Today we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the death of Etty Hillesum (January 15, 1914 Middelburg – November 30, 1943 Auschwitz). Etty came from a Dutch Jewish family and in July 1942 began voluntarily helping her fellow countrymen in the transit camp Westerbork, from where she was deported to Auschwitz in September 1943. In the gas chamber, her mother, a Russian Jew who fled from Jewish pogroms in Russia in 1907, also perished (between 1880 and 1920, tens of thousands of Jews were murdered in Russia, and the number of Russian Jewish emigrants during this period is estimated to be up to two million)…
For the great heroic suffering, I feel enough strength within me, my God; rather, I fear the thousands of those small everyday worries that sometimes bother me like pesky insects. Well, in my despair, I will scratch my bitten places a little, and each day I will tell myself again: Today is taken care of, you are still surrounded by the safe walls of a cozy home like a frequently worn and beloved piece of clothing, for today you still have enough food, and at night a bed with white sheets and soft blankets awaits you, so you should not waste even a spark of strength on trivial material concerns around you today. Use and enjoy every minute of today, ensure that it is fruitful and becomes a solid cornerstone for the poor and anxious days to come.
(Etty Hillesum /1914–1943/, diary entry)
