8/06/2011

Book Log for September 2011: Due Thursday, Sep. 29th

Book Log #1:


Directions:
You must read a book either non-fiction or fiction that has to do with WWII. It must be at least 200 pages. If you have any questions about a book, please bring it to class before the assignment is due, so that I can approve it.

Activity:
* Write a summary (1 paragraph, 5-7 sentences) of your book.
* Pretend that you are a 13 year old teenager during this time. Write 1-2 paragraphs (5-14 sentences) diary entry describing a typical day of hiding with your family from the Nazis. Use detailed description of where you live, what the conditions are like, imagine what you would do for fun. This is your time to be creative and use some of the information you learned from your book to write a good diary entry.

Due:
Thursday, September 29th

53 comments:

  1. Anonymous13/9/11

    Hi,
    This is Mrs. Johnson!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous17/9/11

    Hi,
    This is pear!
    1) I read a book called Clara's war. It's about a teenage girl who is a Jew and went to hide in a bunker to hide from going to concentration camps. How she move to many hiding places and how she lost her family and friends. Also how she survived in the war, how she have a better life after the war and the braveness of her believing that she can survive from the war without her sister, friends and family.
    2)Dear diary,
    I am alone, in the middle of no where, the darkness is coming and I am shivering while I'm waiting for it. My father and mother were dead from the Nazi's. Me and my friend were the one's left. I am in Poland and the climate is cold, dark and sad. I was in my blanket in the liar, thinking about my birthday and how I couldn't share it with my family. But I decided to forget about it and focus on what's going to happen if I go outside.But after the war I'm still alive and brave from the darkness I was in to and I now see the light that shines like an angel have saved me.
    The End!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jonathan17/9/11

    1

    Band Of Brothers is a historical non-fiction book that tells about the struggles of E Company fighting against Germans. The men in this book were Reckless and Rude people. They looted too many German cameras and watches and fought too often with each other. But in training they found the closest brotherhood they have ever experienced. They found that in war, men who loved life would give their lives for them. They were well trained by the hateful Sobel and their favorite leader Richard Winters. They trained for two years. They went parachuting out of C-47s They had bomb practices and marched two whole nights with full gear on. They survived deaths, experienced deaths and fought for their comrades. Webster, who grew up to be a novelist, wrote to his parents, "We look after each other and shouldn't be surprised if someone gets gunned in the face in front of us. If everyone had your attitude, Who would fight for us?"
    The men in E Company suffered cold climates, lived in foxholes, and fought a German army with each other. Mike Ranney wrote: "In thinking back on the days of Easy Company I'm treasuring my remark to a grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in war?'
    "'No,' I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes.'"

    2


    May 8th, 1945
    At night

    I was running with fires and trucks all around me. Heavy footsteps were all around me. I turned a corner and kept running. I didn't care where I was running, I just wanted to get away from those men. What I did was a mistake. I turned another corner of a building and crashed over a sleeping soldier on a chair. We both sprawled on the ground. I quickly got up and the man was grunting and getting awake. He grabbed his rifle and saw me. My my back arched backwards and my legs started running faster. I ran to a door and turned the knob. My hand slipped off the knob and my shoulder crashed into the door. I opened the door, shut it and ran into the room.
    There was wooden stacked bunks in the room and I ran underneath one. The man with the rifle ran into the room with his rifle. His chest was heaving and he paced slowly around the room. He stopped in front of the bunk on top of me. I shifted deeper into the bunk. I heard a click! on his gun. His feet seemed to be standing there. My right shoulder throbbing. Suddenly a hand shoved in a took my right arm and yanked. A stab of pain went though my arm as I was being pulled violently up. I yelped and threw my left fist aimlessly through the air. It made contact with something soft. The grip around my arm lessened and I yanked my arm away and pain jabbed at my arm again. I got up and the man was clutching his face. I yanked open the door and ran out.
    I kept running and running. Gunshots were all around me. I shut my eyes tight and ran faster than I ever ran in my life. Footsteps were around me. I kept running. Soon I felt grass under my feet, but i didn't stop. I crashed into a tree and my arm ached again. I lay sprawled on the ground as I clutched my shoulder. I lay their as tears came out my eyes. After what seemed like a minute I nodded off.


    May 9th, 1945
    In the morning

    I was walking through a forest, trying to find my way to a road-anything, anywhere, Anywhere I'm not lost. I heard some vehicles. I started to jerk back and run away. I stopped to listen the sound. It didn't sound like the trucks like last night. I ran towards the sound and saw giant green tanks and trucks slowly driving slowly along with about a hundred people walking down the road. Everyone seemed relieved. I spotted two faces in the crowd, "Mom! Dad!"
    I ran towards them and they embraced me with kisses and hugs. Finally, the war was over.


    April 5th, 1978

    As I'm reading this again, I think back at how scary it was. Especially the blind running. As I think about it, I think, 'How much God has blessed me.'

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous17/9/11

    Ieuan Owen
    English 7A


    1) I read the first book in the 'Zion Covenant' series, called 'Vienna Prelude'. This book is about a young female violinist called Elisa, and how she suffers/survives the Nazi threat to Jews in Europe in the late 1930's. Elisa is very beautiful, which means she attracts a lot of male admirers. Throughout the book she is constantly switching between them, and causing herself and the men a lot of grief. Despite this it is definitely not a soppy romance book, it is actually very exciting. Elisa lives in Vienna where she plays for a big orchestra with other Jewish instrumentalists. Secretly though she lives under a Czechoslovakian passport, which her financially well-off father paid for. Her father lives in Berlin, where he is keenly watched by the Gestapo. After trying to escape Germany, on a two-week holiday permit with his daughter he gets taken away to “discuss” some things but ends up in the 'hell house' of Dachau, a concentration camp just outside Munich. Before and after her father is taken away, Elisa meets American reporter, John Murphy. He is not only featured in this book though for his relationship with Elisa, he is also a key character for his attempts to warn the world of the impending German threat to Austria. Elisa and her friends and family, after having given many young Jewish children passage to Palestine, find themselves in the end having to escape the Nazis as well, as they take over Austria.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous17/9/11

    Ieuan Owen
    English 7A
    Part 2


    This is my Diary Entry.
    2) Wednesday, December 27th 1938, Judenplatz Vienna, Austria.
    I'm still stuck in this clever little cupboard compartment down in the cellar of my Uncle Franz's coffee shop. I've been in here for two days now, since Christmas day in the afternoon. With only my pencil and notebook that I got for Christmas, and enough bread and water to last me for 3 days.
    Some German soldiers had come just as we were starting our Christmas pudding, and said we were to go with them to a lovely place, because it was Christmas. I heard this because I listened through the door of the dining room, when they came. Daddy rushed in looking very worried, as he whisked me away out of the dining room into the kitchen and then down into the cellars. He put me in this hiding place, and said that if he was not back in a couple of days I should come out quietly and carefully, and to get some food and water, and then try and get as far away from there as I could. Well, it has been a couple of days, so here goes.
    Friday, December 29th 1938, Innsbruck Tyrol, Austria
    When I had finished up the remains of the kitchen larder, I had crept through to the dining room and then into the living room. It was there that reality struck me.
    The day that I had been put in the secret hiding place by Dad, I had sort of figured that the Nazi soldiers weren't really gonna do something nice. I had just thought that Dad had put me in the compartment just to be on the safe side. But now I understand completely. They were being taken away for good.
    Tables were overturned, chairs smashed. The front garden was even worse. Mum's lovely rows of flowers, and..... It makes me sick to think about it so I won't write much more. The streets were a mess as well! I didn't need to heed Dad's warning over the matter. The one place I didn't want to be at that moment was there!
    Once I was out of the Judenplatz I slowed my pace to a brisk walk wishing away the tears that flowed freely from my eyes. It started to rain, I ran for cover at St. Stephan's Cathedral. After I had stopped crying and the rain had ceased off a bit I trotted on out, onto the almost bare streets. I stole a pastry from a bakery and then ran off with a string of sausages. Sadly though a pack of snarling dogs took all but one of them. Knowing that I would soon get caught if I lingered around, I jogged to the train station which was the only public transportation there really was in Vienna. Just as one was leaving I got on and quickly hid in the bathroom. Later I found out that it was the ladies, but oh well. When I got off I was here. I am writing from another bathroom, the public ones in a big shopping centre. Thankfully though, I checked, and these are the men's.
    My cousins Otto, and Marta live in the mountains near here, so I will try and find them. I will go with the hope of finding them, and then we can play with Uncle Karl's brilliant wooden carvings! His must be the best in all the world's! Me and Otto will play war with them, and then big Marta will come along, and tell us not to be so violent. So then she will play house and farm with them, with us. My favourites are the big proud horses, and the little baby pigs. Oh and he even carved one that looks just like himself. Uncle Karl really is a genius. He captures so many feelings and thoughts all into one little piece of basswood or tupelo. First though I need to 'spend a Pfennig'.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous19/9/11

    Emma Bailey 7A


    “The Watchmakers Daughter” by Jean Watson.

    1. Corrie Ten Boom lived a perfectly normal life in Holland. She loved to help others and was very kind. But her happy life in Holland was taken away from her when she was taken to a Nazi concentration camp. In the concentration camp life was just survival, and hardship. God helped Corrie survive through the hardest moments and she didn’t give up faith.
    Read this book if you like books about love, faith and adventure.



    1942, December 7th

    I was afraid. My little brother was sleeping beside me and I could hear the men shouting in the night. The Nazis were looking for Jews. Mother and Father had told us to sleep in the secret room tonight, I didn’t know why.
    I pulled the thin blanket around me and closed my eyes.
    I awoke with a start. I could hear banging down stairs and my mother was screaming. My heart was pounding as I crept out of bed and listened through the walls.
    “No, no, please… don’t take us,” I heard my mother beg.

    “Are you related to any Jews?”said the Nazi man, ignoring my mother.

    “No,” my father lied. My Grandmother was half Jewish.

    “Don’t believe him, just take e’m,” barked the man.

    “No, no…,”wailed my mother

    The door slammed shut. Tears streamed down my face as I walked slowly back over to my little brother. I pushed my brown curly hair out of my face and shivered. It was nearly morning and my brother stirred. I crept over to him and shook him.

    “Time to get up,” I said trying to sound cheerful. He rubbed his eyes with his small hands and sat up.

    “Where’s Mama?” he asked.

    “Ummm, she and Daddy have gone away,”

    “No, I want Mama now!” he screamed, starting to cry.

    I frantically looked around for his toy train, it anyone heard us up here we were dead. I found it and handed it to him. He was happy and smiling as soon as he saw it.

