Holocaust.
Remember The Holocaust? The catastrophe that happened during the World War II that killed around six million European Jews, the one sponsored by the Nazi and led by the "great" Adolf Hitler? Yes, how could we forget. I was watching a documentary on the National Geographic titled "Nazi Death Squads" and I was reminded of this tragedy.
There have been movies and books made to honor this event, to remind us all of the selfishness of human beings in their pursue for power. One of my favorite pieces is Anne Frank's Diary: The Diary of a Young Girl.She was born on June 12, 1929. She was bright, beautiful and brilliant like every other teenage Jew living in Frankfurt, Germany. She had hopes and dreams just like everyone of us and it was a shame she had to die at such an early age. What's even worse is that she died for the sake of someone's inhumanity. During her time in hiding, Anne Frank spend her time writing a diary about her daily lives in the secret annex. Her diary was kept by Miep Gies, a family friend that helped the Franks went into hiding, and eventually published as one of the most iconic literary works of the World War II.
Her diary became an inspiration to me both as a writer and as an independent citizen. I didn't just get to know who Anne Frank was, in fact I think getting to know what kind of girl she was is just a small part of the diary. The bigger part lies in understanding her family and her own struggles in getting through the times of war, her courageous spirit to keep on dreaming of freedom in times where death could come knocking at any moment. The better words to describe this is probably "to try to understand" because we could never get it, not in a million years, unless we were ever to be put in the same position as the Jews were at that time.
I don't applaud her for her writing skills, because I know there are so many other legendary writers in this world with much, much better skills than her. But I applaud her for her spirit, which is something not many of us have. I admire her for her spirit to pour out everything she had in her heart into writing and just dwell in her passion upon words instead of drowning herself in misery in the midst of all the mess she had to go through. It's humiliating to reflect on the fact that many writers fell into depression after receiving their first rejection slip. I mean, the World War II compared to a rejection slip, seriously?
How I wish that to fight like hell the way she did was easier said than done and how I wish that every person in this world, including myself, could have the heart and soul that she had. And until today, I still envy her. I envy her joy, her courage, her inner child that allows her to dream beyond all kinds of impossibilities. Until today, I still find her one of my greatest sources of inspiration and I will forever be in awe of her life journey.
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| The Diary of a Young Girl photo credit: content.scholastic.com |
Her diary became an inspiration to me both as a writer and as an independent citizen. I didn't just get to know who Anne Frank was, in fact I think getting to know what kind of girl she was is just a small part of the diary. The bigger part lies in understanding her family and her own struggles in getting through the times of war, her courageous spirit to keep on dreaming of freedom in times where death could come knocking at any moment. The better words to describe this is probably "to try to understand" because we could never get it, not in a million years, unless we were ever to be put in the same position as the Jews were at that time.
I don't applaud her for her writing skills, because I know there are so many other legendary writers in this world with much, much better skills than her. But I applaud her for her spirit, which is something not many of us have. I admire her for her spirit to pour out everything she had in her heart into writing and just dwell in her passion upon words instead of drowning herself in misery in the midst of all the mess she had to go through. It's humiliating to reflect on the fact that many writers fell into depression after receiving their first rejection slip. I mean, the World War II compared to a rejection slip, seriously?
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| Anne Frank photo credit: upload.wikimedia.org |
"Still," she writes, "what does that matter? I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart."
In Memory of Anne Frank (June 12, 1929 - March 1945).
Quoted from The Diary of a Young Girl.
Saturday, 20 June, 1942, pg. 2
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