چهارشنبه، سیزدهم ژانویه ۱۹۴۳

CHAPTER TEN

Wednesday, 13 January 1943

Terrible things are happening outside. People are being pulled out of their homes and arrested. They have to leave with only a small bag and a little money, but even that is stolen from them.

Families are separated. When children come home from school, their parents have disappeared. The sons of Christian families in Holland are also sent to Germany. Everyone is frightened. Every night, there are air raids.

Hundreds of aeroplanes fly over Holland to drop bombs on German cities. Every hour, hundreds or maybe thousands of people are killed in Russia and Africa.

The whole world is at war. Although the Allies are doing better now, the end of the war is nowhere in sight.

We are luckier than millions of people. It is quiet and safe here. We have money to buy food. We’re selfish - we talk about ‘after the war’, and we look forward to new clothes and shoes. But we should save our money to share with others later.

The children round here only have thin shirts and wooden shoes - no coats or socks. There is no one to help them. They are always hungry, and ask people on the streets for bread.

I could tell you more about the suffering that the war has brought, but it would make me too sad. All we can do is to wait patiently until it is over.

Saturday, 27 February 1943

Pim thinks there will be an invasion by the Allies at any time now. Churchill was seriously ill, but now he’s getting better.

We are sharing our butter a different way now. Everyone gets their own piece on their own plate. But it’s not done right - the van Daans make breakfast for everyone, and give themselves the biggest share of the butter.

My parents are too frightened to argue, unfortunately.

Wednesday, 10 March 1943

I could hear the guns all last night. I am always frightened of shooting, and I usually climb into Father’s bed to feel safe. The guns are really loud, and you can’t hear your own voice.

One night, there were strange noises inside the Annexe. Peter went up to the attic and found - guess what? An army of enormous rats!