    That’s what life is like now. I keep my brother happy with my lies and I worry about how we are going to survive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous19/9/11

    My book was about a Japanese American who went to prison because he didn’t want to join the army. His name is John Okada. The book is a very detailed explanation of how messed up and depressing the time was.
    The book starts with him just having gotten out of prison after two years because of not joining the army. On his way back he meets his old friend, Eto, who is American and got really mad at him for not going into the army. He gets home just to find his dad drunk and his mom the same stubborn old lady that she used to be. Japan mailed all the Japanese Americans that Japan had won the war. His mom believed the mail and was getting packed up to go. His dad on the other hand didn’t believe the card because he had seen some pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He goes out and spends a lot of time partying with his friends. I don’t want to ruin the end so I will say no more.
    If I were a German Jew and had to go hide, I would run to Switzerland and hide deep in the Alps. I would hide in a cave or find a good freshwater spring and build a hut. I would hunt for food, and learn how to fend for myself. I would bring a guitar, and maybe a small ball to play soccer with. I would keep a journal on how I survived and would learn as much as I could about our neighboring animals. I would keep track of the days with my journal and with tick marks on the tree. I would sneak back to Germany every five years. I think that if anybody had pulled this off then we would have known a lot more about survival and about mountainous animals. And on the way, I might try to make friends with a dear or a rabbit or an owl or something.

    Rees 7A
    Book Report

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous19/9/11

    Saki
    English 7A
    1) The book, "Survivors-The Stories of Children in the Holocaust", features the true stories of 9 Jewish kids, who was put into danger as the Nazis invaded Europe. Many children were slaughtered, simply because they were Jew. One of the nine children, Luncia Gamzer, was an eight year old and lived in Poland during the 1930’s. She was a cheerful girl and had many friends. Her life was wonderful, until the Nazis came. – The stories tell us about how the children survived, how they believed in themselves that they will make it through this terrible world, and how much love was important to everyone.
    2) Diary Entry-
    May 6th 1945, Peiskretscham Germany
    I don’t know how long this will last. How were we ever going to survive in a barn of nowhere, with a chicken that lay eggs, a bucket that catches rain drops, a pencil and a purple handkerchief I’m writing on? Since my sister and I ran off from Berlin for our lives, after our parents got shot by the Nazis with their bloody rifles, we were always running and traveling, every day and night, till we got here. We were exhausted by the time we got here, dying of hunger. Thanks to my sister, Lucy, we didn’t die, but found this little cozy barn.
    We just ate our only meal; raw eggs from the chicken, and water. Lucy, a nine year old, is always playing with her little woodlouses, and turning them into little cute balls. I usually watch the mice go insane chasing little ants, or juggle the woodlouse-balls. Today, Lucy and I made our mice try to get the dried corns, jumping up and down. – The haystacks were running out, the chickens were eating them because they had nothing left to eat. We couldn’t kill the chicken or we’d have no eggs. But, no haystacks meant no warmth. If I didn’t get any information about the war ever ending in 2 days, Lucy and I will have to go and find another cozy place to live. 2days. I hope the war will end.
    May 7th 1945
    I woke up early. The sun wasn’t up yet and I decided to go eavesdropping and steal newspapers for news. I rushed to the first post box I saw. There was a newspaper in it. The article said “Amerikaner Kommen” (Americans Comes). The Americans were winning the war. This meant a lot to me, the war is going to end soon. Maybe it could be tomorrow. People started to go to work, and I heard people talking about the Germans starting to kill all the Jews who were sent to “concentration camps”. I rushed back to the barn and woke up Lucy. She hugged me of grief when I told her about the Jews getting killed, but smiled when she knew we were going to be free soon. We spent the rest of the day playing tic-tac-toe with sticks on the ground, and playing with eggshells making a tower.
    May 8th 1945
    This time I woke up quite late, but that didn’t matter. Lucy was jumping up and down, shouting nonsense words. The only words I understood were “Free” and “America”. After I made her calm down, she explained everything to me. “We are free from the Germans” tears started pouring down her cheeks. “We are liberated”. I was in shock for a moment and my eyes also started to fill up with tears. Not the tears of depression, like when my parents got shot. It was the tears of joy. I grabbed Lucy’s hand and walked out the barn and saw many other Jews, looking up at the sun like it was the first time they ever did.
    We were free. The war was over.

    ReplyDelete
  9. umm
    Cen
    7B?
    1.I read Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata. The story is about a 12 year old Japanese-American girl mamed Sumiko. She and her younger brother, Tak-Tak, live with their uncle’s family since their parents died in a car accident. A few months after the children moved in, their uncle and grandfather were arrested and sent to a interment camp somewhere up north, while Sumiko and the rest of the family were temporarly moved to a camp that had formerly been a horse racing track. Later on the family was once again transported, but this time permanently to somewhere in Arizona. At the internment camp, Sumiko managed to make some friends and even made friends with a Native American boy.



    2.

    September 19, 1940
    I do not even know why am I even bother to write this down, maybe because I’m just bored and have nothing to do. Maybe I write because of the fact that if I were to go to a concentration camp and not survive, this writing would still be here to tell everyone what happened to me. I guess the answer could be either one.

    September 20, 1940
    The attic of this German’s house is getting more crowded every day as they accept more refugees. The more people there are means the more noise we will make, and it also means the more we will have to move around. These are the two main things that could get all of us killed. Also the heat and the smell up here is awful, makes me feels like gagging all the time.

    September 21, 1940
    The German owner has came up to the attic to tell us that the food supply has run out, so we were doomed. Even though the supply wasn’t much to start with, just a third of a loaf of bread was enough to keep me going. Well, actually, maybe we aren’t doomed after all. Some of the men up here have thought of a plan that might save us if it works, even though it’s really stupid and might getting them all killed. I guess it’s much better than sitting up here and starving. Their idea is to go out at night and steal some food from the German stores.

    September 22, 1940
    Most of the men returned successfully, all except for two who were caught by the Nazis. For the fact that most of them came back, it gave me the sense that there wasn’t many gaurds out there.Tonight, I’m going with them, and since I am a very fast person I will make it.

    Out side of the attic
    I was running. It was as if the Nazis were waiting for us to come out. They were waiting outside the door. As soon as we opened the door, the soldiers opened fire on us. I ran for my life. I did not mange to get to the next room before I heard the last solo gunshot ring out through the cold night air. I did not know where it went, at least not until I fell down onto the red carpet accepting the fact that I was wrong.

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  10. Anonymous23/9/11

    Judy

    1) The book that I read was called A Faraway Island. It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna, 12 year old Stephie Steiner and 8 year old Nellie are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam, then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden. Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings but Stephie has hard time living with her host family and she worries about her parents so much.
    2)My family and I are Jews. So since the World War II started we hid in a basement that my dad built underground. We kept lots of can foods in our basement. It was very dark in the basement because we had a little light bulb. We didn’t have any toys so we drew pictures on the ground with charcoal and we made traps for rats to fall in. when rats fall in we play with them by blocking their ways. One day I was so curious about the outside world so I peeked to see what’s going on in the outside world. When I peeked I saw huge tanks and lot’s of soldiers. I was very frightened. When the dinner was ready I went and eat some can food. It was very yummy. After eating dinner we went to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous23/9/11

    HELEN PARK
    7A

    1.”A FARAWAY ISLAND “by ANNIKA THOR
    Stephie was on the train with her sister. It was a long ride and they had huge luggage’s .When they got off the train they saw many kids of many ages and a small kid was crying for his mommy. That’s right; we were all escaping from the Nazis to Sweden. Stephie thought everything will be fine and when things got better their family will get together to move to the states. She thought. A lady was calling out names of children, and an adult would come forward and take them, but she called everyone except Stephie and her sister. When only both of them were left, they were saying something and the lady took them to a port and told them to ride the boat but the lady wasn’t going with them .After the long boat ride they reached a place where Stephie thought felt it as the end of the world. When they reached, they thought Stephie and her sister would live together, but it turned out that they are going to live separate. Stephie keeps sending her parent’s mails and asks them when will they get back together but there seems to be many problems in Germany, so the date seems to get delayed and delayed. It turns out that Stephie’s sister was enjoying her life in Sweden with all her friends. They both were safe from the Nazis even thought they were separated from their parents, but everything can’t be perfect for Stephie in Sweden, can it?




    2. December 25th 1948
    “Find and kill all the filthy Jews!” shouted the Nazis.
    ”I‘m scared.” wailed my little brother.
    “We are going to be fine in this secret underground room mommy and daddy made for us” I said.
    The only reason we are alive is because this room our parents made. They made this when the Nazis were acting a little weird against us, Jews. They were clever and nice. Yes, were. They died when the Nazis were taking them to Concentration camp. I bet they never knew that it would go as far as Death camp or at least Nazis killing all the Jews.
    “BANG, BANG, BANG.”Continuous gunshots could be heard from outside. My brother came closer and closer towards me.
    I wrapped my hands around his shoulders and said “Everything is going to be fine.”Even thought I said that, I wasn’t sure.
    A loud crash startled me. Then a voice shouted “Search everywhere!”
    After a few minutes another voice said”Sir! I found something!”
    The next thing I knew was that a Nazi was standing in front of me with a gun pointing towards my head and my brother crying.
    The man shouted, still pointing the gun, “Are you a Jew?”I said nothing.
    My brother started crying louder. He shouted again “ARE YOU A JEW?”I still said nothing and the next moment,he pulled the trigger.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous24/9/11

    Ryan German
    7A
    Book Report

    1)My book, Code talkers by Joseph Bruchac, is about the role that the Navajo Indians took in
    World War II. The story starts out with a grandpa, Ned Begay, telling the story of his experience in The Marines on the shores of Japan and South East Asia. It was interesting to me when he went to boot camp with some friends and even though boot camp is supposed to get you is shape so of the Navajos actually gained weight because they had lived a rough live on the frontier herding cattle sometimes not eating for several days at a time. Another thing I found interesting was when Ned was assigned to the invasion on Bougainville. They landed and made camp and dug foxholes but there was no resistance until the next morning when they found dropped equipment but it was rigged with explosives and exploded wounding 4 soldiers and also later lost 3 men when there was an ambush by a few remaining snipers and other soldiers. One of the many sad parts in my story was when Ned's radio cut out so he had to run the message to the next camp but when he came back he was caught by and American patrol and stabbed with a bayonet several times before a friend show up and made sure they didn't kill him because he looked Japanese.

