers
carrying other toys. Then we came to a court yard that held the belongings
of the Jewish people that were in the camp. There were piles every where.
I was thrown into a pile that contained only toys. All the toys belonging
to the Jewish children of the camp were placed in this pile. Surrounding
the toy piles were piles of clothing, shoes, glasses, and every personal
item imaginable. The Jewish people in the camp had every possession taken
away from them and they were left with nothing. All the piles remained
there throughout the war until the camp was discovered and taken over by
the Allied forces. Once the items were gathered up, they went to storage.
The personal items that were not claimed after the war remained in storage
for a long time.
Some years later, after the war, I was discovered and placed in a
museum. The museum is dedicated in memory of those induviduals who died
and survived World War II and the Holocaust. I guess that I, too, am a
survivor of the horrible ordeal, which was experienced by millions of Jewish
people.
Christina J.
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