unit 3 a young girls impossible idealism

A Young Girl’s Impossible Idealism

Anne Frank was born in Germany, but at the age of four she escaped with her family to Amsterdam. Anne started to keep a diary on June 12, 1942--- her 13th birthday. Only a month or so later, Anne, her family , and some other German Jews had to go into hiding in a storehouse in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. For two years , eight people lived in fear of being discovered. No one else could come into their aid. Anne described the struggle and her dreams, analyzing herself with total honesty. “I have now reached the stage where I don’t care whether I live or die. What is going to happen will happen,” she wrote. In August 1944 it did happen----they were arrested by the Nazis and were sent to the camps. Only her father ---and her diary survived. Anne Frank’s Diary was published on June 15 , 1952. The following is an adapted part of her diary entry of July 15 1944, about a month before the family was discovered: “In its innermost depths , youth is lonelier than old age.” I read this saying in some book and I’ve always remembered it, and found it to be true. Older people have formed their opinions about everything, and don’t hesitate before they act. My wish is that young people could have our own ideas and hold our ground too. However, it’s twice as hard for us to do so , especially in a time when all ideals are being smashed and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and when we do not know whether to believe in the true the good , and the beautiful. Many people havens realized how heavily we are weighed down by our problems---- problems we are much too young to find solutions to. That’s the difficulty in these times: ideals, dreams , and hopes rise within us, only to meet the horrible reality and be destroyed. It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so impossible to carry out. Yet, I keep them, because in spite of everything, I have the belief that people are good at heart. The world going crazy, I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will eventually destroy us. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens. I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty will end, and that peace will return. In my heart there is always the wish that I could build my hopes on the foundation of confusion , misery , and death that I find all around me. Impossible as it seems, I must hold fast to my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.

My Life as a Japanese Prisoner of War

In 1941, my life was happy and peaceful. We were one of the hundreds of Dutch families living in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. We had a nice home and a beautiful garden. I had a piano, books to read, and the prospect of high school to look forward to. Suddenly , it was all taken away when the Japanese invaded. My father was taken prisoner , and we didn’t see him for four years. My mother, sisters and I were all sent to a camp on an island. Although I was a teenager, I had to become an adult overnight, and had to spend the best years of my life as a prisoner of war. I was always hungry and often ill. I had to do heavy manual labor and was denied any proper education. If it had not been for the people around me, for their courage and support, I would not have survived those years. My mother was firm-minded and her belief was that all the hardships should be over and all the evils should be destroyed. She had to do all the hospital laundry by hand, but she never complained. Our teachers were also an inspiration. They were people who devoted themselves to educating children , even in the hardest conditions. We had no textbooks and had to write on any paper we could find. Then, there were those who gave their lives for others. The most heroic was a woman named Mrs Hoogeveen. One day in 1945, a dog with rabies wandered into the camp and started to bother two women. Seeing that, Mrs Hoogeveen ran to their aid immediately. She held the dog by the throat while one of the women killed it with a brick. Unfortunately , Mrs Hoogeveen was bitten during the process. When the symptoms of rabies appeared , she isolated herself and died a heroic and lonely death. She didn’t want to place anyone else at risk. Her actions saved the other two women and possibly more of us from being bitten. When the war finally ended, we escaped immediately. We were fortunate because the camp was soon destroyed by bombs. Eventually we were reunited with Papa and, although we had no material possessions, we began to rebuild our lives together. When people ask me if I hate the Japanese, I tell them that we can’t keep on hating. We can’t hate the present generation for the wrongs done by an earlier one. But there are lessons to be learned about war. War destroys everything beautiful. It kills innocent men, women and children and, in the end, there’s nothing left except great misery.