    2)In a small cellar underneath a bombed out apartment building was a family and in that family was me ,Adam Fliski. I have been hiding here, only going out if my family was starving did I do odd jobs for rich people. Even though they pay me little to nothing my family can get by with it if I buy the old and almost rotten stuff that nobody wants well, besides me. Today was the closest to caught I hope I ever will be. I was almost caught by a Nazi patrol. It happened while I was digging though a dumpster, by the way people just don't throw any food away any more, anyway about the patrol I had to jump in the dumpster and hide under some really gross stuff, fortunately the soldiers were fairly drunk so they didn't see me as they chucked several empty beer bottles at me. Thankfully they didn't smash so I avoided a few cuts and bruises. But that was hours ago and Father says you have to live hour by hour minute by minute second by second so that we can survive this war.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nicole24/9/11

    Nicole Ford 7B
    1) My book is called Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl. This book is about Anne Frank’s life as a thirteen year old Jewish girl living in the time of the Holocaust. Her and her family is forced to go into hiding to avoid being captured by Nazis. At first, Anne is optimistic about the whole thing, but as things steadily grow worse,she is having a different outlook on life. Eventually, Anne starts to lose hope, thinking that the end of the war is more fairy-tale than reality.
    2) June 17th, 1941
    Dear Journal,
    As I lay awake on the cold stone floor of the cellar, with only a thin sheet as my bed, I thank God that I found you. What else would I have done at this time of night, when I am afraid to sleep because of nightmares, other than write in you? Each day I wake up wondering whether it will be my last. I am always hearing stories of more Jews being captured, and I fear I might be next. But I cannot give up hope, and the reason lies next to me, in the form of my six year old sister, Sarah. She is so young, so innocent, and she doesn’t deserve what’s happening. Our parents are dead, leaving me as her only guardian. It is only us here, and as I watch her sleep, tears threaten to spill over at the thought that if the Nazis find us, I can do nothing to protect her. I am only a child myself, after all. A year ago, I never would have imagined myself having to do this. I always thought that our parents would be here to protect Sarah and I. Now, looking back at my previous life, I could almost strangle myself for taking the love and freedom given to me for granted. For not cherishing every moment of every day. I must go now, for I am succumbing to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous25/9/11

    Shauna Gilchrist
    7A

    1. I read the book Elephant Run by Ronald Smith. It was about Nickolas Freedstone who parents divorced since he was little. It was during World War 2 and he was sent to live with he father in Burma because being in England was not safe. During his stay in Burma he meets Mya and Indaw who are Burmese children of people working at the Hawk’s Nest the elephant camp his father owns. The Japanese invade the plantation and capture Indaw and Nick’s father to a labor camp. If you would like to know if Nick gets away from the plantation and sees his father again you’ll have to read this book yourself.

    2. June 12,1944
    This is our second day hiding away from them without dad. Dad wouldn’t tell us who they were when he left. He told us to stay here until we run out of food. We have only have a days worth of bread left and brother keeps on asking for Dad. I don’t know how much longer I can lie to him. He’s 8 he’ll figure it out sooner or later. Today we go out.

    June 13,1944
    Yesterday when we left to find more food and found the town was so quite. Houses were burnt and there was no one about. I knew they did it. But why is what I wanted to know. When we got bread from a burnt down bakery and I sent my brother back to our hiding place underneath our house, I went to find answers. I went to any house that looked like there would still be people living in them but every house was abandoned. On my way home I saw our uncle. He left with my dad but why was he still here? I took him home with me. While we were walking home I saw that he was hurt so I ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and tied it around the knee. He told me what had happened. They took my father away to Berehov ghetto. My uncle got away but my dad didn’t. As my uncle was trying to get away he got shot in the leg so he couldn’t make it back to us. He told me that it would be hard to survive in such a time like this. No, we can’t die. We have to survive this. It is the only thing that will help us right now. Hope.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous25/9/11

    Namton Thammajinda
    7B
    Book Report

    1)
    My book is King's Ransom by Thom Lemmons, it is a true story of a king trying to protect his country during the dark days of the Holocaust.
    "I am Tsar Boris III, king of a poor nation at the feet of giants who care nothing about me, my people and my nation; all I seek is peace in the world, is this too much to ask?" Tsar Boris has faced many difficult decisions in his life in Bulgaria, but he knows this will be the most difficult one to make. The Germans have demanded for Bulgaria to export its Jewish population to be "processed" in Poland and Germany. Tsar Boris know that if he refuses, Bulgaria will be crushed by Nazi Germany, but if he accepts the he would never forgive himself for sacrificing the lives of nearly 50,000 Jews living in Bulgaria. "I am Tsar Boris III, what can I do?"

    2) February 12th 1943
    They came in the night. My dad told me to run, and that's what I did. That was what happened six months ago and now I am still running, stealing to keep myself alive. They were everywhere in the city of Berlin, I tried to hide, but I never lasted more than one week before they came and tried to kill me. I never played games with my family ever again, there was no time for games and my entire family is probably dead. All I can do is run away hoping that Germany will come back to being the beautiful city it once was. I know my name and that is all, I have forgotten everything else. I am writing this now in an abandoned house in slums, eating just enough stale bread to fuel myself. Today I managed to steal quite a lot of food as there was a rich German house that only had kids in it. Locks were no problem, I could communicate with them by just fiddle with it and it will open for you, this may be why I have managed to survive for so long. Tonight I will have a nice rest and hope for a better tomorrow.

    February 13th 1943
    Deja vu happened last night. It happen just like six months ago. I somehow managed to run even after I got a slug in my arm and two in my shoulder. I know now that I will never see the beautiful city that I love ever again.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sandra Beck25/9/11

    1.) My book is called "Lily's Crossing" by Patricia Reilly Giff. This book is about a girl named Lily Mollahan. Every year she spends her time with her family in the beach house at Rockaway Beach. She lives with her father (Poppy) and her grandmother (Gram). Her mother passed away when she was a few years old. Lily is looking forward to see her best friend Margret and Margret's brother, Eddie.
    This is the summer of 1944. As Lily arrives at Rockaway, everything changes. Margret moves to a wartime factory town with her parents. While Eddie fights overseas, Lily's father joins the army.
    A Hungarian refugee named Albert has left his younger sister, Ruth, in Europe. Albert travels a long way to get to Rockaway. He became friends with Lily. They have both told lies and secrets to each other, but Lily has told one that may cost Albert his life.

    2.) June 12, 1944
    I've been in hiding with my younger sister just over a week. Ever since our parents died, I've tried my best to give her hope.
    She'd say, "Mary, will we survive this? If we don't, will we still get to see Mamma and Papa?"
    "Maggie, we will survive this no matter what. We will for sure see Mamma and Papa again."
    This attic is so dirty and dusty. There are rats everywhere. Maggie has a pet rat named Twitzy. I've no idea how that happened. Twitzy is the only fun thing she has. We sleep on a thin and dirty sheet. Once in a while orphans would wander up here in the attic and make themselves feel comfortable. In all, nine children live up here. They all struggle like me, and all the Jews.
    All day and night I hear shouting and gunshots. Bang! "Get the Jew." The Nazis are cruel and heartless people. My parents had no reason to die; neither did any of the Jews. I feel that it is my responsibility to keep myself and my sister alive and safe. It's a terrible place out there. All that surrounds us is fear and sadness. Much hope is needed at a time like this. All I want is freedom and safety.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous25/9/11

    Hannah Huff 7A
    Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
    1.) My book is the diary of a girl named Anne Frank. She was a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, Holland during World War II. She and her family had to go into hiding when she was thirteen because they got a letter that sent for her sixteen year old sister, Margot. The letter stated that she had to be deported. Thus the family went into hiding. They hid in a secret section of Anne’s father’s work place called the “Secret Annex.” They were soon joined by a coworker of Anne’s father, Otto Frank. His name was Mr. Van Daan, and he was accompanied by his wife and his son, Peter. Anne speaks of life in the “Secret Annex” as a struggle because every day there were quarrels among the adults. She also said that the grown-ups didn’t understand her. Anne was a very stubborn and free-minded child. About a year into their hiding, they take in an elderly man named Mr. Dussel. As she grows older, Anne’s opinions on life change dramatically. She grows more mature and more open with her feelings. Her last entry expressed hope. The invasion had already come, and there was more hope than ever before of freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous25/9/11

    Hannah Huff 7A
    2.) August 5, 1942; Amsterdam, Holland
    Yesterday was my birthday. I had a big party, and all my friends came over. I couldn’t help but notice that Mummy looked a bit down. After everyone left she brightened up, or at least tried to. She wore a strained smile. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said after kissing my forehead. All my worries disappeared.
    “Oooh, what is it?” I cried jumping up and down and quite forgetting that this was my thirteenth birthday and not my third.
    “I’ll show you, but you have to keep your closed,” she replied, smiling (this time for real) at my childish behavior. I shut my eyes as tight as I could not daring to peek. “Is it all right if Kaleph comes with us?” Mummy inquired, referring to my sixteen year old brother.
    “Yes, but if he spoils anything…”
    “I won’t… probably,” came the voice of my brother. I could tell by his tone of voice that he wore his mischievous smile. I frowned and opened my mouth to throw a perfectly good retort at him, but that’s when I felt Mummy’s hand slip into mine and squeeze. I knew then that now was not the time. Mummy led me to a secret place somewhere in the house. When she told me to open my eyes, I squealed with delight. I was in an underground house. All my things were there. “You and Kaleph are going to get to live here for a while. You have to promise me that you will only go out when Kaleph says you can.”
    “I promise,” I said with the utmost intention of keeping my promise. The more I looked around, the more astonished I was. My room in this secret place looked almost exactly like my room up above. My room led into another room that looked like Kaleph’s. His room led into a kitchen which led into a study room and a storage room. Mummy stayed and talked to Kaleph for a while and then left.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous25/9/11

    Hannah Huff 7A (diary entry continued)
    “This is going to be so much fun!” I exclaimed. Kaleph responded by calling me young, naïve, and ignorant. I had no idea why until I heard someone banging on the front door of the house. The low voice of a Nazi soldier called out. I could not understand him for he spoke in German, and I had simply refused to take German in school.
    “What did he say?” I asked Kaleph. My brother did not respond but shook his head and put a single finger to his lips. I understood and began to worry. Kaleph’s eyes were wide with fear. The soldier’s voice had risen to a shout. I could hear Mummy sniffling and Daddy answering the door. All of a sudden, our hideout’s door swung open. I nearly screamed, but Kaleph’s hand was over my mouth just in time. Mummy’s scared face peered down at us from the hatch.
    “Minya, no matter what happens, I want you to know that Daddy and I love you very much. You, too, Kaleph.”
    We both nodded our heads and wrung her neck. She closed the hatch and went away to join Daddy. I could hear Daddy speaking in German to the soldier.
    “Hallo, kann ich lhnen helfen (Hello, may I help you?)?”
    “Sie müssen mit mir kommen. Sie und Ihre Frau und Kinder (You must come with me. You and your wife and children).“
    "Ich habe keine Kinder (I have no children). "
    "Ja, Sie (Yes,you do)!"
    "Es tut mir leid, aber Sie haben das falsche Haus (I'm sorry, but you have the wrong house)."
    "Geh mir aus dem Weg (Get out of my way)!"
    "Nein (No)!"
    The next thing I heard was gunshots. Then a thud. Mummy screamed. More gunsots. Another thud. Then I heard the thump of the soldier’s boot heels. I could hear him upturning tables and throwing doors open. He was searching for us. He never found us. Once he left, I wanted to throw open the door and run to Mummy and Daddy, but Kaleph did not say I could go. He did not say anything. He just stood there, his eyes wide, filled to the brim with tears. We comforted each other. In the hours that followed, we mourned for our parents lives. Kaleph has not said anything since then. He simply showed me to the food and went to bed. I did not eat and have not eaten yet. How long will I have to wait to get out of this wretched place? How long will it be before I see daylight again? How long will Mummy‘s and Daddy’s bodies lay there, cold and dead? All these questions can only be answered by one being. Dear Lord, save us!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous26/9/11

    Yumi 7B
    “When My Name Was Keoko”
    1. Japanese took control of Korea. Keoko’s real name was Sun-hee, but her real name was taken by the Japanese. She wasn’t happy about her life. One day her friend told her something about her uncle, so Keoko thought her uncle was in big trouble. She told her uncle to run away, but she was wrong, when she found out she was wrong it was too late. Now, she was worried because Japanese would look for him if they find he suddenly disappeared. Her brother had to join the Japanese army as a kamikaze troop or else Japanese military would kill their uncle! Keoko felt guilty. However, everything changed after the war was over..


    2. It was my 13th birthday; my family was having a big party at home. All of a sudden there was a loud bang at the door. We were all shocked. When my dad peeked out the window he saw a group of nasty looking Nazis. They hate us because “we were Jews.” My dad told me to go out of the house. I ran, hearing my family screaming, but I could see my dad still smiling looking at me even he was being beaten.

    I escaped to the near mountain, when I got there it was already dark. I was scared but I decided to be there until I was safe enough to go out. I ate some of berries and edible things, but I got some allergies. One day, after I had stayed there for two months, I could hear a man shouting! I got really scared. When he found me, he took me away and gave me food. I came to a country called America, I’m going to school from tomorrow, I miss my family, and I always wonder if they are still alive.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous26/9/11

    Carnia
    English 7A

    1.) My book is called “Shadows on the Sea” by Joan Hiatt Harlow. It is 1942, and the World War II is still continuing. “Shadows on the Sea” is about a 14-year-old girl, Jill, who has to go stay with her Nana in New Haven, Maine. Her father is a famous pop singer who is on tour, and her mother is traveling to Newfoundland to take care of her sick brother. She must pass North Atlantic, where the German U-boats are guarding. Jill meets a friend called Quarry and they both soon find out that New Haven is full of secrets and everyone is hiding something. Jill and Quarry notices some soldiers watching them everywhere, and they find a wounded pigeon with a code stuck on its leg. They both try to find the mystery of this town, but find themselves in life-threatening danger.

    2.) Dec. 12th, 1943
    Abensburg, Germany
    Dear Diary,
    It's been the fourth day after Ma and Pa were taken away. I've been living in the attic with my younger brother, Niclas. We both don't know where our parents went. All we know is that we have to be in here for as long as we can survive.
    A month ago, Pa said that Abensburg was in danger. Nazi soldiers were ready to take away any Jew to the camps whenever and wherever they found us. So Pa stored some bread, canned food, and water in the attic. About two weeks ago, we heard the news from our neighbors. They were like us Jews too. “They're here. They've moved in. The soldiers. They're looking for us as much as they can find. They're starting it. You better find a place to hide. Keep your children safe. Abensburg is isn't safe anymore.” We never saw them after that day again. We only saw of their destroyed house. From that day, we knew they were taking us, Jews, away. But for what reason?
    Our food, eachother, and God are our only hope. We have nothing to play with, except for some old toy game that Ma bought for us when I was 4. Nine years ago. Happy days, wonderful food that Ma would cook, running outside to play with my friends, hugging Ma and Pa before going to sleep. Those were the days which I want to remember. We would sleep in our clean blankets and bedsheets. Now, it was the opposite. This place is full of dust, and Niclas is allergic to dust. I try my best to keep his nose covered with a sheet. But the sheet was also dirty. All we have is a small bedsheet and blanket. No pillows. No friends. Nothing.
    Today, Niclas asked me a question I could not answer. “Leonie, where is Ma and Pa?” I had no idea, but I couldn't let my hope and his down. I put up a fake smile on my face. “They're safe. They were taken away, but they're safe. We will see them. Dont worry. We will. Okay, Niclas?” his sad face turned into a smile. “We will, Leonie?” I replied, “We will,” and I whispered under my breath, “I hope so.” I tried to keep my hope high. Praying to God, asking for help. All I hope for is that tomorrow will exist for me and Niclas.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Rees 7A

    Sorry, I just realized that I did my journal entry wrong. Here’s a better one.

    April 4th, 1944.
    Dear Diary,
    I got out of Germany and I’m hiding deep in the Swiss Alps. All my family and a lot of my friends, are hiding in a cave next to a little stream. We’re packed in the cave like sardines. We brought blankets but it still gets very cold at night. Yesterday, I caught a rabbit and cooked it for dinner. I was very proud of myself. It was my first catch.
    After dinner, the kids went out to play with the small ball we made out of weaved wood. It was really fun, until the ball rolled into the stream and got washed away. We were all really bored after that but the adults found some large footprints. They went out and came back with a huge, dead bear. We smoked the meat to preserve it and used the hide as a blanket for Jimmy, who got a cold a little while ago.
    Today, I had a breakfast of young nettle and bear jerky. I started the day by fishing for trout in the small stream. I caught three nicely sized ones and had them cooked into a stew for my lunch. I’m getting so tired of this bland food. I can’t wait until next year, when I get to go back to Germany to find out if the Nazi’s are still there.
    If we can get out of here and live until a ripe, old age then that would be the greatest thing ever to happen to me.

    May 31st, 1945
    We made it into Germany again and can continue our normal lives. I should give this journal to a library or something because this is a good historical proof of how some of us survived.
    (PS I don’t really know if anyone did do this, but I think they should have;)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous26/9/11

    Arisa 7B

    1.
    I read a book called Someone Named Eva. The book is about a girl from Czechoslovakia, her name was Milada. She was taken away from her family to a camp in Poland, because she fits the Aryan ideal. In the camp, they were given new names; Milada’s new name was Eva. During her times at the camp, the kids were taught to speak German, and learn the history of Germany. The longer they stayed in the camp, the harder it was to remember who they were before. Time passed by, and Eva was adopted to a German family. Eva felt very welcomed and she enjoyed her stay with the family. Once Hitler was declared dead, and the war was over, her adopted mother and sister tried to fix up and clean their house. An American female came to their house, telling them that Eva’s mother was alive, and they were in search for Milada. Milada met her mother, and soon found out that all her family members were killed, except for Anechka, who was adopted to a German family, and that they were still searching for her.

    2.
    June 15th, 1943
    Brno, Czechoslovakia
    I was expecting the basement to look a bit like my room, but I was mistaken. When I first arrived here, I saw nothing except emptiness, and smelled nothing except stinkiness. It felt as if some boy used to live here, and used this place as his toilet.
    The basement looked bright as if it was midday, but it was actually quite the opposite, it was midnight. I had been hiding in the basement for nearly two weeks now, and I did nothing except looking out the windows, and wishing everything would go back to normal, peaceful and calm. Sometimes before I went to bed, I would talk to Leo, and imagine myself back home, lying on the grass beside Leo, looking at the stars. Whenever I wake up at night, I usually go sit by the window with Leo, staring up at the sky. The sky looked different, there were no more stars, instead they were replaced by war planes. The night sky used to give me warm feelings, and took away all my worries, but now, looking at the night sky brought back memories of the day mama was taken away. I could tell that I wasn’t the only one suffering from that memory, Leo was too. That wasn’t the only momory that still haunted us. I still remembered the time the Nazis took daddy away, they came barging in, and they just stormed out with daddy. Mama cried for days.
    It gets a bit lonely here soemtimes, but I always had Leo to keep me company. I have already finished counting all the dots on the ceiling. There were 104 dots in total. I started counting 1 day ago, and finished just last night. I guess it wouldn’t have taken that long, if I wasn’t distracted. After daddy was taken away, I usually have trouble concentrating on one thing; it got worst when mama was taken away as well. I’m thinking about counting how much hair I have, or maybe counting how many times I blink. I asked Leo what I should count next, but he gave no reply. I didn’t expect a reply though, afterall he was just a brown fluffy bear, but I love him a lot. Right now, he’s my only family.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Emi Hayakawa26/9/11

    1. The book that I had chosen to read is called ”The Upstairs Room “ by Johanna Reiss, which is based on a true story of when Johanna was a child. Annie de Leeuw was just eight years old and living with her parents and two older sisters, Sini and Rachel when the Germans occupied Holland. Annie's dad was aware of things and went into hiding, followed by Annie and Sini. Rachel stayed behind to take care of their sick mom, but a few weeks after that, Mrs. De Leeuw died. Meanwhile, Annie and her sister got taken in by a family called the Hannicks, but was moved to live with a gentile family named the Oostervelds in Usselo, Holland. The two sisters endured many hardships, like the lack of exercise in their small, cramped attic room and frequent visits by the Nazis, in which Annie and Sini had to hide in a hidden compartment in a closet. Over the duration of about three years, they had grown to love Johan (a farmer), Dientje (his wife), and Opoe (Johan's mother)and had many adventures, like being carried out to a corn field in a cloth covered wagon.
    2. May 16th , 1944
    Enschede, Netherlands
    Dear Dairy,
    Today is my mom's birthday, but what difference does it make? Everyday, ever since Germany marched into Enschede and killed all my cousins, aunts, and uncles, sparing only my parents, my brother, and me, I go through the same, old boring routine through the whole twenty-four hours. The day starts as usual, when my hyperactive twin brother wakes me up at seven in the morning for a game of “Darb”. It is a game Amser (my 13 year old twin brother) made up, which is just basically tag where you have to touch each other's fingertips to be “it”. It is not very fun to play in a dirty, dusty, and dim underground maid room with the area of my old bathroom. After I refused to run around the tiny room with Amser, the only differences today are that, instead of listening to an old radio with my mom and dad, I asked Mrs. Polhi; one of the members of our host family for some thread and needles and sewed a card for my mom. Also, for lunch, Mr. Polhi was very kind and gave us extra bread and jam in the occasion. For the rest of the afternoon, me and my brother just sat on the wooden floor of the room, staring at each other and playing a game of “ I wish”, where we told each other our wishes. Usually, we would yearn for entirely different things, but there is one thing that we both agree on, and it is that Amser and I both wanted freedom and for the war to be over. But now, when we look back at all those years cooped up inside this box with nothing to do, we both knew that the only thing that can help our family now is a miracle.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous27/9/11

    Folk 7A
    English

    1.) I read a book called “Anne Frank and the Children of the Holocaust”. This book is about what happen to the Jewish kids, and how the Nazis came to power. Since the Nazis were in power for so long (1933-1945), many children never had a normal childhood. Anne Frank wasn’t the only kid who wrote in a diary. Many of the children have their own diaries, they kept track about how harsh is their live hiding from the Nazis. During this period of time, many Jews died. The Germany took over many countries in Europe and captured Jews and sends them to a concentration camp. They end up dying.

    2.) June 12 1944
    It was at night, when my parents told me to go hide in our secret basement. I didn’t know why, but I just followed their instruction. I was hiding in the basement listening to the sound of my parents being yelled by the Nazis upstairs. I knew that they would be sent to a death camp. I would be alone in the world all by myself. I would be hungry, cold, and scared. When the noises have stop, I went up and found that the house was messy. I went outside and found that most of the houses were burnt. I started wandering around the street; I picked up every single food on the street. I went in stores and other buildings and take whatever will help me survive. After I got everything I need, I went back to the basement and fell asleep.

    June 13 1944
    I woke up early in the morning, and eat the food that I stole. I knew that if I eat too much, I will run out of food. I decided to go out and find more food. I went in every single house that I thought have foods, but most of them had none. Many of the food that I collected were either burnt or small. I thought that I couldn’t survive long, but I was wrong. I was surprised that I have a bunch of food at the end of the day. With this much food, I can survive over 2 weeks.

    June 14 1944
    I kept searching for more food. Every single day, I would travel further to find more abandon houses. Many of the houses that I went in have no food. Later when I got home, I decided to give up on searching for food. I would eat less than normal, so the food won’t run out as fast. I was hungry, weak, and sick. I don’t know how much longer I can live.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous27/9/11

    Hi, it's me, Ahnya
    My story is called Someone Named Eva,
    This book about this girl call Milda who was in her house one day when the Nazi came and took her away from her father and brother and taken to a gym. She was separated from her family, she was taken to a place where she is given a new name, a new identity and a home in a German family. While she was with German family, her mother was in a concentration camp, and her father and brother were shot. When the war over, a lady came and to Milda's "adopted" family house, which then she was finally again in her mother's lap.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous27/9/11

    Melissa
    7A
    1. I read a book called "The Upstairs Room." It's about 2 Jewish sisters(Annie and Sini)that leave their father, mother, and oldest sister to hide in a small room in a German family's(Oosterveld) house. The girls hardly got to go outside and they didn't get enough exercise, so their legs began to stiffen. The Oosterveld's made a small hiding place in the closet in case the Nazis searched the house. Then one day, the Nazis searched the house, but didn't find any Jews. A couple of days later the Nazis came back to the Oosterveld's house and said they were going to occupy the first floor, and make it their headquarter. After a couple of weeks the Nazis leave. Finally, Annie and Sini could come out of their hiding place. After, they are taken outside to see the sun for the first time in many years. They both forgot how bright it was since they spent all their time in dark rooms. Annie and Sini both survive the war. When Annie was an adult, she visited the Oosterveld's house with her children. She stood in front of the hiding place in the closet, and started to cry, thinking about all those horrible years during the war.

    2. Dear Diary, August 12, 1941
    This is the 5th day since Mother and Father locked me in the small room behind the house with my little sister, Jinny.
    Yesterday, the most terrible thing happened:

    "I'm hungry," Jinny complained.
    "Wait. Mother will be here any minute," I told her.

    I was completely wrong. For 5 minutes we waited. Jinny started to say something but I told her to be quiet. I heard a crash. A scream. Someone was yelling. I looked at my sister. She was staring wide-eyed in the direction the sound was coming from.

    "Mother. Father..." Jinny's voice trailed off.
    We heard gun shots. Jinny hugged me. I tried to hold back tears as I told her everything was going to be alright.
    "Why? Why so soon?" I asked myself in my head.
    A couple of seconds later, there was silence. Jinny started to sob. I tried to comfort her, but I couldn't. It was dark outside. I watched Jinny as she slept. Her hair was brown and straight, just like Mother's. My hair was black and curly, just like Father's.
    "Even though they're gone," I told myself, "Memories will always remain the same, and our love for them will never change."

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous27/9/11

    Sept 9, 1994
    Dear Dairy,
    I had a nightmare, but more like a memory, I wasn't watching people die from the window, but I was down on the street, watching everyone I know, either getting shot or thrown into what Maggie calls "The Bus", Nazis were like worms covering the streets, and blood was flooding from the bodies and...
    Well, you get the idea. It wasn't a wonderful view, but Maggie just asked me a question.
    "Libby?" she said in a really cute voice
    "Yes, Maggie"
    "When will I get to eat Mr. Poppin's cake?"
    In my mind, I thought, NEVER, he's already dead, but I can't tell her that.
    "Umm..., I, I, don't know, Maggie, soon,I guess..."
    " Would Mommy and Daddy eat the coffee cake?"
    "Yes, actually, they don't need to eat anymore"
    "Why not?"
    " They went to see God already, but if you pray to them, they might bring you cake, but right you need to sleep, ok?"
    "Ok!" And she went to sleep.
    Great, now i have to find her chocolate cake. She's only five, I can't tell her that the Nazis are hunting us down like bloodhounds.
    As soon as she fell asleep, I ran out the door and into the street.
    I could not believe what was in front of my eyes, bodies everywhere, I saw some people that i know, but I looked away, then i heard myself crying.
    I need to be strong for Maggie, so i wept away the tears and went looking for food, I found bread, water, vegetables (not a lot) and some cans of beans. I went to the bakery, or at least WAS a bakery and found nothing.
    Then, to my surprise, I heard dogs, and shouting. Nazis, I ran as fast as i can, but also careful not to drop anything. As I ran in, I slammed the door a little to hard and scared poor little Maggie.
    " Ahhhhh!!!!"
    " Shhhh..."
    " Libby, why did you run"
    " Because,I , someone was chasing me, he, he tried to steal my food."
    "LIbby, there is nobody outside, why did you run?"
    "Because,I,I..."
    "Is that bread!?
    "Yeah?"
    "I'm so hungry" And she took a bite of the bread,
    "It's so good" Another bite.
    And she couldn't stop eating.
    I wonder how long I can keep this secret from Maggie.
    From Libby

    - Ahnya :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous27/9/11

    Sophia
    7A
    The Devil in Vienna is a journal entry of a wonderful girl who is trapped in 1937 when WW|| is about to happen. Inge Dornenwald who is Jewish has been friends with Liselotte Vessely who is German since they were 6 years old. In 1937, they are both 13 and live in Vienna. When Liselotte was younger her dad who is a member of Nazis party had moved her to a German school in Munich after he learned about her daughter’s friendship with Inge. The girls tried to continue their friendship despite obstacles such as Liselotte’s father being a Nazis, the Nazis becoming more powerful, and living in different cities. As WW|| drew closer, many of Inge’s relative had scattered to different places one by one to escape the Nazis. In 1937, Inge’s dad, Vati, is trying to get Visas for them when he realizes how dangerous it is to continue to stay in Vienna.
    To be continued…….

    ReplyDelete
  30. Lou O'Boyle27/9/11

    Anne Frank
    Anne Frank is a young girl and is like any other person her age. She eats, sleeps and breaths like everyone else but what really makes her different to quite a lot of people is that she is a Jew. Life is going perfectly for Anne but than one day it turned upside down. She gets told that she has to go in hiding. Life isn’t the same for Anne ever again. She wrote a diary all about how it’s like fro her to be in hiding.

    Dear Journal,
    It scares me, has God forgotten me? Does anyone know what I’m going through? I feel so alone, the only person I have is my little sister Grace and she is so ill, she is expected to die any day now. I look back at life remembering when I was happy and when Grace knew how to laugh. That was before my parents where taken away to a death camp and the last words I remember them saying to me was:
    “ Look after Grace my love. Don’t you worry, we will come back. But for now run and don’t stop, don’t worry about us. We love you and don’t forget that!”
    They told me that over 7 months ago. I’m scared, I lie to Grace, tell her everything is going to be Ok, but even I don’t know that’s true. I tell her she’s going to live, I tell her mum and dad will coming back home to us and will make everything better.
    If feels so horrible telling Grace lies but I want to keep her as innocent as I possibly could.
    Life is awful, finding food for Grace so she can survive and telling her lies. When the Nazis come banging on the door, I tell her it’s a game of hide and seek so we hide in the we sprint to the cupboard and don’t

    By Lou O'Boyle

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous27/9/11

    Ryan
    7A
    Here is a better version of my journal entry

    2)In a small cellar underneath a bombed out brick apartment building was where my family lived. That is where I learned to eat rats and not play with them. I, Adam Fliski have been hiding here, only going out if my family was starving did I steal. My parents never wanted me to steal but they agreed that desperate times call for desperate measures and if I must steal to survive, so be it. It is something I don't even think about anymore. If I see a rich person or an unlocked door I am forced to steal on an impulse that I might not have any food tomorrow for my family so that me my sister, my brother and my parents can survive. Today was the closest to caught I hope I ever will be. I was almost caught by a Nazi patrol. It happened while I was digging though a dumpster, because there were no rich people on the streets and a patrol of Nazi soldiers in gray uniforms that made my hair stand on end danced by so I had to jump in the dumpster and hide under what people threw away which wasn't much. Fortunately the soldiers were fairly drunk as far as I could tell so they didn't see me as they chucked several empty Schnapps bottles at me that they had likely stolen from the nearest bar. Thankfully, they didn't smash on my dirty over sized shirt so I avoided a few ripsin my shirt and a some cuts and bruises on my skin. But that was hours ago and Father says you have to live hour by hour minute by minute second by second so that we can survive this war.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous27/9/11

    Rachel Perry 7B


    Summary:

    The novel I read, called Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, is about the life of Anne Frank’s Jewish family as they go into hiding. It takes place during the Holocaust, as Hitler desperately attempts to eliminate all people of the Jewish race. In this novel, Anne goes from being a popular thirteen-year-old to hiding in the Secret Annexe located in her father’s office building. Through her diary entries, Anne describes the difficulties of hiding and the never-ending fear of being heard by someone.


    She struggles with family issues and the thought of being taken away. As relationships worsen in the Annexe, Anne wonders if everything will go back to normal after the war, and if they will ever make it out alive. Her family all long to be free, and hopes that someday, they will be able to talk without worrying whether or not someone will take them away.


    As the novel progresses, Anne develops her feelings toward Peter, a boy living in the Annexe with them. As food storage shortens, life becomes a nightmare. Anne soon discovers that she is at war with herself to figure out who she is.

    Diary Entry:
    September 7, 1942

    Dear Diary,

    I hear guns going off, day and night. I sit in the corner of our dusty room, clutching my thin and only blanket to my chest. Every single day, I have to sit here, in fear that the Nazis will hear us, since we’re hiding in an old and rundown apartment near the camps. Mommy and daddy prepare any food that we have, if we’re lucky. Everything is so cold and dark here, not one spark of happiness has lit onto our faces since we moved here. Mommy says that I’m lucky to be hiding here instead of in the camps, but… what could be worse?


    Let me tell you a bit about our old and rusty apartment: we have one bathroom that consists of a pot. Our bedroom is simply a mattress, itchy and uncomfortable. Our little stove sits in our bedroom, which is incredibly miniscule. We hardly have any space to move around. Cobwebs drape over our room, threatening to engulf us at any given moment.


    At least I’m glad I brought a book with me to write in. I love writing stories… it’s where I can leave my horrible world and travel wherever my imagination can take me.


    I really hope we can leave this miserable place soon. I just don’t understand what Jews did wrong to make people despise them so much. Are we really that bad? I just want to be free!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous28/9/11

    Nicole
    7A

    1)My book is called Never to Forget:The Jews of the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer. It's a non-fiction book based on diaries, letters, songs, and history books of the Jews suffering in Nazi Germany before and during World War II (1933 to 1945). There were two maps in the book showing how far the Nazi reached in Europe and the locations of concentration camps. This is a book for people who wanted to read the stories and letters from the memories from those who survived.

    2)February 3, 1943

    "Search the house, search everywhere!" ordered the Nazi soldier. The soldiers started stomping on the wood floor of the house. It was so loud that it made my heart pound so heavily and the sound sent fear to my entire body.
    I started breathing rapidly so I covered my mouth with my hand to prevent myself from screaming. I used my other hand to cover my little sister's mouth. she looked as if she was going to cry. There were lots of tiny holes on the wood floor so I could see what was going on up there. It smelled really bad down here, but I cant complain. All that's in my head right now is we have to survive. My parents are already dead. The last time the Nazis came, my parents were hiding under the wine cellar and me and my sister went to hide under the wood floor like we are doing now. They only found my parents and shot then dead without asking any question.
    "There's no one here sir," said one of the Nazi soldier.
    "Well then, search the other house," replied another Nazi soldier. The suddenly all of them went running out of our house.
    I waited for everything to be absolutely silent to get on top of the wood floor with my sister.
    I pulled her in to give her a long, warm hug. All I can do now is pray. Pray for us yo get through this and pray that our suffering will soon be over.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous28/9/11

    -Gabrielle Holofcener <3
    7B

    SUMMARY:
    “Summer of My German Soldier,” is a story about a twelve-year-old Jewish girl named Patty Bergen who lives in Jenkinsville, Arkansas during World War II. Patty has heard many bad things about Germans, so when a German prison is stationed in Patty’s small town of Jenkinville she is very curious, and intrigued.
    One day, Patty is helping out with her father’s store, eager to tend to someone, when a group of German POWS come in to the store to buy sun visors, in order to protect them from the sun. They are a highly supervised with guard’s watching their every move, but Patty can’t stop herself from staring at them. She is so curious; she has never seen a German this close before. Patty sees one of the Germans looking for something, so she goes to tend to him. She is very shocked at how perfect he can speak English! As Patty talks with the German soldier a little longer, she starts to gets to know him. She discovers his name is Anton Reiker, and looks to be around 19 or 20. He turns out to be a very bright and incredibly polite young man. Throughout their relationship Anton teaches Patty that she is indeed a person who should be valued, and deserves the right to be heard. In return for Anton’s kindness, Patty protects Anton by hiding him above her father's garage. Patty and Anton spend the summer together hiding above the garage; talking about their lives, sharing stories, reading books, and eating food that Patty smuggled from her kitchen. As the summer goes on and their relationship grows, people start to get more and more suspicious about what’s going on with 12 years-old Patty Berge, and the hunt for the missing German soldier…Anton Reiker .

    STORY:
    It was October 12th, 1942, my 15th birthday, but for as long as I can remember birthdays in the ghetto have never fun. In our circumstance, how could it? Everyday bombs were being dropped, dead bodies laid everywhere, and jackboots were running around killing people. Food was getting more, and more scares every day. It seemed as if it was just me and my 8 year old brother Yitzak against the world. My parents had disappeared a few years ago; they went to find food one day and had never come back.
    My birthday was nothing special. All we did was search extra hard for some bread so that we would have something to substitute for a cake. Besides that, we did the normal routine. We searched for a place to sleep, ran from some jackboots, and searched for some warm clothes off of dead bodies on the streets. I know it wasn’t the right thing to do but it was getting colder, and, colder, and we had to survive somehow. I kept telling myself, “I have to stay strong for Yitzak.” I am the only thing he has, and he’s the only thing I have. We have nothing besides each other and the clothes on our backs. As I blow out the sticks we lit on my single loaf of bread, the only thing I wish for is to live to be sixteen.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous28/9/11

    Hannah Douglas 7A

    1)My story is called No Pretty Pictures. No Pretty Pictures is about a Jewish girl who's nanny is Christian. The Jewish girl and her brother that is pretending to be a girl hide in the country side and beg for food, they get captured my Nazis. At the concentration camps, they are fed cabbage soup for every meal. The Jewish girl and her brother survive the harsh concentration camps, but when they finally get rescued, they find that they have tuberculosis.

    2)December 3rd 1942

    Dear Journal,
    I heard the shouting across the street. No one thought that they would come all the way to my city. We didn't have enough time. By the time we were going up the stairs of the house, they were already inside. They were shouting, but I kept running up the stairs. Risa who came to play at my house just stood there shaking in terror. She wasn't a Jew, but they shot her anyway. At the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of her falling to the ground. I kept on running, and running. I got to the room behind the shelf. I hid there for hours. It was cold, and at one point I couldn't feel my feel at all. Then I came out of the room, and looked out the window. I heard the most horrific silence. No children playing pick up sticks, no rumors going around in the streets... just silence. They took mother, father, and all of our belongings. I don't know what to do, but for now, I'll pray to be able to wake up safe in my warm bed with father and mother safe by my side. Then I would tell them of my horrible, horrible nightmare.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous28/9/11

    Hi it's Hannah Dodge
    7B

    Summary: The book I read is called Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. It is about a 13 year old girl named Anne Frank who is Jewish. Her father tells her they need to go into hiding and Anne becomes very worried. Soon enough they are packing their things and walking (they weren't allowed to drive cars) to her father's office where he works. There is a secret Annexe in the office where her dad works. Another Jewish family joins them in the secret Annexe. Anne hates living in there because it's stuffy and she must always be quiet. She soon starts to get annoyed by the other family living there but she thinks of her diary as a friend and she calls her diary Kitty. Kitty seems to make Anne feel better and helps her get through the days.

    My Story: The cold air stings my skin as I sleep but Iv'e awaken from the noise of gun shots it must be about midnight and I bet someone went out past curfew. All I see is darkness except for one sliver of moon light coming from a window.

    I must have fallen back asleep last night because now sunlight is shimmering through the pale window in our house in the Ghetto. I look at my mother sleeping on the floor. She looks terribly sick. I look around for my father but he's not there, he must have gone out to look for some food. I pick up my 3 year old sister and tell her to wake up. I hand her some old dried up beans and she stuffs them in her mouth. We always have the same morning routine. I wake up and give her some breakfast then we try to find something to do. Today She wanted to catch rats.We had already done that 3 days in a row. So I told her "no." She went ballistic and started to wail and scream until mama woke up. "Girls whats going on?" she snapped. "Nothing mama." I said. I garbed my sister's hand and took her to go play.

    I looked out side our pale window. It was getting late. "wheres Papa" I asked my mother. She was already asleep I put my sister to bed and look out side of the pale window. Jews walked the streets with their heads looking at the ground. There was rubble everywhere and some snow on the ground. Everything looks so dreary I thought to myself. It became very dark and the window shined of moonlight. A few minutes later Papa entered our house his hands were empty. He said "get to sleep my darling." "I will." I said. He slunk down and fell asleep. I looked out of the pale window the streets were empty and dark, everything was silent. I began to cry. I thought to myself all I want is to run in the grass and see Mama and Papa laugh again. I sang an old lullaby to my self until I fell asleep. My very last sliver of hope was fading away and All I could do was try to survive this war. Once again The cold air burned my skin and I dreamt of running in the grass while Mama sang and Papa laughed with my little sister. I dreamt and dreamt until I heard the sound of gun shots.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous28/9/11

    HI it is MJ

    1) The book that I read was called Daniel half human and the good Nazi. The main character in this book is a boy named Daniel and one of the side characters is a boy named Armin who is part of the HJ or the Hitler Jurgend . The main theme of this book is about how this boy must survive and keep the rest of his friends from knowing his secret. He is a half Jew. He is really angry at his dad for marrying a Jewess which made him a half Jew. His cousin comes in and Armin starts dating her.

    The begging of the book is where it tells about Daniels childhood and some of the future him while his is driving his jeep past his old house. It is also describing on how he is going to a good school. His dad is a really popular lawyer and that his income is getting larger. But then he finds out that his mom is a Jewess. He causes a lot of trouble for his parents and then he gets grounded.
    In the middle of the book Daniel is trying to keep his secret from the others and he is successful for a while. One day during one of his soccer practices his enemy says don’t pass to the stupid Jew. Armin asks why he says that Daniel is a Jew and Daniel has to reveal the truth. Armin doesn’t care that Daniel is a Jew at all.





    Dear Journal,
    I write to you now because this is going to help the people in the future know what is happening to us now. I am in hiding from the Nazis. They are rounding all the Jews up and taking them to somewhere else. I am scared because we might be there next victims because there are not that many Jews left. We are hiding in a dark cellar and the only thing i have to do for fun is write in you. So you will be hearing from me quite often. Wait there is a strange sound coming from upstairs. No it cannot be. The Nazis are here.

    Dear Journal,
    They have taken us to a strange place were everything is so hard. They are making us lift heavy anvils into a hot place to make who knows what. We are so tired. They give us a small portion of the food and all the old people and the young children are gone. This is the last time I will ever write to you again because I have injured myself and now I cannot work.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous28/9/11

    Cool stories, guys! I like coming on and reading them. Read mines too, if you'd like to. - Carnia 7A

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'm sorry I couldn't post it Mrs. Johnson, but instead, I copy pasted it from Microsoft word and sent you an e-mail.

    -Lea

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous28/9/11

    Annella Espana
    7A

    1)
    The Upstairs Room, by Johanna Reiss, is a book about the time when the Germans occupied Holland, when Annie de Leeuw was just eight years old. Her family knew that they were in danger because they were Jews, but they weren't able to move to America fast enough, so they had to hide. The family had to be separated in order to not make it obvious they Jewish family. Annie was able to be with her older sister, Sini, and they were offered help by the Oostervelds family, who were Gentiles. They would have to hide in the upstairs room of their farmhouse, and deal with the space and the very few things that they could do. Annie and Sini had to stay for for a few years, and in all those years, they only went out a few times. The Nazis often searched the farmhouse, and the girls had to be very quiet.

    2)
    Dear Diary,

    Today is Christmas. Again. But what difference does it make? I've spent two years in this small, dusty, church rooftop, with mice, and my family. It's still going to stay that way today. It's so dark in here, and there's so many mosquitoes, that my body is peppered with bites and scratches. If Hitler hadn't occupied Poland, and hadn't hated Jews so much, then I would've been at a party right now, and popular. Just like before, when people weren't crucial. I complain the most out of all my three younger siblings, and so my mom is always saying that God has a reason for everything. I love God, but still...Why would God let this happen to me? I didn't do anything bad.

    This morning the Pastor came for his daily, morning visits, to give us food for the day. Today, our food was more special. We had an actually meal rather than just bread. I am thankful for the Pastor, because he is a kind Gentile to Jews. He gave my siblings and I books to read, and I've read every book he's given at least twice already. But it's the only fun thing I could do up here.

    I always knew when it was Sunday, because I could hear singing and sermons. My parents enjoy Sundays the most, because God gives them hope. I guess I am luckier than most Jews, because I am living in a place where I can hear God's words. I still have faith and hope that this horrible time would end soon. It will. Good things will come. But not always. Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous28/9/11

    Sam 7B
    WWII Book Report
    1. I read a book called The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. It was about a boy named Bruno, who was a German kid. He was the kid of a very important German commander. He lived in Berlin but one day had to move to a very unpleasant place called “Out-With”.(Apparently it was pronounced different but it never mentions how.) Bruno did not like his new home and missed his three friends, Carl, Martin and Daniel. But soon after he had moved he noticed that he could see a camp out of his bedroom window so he told his sister Gretel (to him known as the hopeless case.) about it and she was amazed by all the people. A while later he had gotten bored and needed a tire so a soldier named Kurth (it was his short name) told Bruno's cook, Pavel to go get him a tire. After Pavel got him the tire he made tire swing but fell off and cut his knee. Pavel took him inside and treated him, then when his mother got home he heard her telling Pavel “If someone asked I helped him not you.” which Bruno thought was strange. A while later he got bored again and decided he'd go exploring. He explored until he reached the gate of the camp he saw from his window and there he met a boy named Shmuel. They talked for a while and Bruno was naive about what was happening to Shmuel and wished he could be on the other side of the fence. After that Shmuel and Bruno met at the fence almost every day until... (any more would pretty much get to the end).
    2. June 29 1942
    Me and my family arrived here just about 5 days ago, it's been horrible so far. They've forced us to work and i don't like it. My parents keep saying its a wonderful place and that everyone needs to to their part on fixing it so we can have fun, its a bit sad really, being in here, and that my parents would think i was gullible enough to believe such a stupid excuse. I can even prove that its a horrible place because too, old and young keep going missing, and my father (who is 53) went missing just yesterday. I cant believe they would do something like this to us!
    Also i don't like the other teenagers here, they're like me, they know that everything isn't great and fun, it makes me miss my friends at home. I used to have lots of books, but i wasn't allowed to bring them. Now all I do, other than work is sit near the gate and look at everything outside, I want to be out there so bad. Every day its the same thing, work then sit by the fence, I hate it! I have considered suicide a lot, it would put me in a better place than this, but i figure the Germans will just do that for me…
    teardrop
    teardropteardrop
    teardropteardropteardrop
    teardropteardropteardropteardrop
    teardropteardropteardropteardrop
    teardropteardropteardropteardrop
    teardropteardropteardropteardrop
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    teardropteardrop
    teardrop
    (sorry if its a bit short)
    Sam 7B

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous28/9/11

    aww man sorry about the random teardrop thing at the edge, it looked like a good teardrop but when i put it on the blog it messed up :( sorry
    Sam7B

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous29/9/11

    1) Hello, This is Ben Typing....

    The book I read was called "The boy who Dared." This book is based on real life about a boy name Helmuth Guddat Hübener who was 17 years old, when he dies in the end.He lived with his mom Mutti Hübener and his two half brothers,they live in Hamburg,Germany.As Hitler receives power in Germany, he swears to take care of Germany and all its problem. People says that Hitler is a mad man, but Helmuth Guddat Hübener admires the work of the leader Hitler. Soon after, Helmuth realizes that Hitler wasen't a wonderful leader as he thought he would be. There were news printed out and made out by Hulmuth's mother's new boyfriend who is a Rottenführer. The next day when Hulmuth goes to his school, he watches what happens to jews. Then soon after, he stands up against it and he was put to death for listening to foreign radio station, and disturbing the news connection saying he is against the Germans. The book is very meaningful, because it shows confidence, and it shows that you up what you believe, no matter what the punishment will be.



    2) Dear Journal,
    Today my family and I were found hiding in the dumpster. They knew we were Jews, because we were hiding from the Jackboot. Soon after, my family and I were transported to this place called "Concentration Camp" where we have to work, but I do not know what we are working for, and who we are working for. I don't even know the what concentration means. We had to sleep with other men, my mom was separated from my dad and I. Our bed were small, I didn't like it.
    My dad kept on telling me that this is for your school, and I went "huh?" I just don
    't get it. He says that when this is over, we will be home in no time. I believe my dad. There were only a few kids of my age, but they were very boring. Oh no, I have to go now. The German soldiers are coming. I have to get to work. I just wish this is over soon, so I can see my mom again. I wish this all ends in a happy way.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous29/9/11

    This is Tata,

    1. I read a book called “FREE THAI.” It is a non-fiction book, written by Wimon Wiriyawit. He was one of the people that helped Thailand (and USA) get Japan out of invading Thailand. In this book, it told how the Free Thai Movement worked and how it got created.
    It actually started from a group of Thai college students in the USA who got out of their colleges to serve for an organization called Free Thai. Free Thai was an organization that worked with the US. Its main goals were to make Thailand an independent country during the Second World War. Although Thailand was allies with Japan, Thailand still secretly became allies with the USA. This also meant that some of the US Generals were in this organization. Nobody in Thailand, except for some people in the government, knew about this organization because Free Thai was considered a secret organization. After the Second World War ended, Wimon Wiriyawit asked for the permission to write a book that revealed all the secret details to share with the Thai people about The Free Thai Movement, and that was the book I read.

    2. This is March 18, 1939. I was hiding. My parents promised me that they would be back in less than an hour but I have been waiting for half a day in the closet already. My name is Lynce Pachenyel, I am a 13 years old boy and my birthday is on March 19; which is tomorrow. I live in Munich, Germany. I am Jewish. Everyone in my family knew already that the Germans hated us and was willing to kill us all.
    Three hours later, my parents still were not back. It was already 6:00pm. I came out of the closet to see the beautiful sunset. I was used to watching it. I crawled downstairs to get my loaf of bread. However my parents had warned me so many times not to go downstairs, but I didn’t listen to what they said because they weren’t home. I then jerked my head around and “BOOM!” there was a knock on the door.”BOOM BOOM BOOM” It continued rapidly. I was scared. I although sprinted to the door and opened it. When I looked who was outside, there were 2 tall men talking to each other in a language I didn’t quite understand. However, I heard the name “Hitler,” the name which my dad said he was anti-Jewish. I stepped up to them and asked “Excuse me, sir, are you Jewish?” One of the men looked at the other and started shouting in that same language that they were speaking earlier. He then put his hand up and in his hand, was the picture of a General that was sticking his left hand up at around 140 degrees; he had a weird-looking mustache.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Reuel Ng29/9/11

    Reuel Ng
    (7B)

    Daniel Half-Human, by David Chotjewitz

    This book is a historical fiction novel set in the years 1933-1939, from when Hitler came to power to the beginning of WWII. The main character, Daniel, and his best friend Armin are two boys who live in Germany. Like most of the German population, they greatly admired Hitler and the Nazi party and were overjoyed when Hitler gained control of Germany. One day, however, when Daniel asks his parents to join the Hitler Youth, he discovers, to his shock, that he was half-Jewish, and thus, in the view of the Nazis and himself, half-human. Daniel is angered by this, but keeps it a secret from his friends, even Armin, who had gone and joined the Hitler Youth. But this did not stay secret. Some of Daniel’s friends had discovered that Daniel was half-Jewish. Armin’s superiors in the Hitler Youth are suddenly alerted to this. Soon, Armin’s friendship with Daniel and his duties to the Hitler Youth started to conflict…

    ReplyDelete
  46. Reuel Ng29/9/11

    Reuel Ng
    (7B)

    Journal Entry:


    The days were dull in this small, cramped place. I missed my old home. Why did we have to move here? “To be safe from the German soldiers,” my father had said. I don’t understand why we had to hide from them. What would they do to us? I asked him that. He hadn’t replied. I’m guessing he just doesn’t like them. From my own experience, I thought that the soldiers weren’t too bad. I was sure they wouldn’t harm us. After all, we were citizens of Germany, weren’t we? Shouldn’t it be their duty to protect us? Come to think of it, my father had mentioned something about Jews not being citizens of Germany anymore. I thought that was rubbish.
    Anyway, to the subject of our “home”, which I have yet to describe. Our “home” was located in a house owned by a German family, the Friedmanns, who were my family’s long-time friends. The place was basically just one room, with a walled off restroom in one corner. When we had moved in, the Friedmanns had to move a bookshelf for us to be able to get in. I think it was meant to be a guestroom, but I hadn’t had an explanation for the bookshelf in front of the door. On the orders of my father, my mother and I had to stay in this room the whole time. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t go out of the room. I think it’s unfair. Why couldn’t we have moved to a house similar to our old one rather than this stupid room? The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of boring, gray, dusty concrete, completely barren of any decoration. The place was lit only by a lamp in one of the corners, making the room very dim. When we wanted it to be brighter, we had to light candles. At night, we all had to sleep on the floor. The thin, dusty mattresses that the Friedmanns had provided didn’t help, and I woke up with a sore back every morning. I had hoped to be away from this place quickly, back to our old home. Father had promised that we would be going back soon. “How soon?” I’d asked. He hadn’t replied to this either. He must be getting short of words.
    Every day, in the morning, I woke to the sound of the door being knocked on. When either my father or mother opened the door, Mrs. Friedmann gave us our breakfasts, on trays, and a copy of the most recent newspaper to my father. Our breakfasts were usually just a slice of bread or two, maybe with some topping like jam or butter. After breakfast, my father would sit on a chair by the lamp, with his back to us and read the newspaper. Sometimes he read it out loud to us, but other times he didn’t. He never let me read it. If I had tried to peek over his shoulder, he would have given me a light smack and told me to go do something else. When my father was done with the newspaper, he would fold it up and slide it back out the door, no doubt to keep me from reading it.
    As I had nothing else to do, I would go and play with the few toys I had brought with me, or read one of the books. My father had watched me once while I was playing with my soldiers, creating a make-believe war. When I had looked up at him, he seemed to have a sad face. He had attempted to smile at me, though I knew it was forced. My mother, on the other hand, would be sitting in another chair, knitting or sewing.
    At around noon, lunch came, the same way as breakfast. The meal itself was also similar to breakfast, consisting of two slices of bread, some topping, but also, sometimes, a bit of meat, like part of a sausage or a slice of ham. After lunch the same things ensued. I played with my toys or read my books. My mother knitted or sewed. My father read, but from a book rather than a newspaper.
    (Continued in next comment...)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Reuel Ng29/9/11

    Reuel Ng
    (7B)

    Journal Entry: (Continued...)

    Then came dinner, which, like the other meals was served on a tray, by Mrs. Friedmann. After dinner, I continued playing with my toys and reading my books for an hour. After that hour, I would be called to give myself a light wash in the restroom. The light wash was done by moistening a towel and wiping myself off until I was clean, rather than the showers that I had had at our old home. There was a shower here, but no water had come out when we had tried it. When I had cleaned myself up, my father would call for a sort of meeting at the corner with the lamp. Here, we read the sacred book, and then we prayed, reciting words from the sacred book. After our prayer, my family settled down and spread out our mattresses, which we laid against the wall during the day to save space. Then we slept. And so it was every day in that room. At least, almost every day.

    ReplyDelete
  48. The Book Theif
    by Markus Zusak

    This is a book about a 9 year old girl who moves to live in a foster home after the death of her younger brother. The story is narrated by death giving you a rater different view of what is happening during this time. Liesel Meminger moved into the house of Rosa and Hans Huberman after her brother dies of unknown reasons and her mother can't take care of her anymore. Rosa Huberman is a very strict mother and swears quite often at Liesel. Hans Huberman, Liesel's 'papa' is a kindhearted man who loves and cares for Liesel teaches her to read. The story progresses throughout the period of the Holocaust and Liesel must face many challenges during her life and she must face the truth that death is all around her.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous29/9/11

    Willie
    7A

    1.) My book, 'Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!', is a historical non-fiction book talking about the attack on Pearl Harbor. The
    book includes the events leading up to the Attack, what it was like in the Attack, and also the aftermath. This book is being
    told in a third-person view, with not much dialogue. It shows what it was like on both sides, including all their plans and
    strategies. It especially focused on the Japanese side and them planning the attack. It also included stuff related to the
    White House after the attack, and declaring the war on Japan. Reading this book was like playing a the board game "Risk".
    While reading the book, it feels like you are viewing everything in a bird's-eye view. You would be reading about what's
    happening on both sides. I think this is a great book, and unique from other books like it. I would recommend it to people if
    they don't mind reading a book with basically no dialogue. All it was was pretty much narration.

    2.) December 14, 1939:

    I have arrived at Uncle Shepzhel's house and I am hiding in my Uncle Shepzhel's underground meat-cellar with my family for a few days now. My Uncle is a retired butcher, so his
    cellar was a perfect place to hide. Uncle Shepzhel is a Christian, and he agreed to help us hide from the Nazis. The Nazis
    are looking for us according to my Uncle. He said they came knocking on his door one day. He said they would be shouting and searching
    through all his personal belongings and looking for any suspicious locations of Jews hiding. I haven't had any contact with anyone
    except for Uncle Shepzhel and Mama. My father was taken away to the Ghetto by the Nazis. Luckily Mama snuck us out just in time. It was
    night time, so we weren't too worried about anyone catching us because it was hard to see. It took a while to get to Uncle Shepzhel's house.
    Uncle Shepzel and closed the door immediately and blew out all the candles. I was confused, and I asked him why we need to be
    kept quiet and hidden. He just ignored me and guided me into the cellar. We only have one candle in here, and we only use it occasionally.
    There hasn't been much to do here other than draw and play with the rats. It really stinks in here, and I want to go out, but Uncle
    Shepzhel told me I have to stay in here at all times. I still don't know why we need to hide in here. I'm also really hungry, but
    Uncle Shepzhel said he would bring down some bread soon. I don't really like it in here. It's dark and cramped. I asked Mama if
    I can at least go upstairs, but she told me to go to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous29/9/11

    Willie's thingy(Continued)

    December 17, 1939:

    I'm still hiding in the cellar, but I wanted to explore and get some air. I waited for Mama and Uncle Shepzhel to go to sleep. When I creeped
    upstairs, I heard knocking on the door. Frightened, I found a small blanket and tried to hide myself with it. Uncle Shepzhel was
    soon downstairs to answer the door. When he opened up the door, I could recognize who it was. It was those evil Jackboots. I couldn't
    understand what they were saying. The Jackboots were getting really loud. One Jackboot pushed Uncle Shepzhel away from the door,
    and walked inside. I hid myself more into into the blanket, trying best to make myself hidden. He walked around a little, looking around.
    I saw him walk near me. His big black boot was only inches away from me. He paused for a few seconds. I felt like I was having
    a small heart attack. My heart was pumping rapidly. It was so quiet. I was trying to hold my breath. My Uncle told him that there is nothing suspicious here. Finally he walked away, and slammed the door. I still didn't move. I could
    sense that Uncle Shepzhel was in a bad mood, and was also relieved. It was dark again in the house when the man left the house
    with his candle. Mama came upstairs wondering what was going on. Uncle Shepzhel told her that it was the Nazis again, and to
    go back downstairs. I didn't move until I was sure that both of them were back to sleep. Then I went back downstairs into the cellar,
    and just layed there in my uncomfortable sleeping place. Shaken, I could not fall asleep. So I just played with the rats again.

    December 25, 1939:

    It is very chilly in here. It is Christmas day for many people. Uncle Shepzhel is in a good mood, and decides to make us a nice breakfast.
    He also brought me a small present. I ripped it up in excitement. It was a toy gun! I couldn't have been any happier. Mama tried
    to take it away from me, but Uncle Shepzhel told her to let me keep it. He said I needed something to play with other than
    rats.

    January 2, 1940:

    The Jackboots came again. This time they found the cellar. Being alert, Mama quickly hid me with our blankets. I stayed still. All I could hear
    was shouting. I heard Mama screaming and kicking. A few moments later after I heard them walking up the steps, all was silent.
    I stayed under the blankets for a few hours. Calmed down, I went upstairs very quietly. I was trying to look for Uncle Shepzhel,
    but he was not here. I'm all alone, and I don't know what to do. I'm on my own now.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Nathan Charles29/9/11

    .: Journal :.

    Today the soldiers came back, looking for us. They never found us. Being stuck in this damp and dark cellar is awful. I can't stand it much longer. The hiding. With my brothers and parents dead it's hard to cope with the fear that has taken over in these recent weeks. Jimmy is the only reason I am still sane. I can't stand the fear. I don't know what to do.

    .: Journal :.

    Fun has been out of the question in the past few days, the number of soldiers around the area is growing larger. I don't know if I can stay hidden much longer. Me and Jimmy we were being fed by the man across the street. I haven't seen that man in two days. We've gotten used to the hunger, but I can feel my self slowing down. I don't know how much longer Jimmy can stay healthy.

    .: Journal :.

    Today Jimmy got sick. I think he's dying.

    .: Journal :.

    He died

    .: Journal :.

    I don't know what to do. They found his body today. They came down into the basement. I did't have time to hide him. What am I going to do...

    .: Journal :.

    I can hear fighting outside and the distant boom of bombs being dropped. Maybe the war will end soon.

    .: Journal :.

    I heard voices calling out today. They don't sound like the Nazis this time. Can the war really be over.

    .: Journal :.

    They found me, but they're not from here. Americans? They took me to a tent. I'm here alone now. Should I run.

    .: Journal :.
    I feel safe now.

    .: Journal :.
    I am safe now. The war is over...

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous29/9/11

    Jae Jun
    My summary:(Book=London Calling bu:Edward Bloor)
    In the beginning Martin is just a student who goes to All Souls Preparatory. For the next school year, there are making a new statue for school. The new statue is called The Heroes’ Walk. Then while it was getting built, Martin and some people get into a fight for calling Hank’s shirt look gay. Then Hank grabs a piece Carrara marble got destroyed by the fight of Hank and Martin. Later Martin moves into the basement where he thought it was necessary to take the small room. He thought the basement was for shamed people for doing something bad. In that basement he finds and old radio. Then he hears his grandma from behind/from the radio. She says “London calling” so tell that it is his grandma. One day he sees a small, thin, and dirty boy. His name is Jimmy and he says he needs his help. With his radio, he goes back in time in the time where there was WWII.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous29/9/11

    Jae Jun
    My story:
    My family and I are hiding in small cellar from the Nazis. My family and I are Jews. We were lucky not to go to the concentration camps. An old German man owned the house he lived under. He was very kind to us and didn’t like the idea of killing all the Jews. It just didn’t seem to be fair. Jew can’t do that or this. It wasn’t far at all. At least we were not one of the Jews that had to go to the ghetto. The old German man brought us food and told us to keep quiet as possible. Sometimes be brought buckets of water and new pair of clothes to change in and take a bath in the cellar. There were lots of bugs and rodents living with us. It seemed there were Jews to and were hiding from Nazis too. I would also see small bones and dead mice. My mom would get mad at my sister and I if we tried to play with one saying there are full of germs and water is not a easy thing to get. Every day was same. The man would bring food. Our food and water supply was always short so we had to use then only whenever we only needed them. After we ate and took a bath, my mom would always get a nap and my dad would clean up the cellar. He would pick up crumbs and feed the mice that were staring at us everything we ate food. Most of the time we had to eat bread, but on special occasions we were able to eat vegetables and some other different goods. All other times besides eating, sleeping, and playing with some bugs and mice were boring. The time where there was no food at all and no mice and bugs to be seen was very boring. Going to sleep was sometimes hard. The beds were not the best beds in the world. Maybe that was why I couldn’t sleep sometimes. Sometimes before bed time, I would wonder to myself “What is I didn’t live here and just went to a concentration camp or to a ghetto?” I knew one thing, life would be real different. I still wondered how we would make it alive if we could.

    ReplyDelete