The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

 

 

This is the true story of a teenager who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Dita Adler—Dita Kraus in real life—was only fourteen years old when she became the secret librarian of a clandestine library in Auschwitz.

 The library consisted of only eight books that she had to hide consistently. The discovery of those books by the Nazis could have led to her execution. Amid the dire living circumstances, the set of books offered the unique opportunity to nourish the imagination, spark hope and learn something about life. Sometimes reading one of those books meant hiding herself beside a latrine. Dita guarded them carefully. It was an act of freedom.

  Reading a book was dangerous. Iturbe explains this clearly in a few words:

“Throughout history, all dictators, tyrants and oppressors, whatever their ideology—whether Aryan, African, Asian, Arab, Slav or any other racial background; whether defenders of popular revolutions, or the privilege of the upper classes, or God’s mandate, or martial law—have had one thing in common: the vicious persecution of the written word. Books are extremely dangerous; they make people think.”

 The Librarian of Auschwitz is a riveting read. It gets more engaging with each page. 

 Dita and her parents lived in Prague, where her father worked as a lawyer. Under  Hitler’s command, Germany annexed the Czech lands. In 1943 Dita and her parents became prisoners in Auschwitz. Their only crime was to be Jewish; the Nazis had stripped them of everything: their possessions, home, jobs and safety. At first, they were forced to move to a Terezin ghetto, where they lived in crowded conditions and worked hard without compensation.

 Jews lived under the constant threat of hate crimes. They were harassed for no reason, slandered and scapegoated. Hitler’s hatred for the Jews translated into several laws. Jewish children, for example, were no longer allowed to attend schools. In 1943 Dita and her parents were shipped to concentration camps. In Terezin, Dita had met Fredy Hirsch, a man who had a passion for education. He created a clandestine school and the secret library in Auschwitz.

 Hitler established a totalitarian regime and invaded various countries in Europe. In 1939, German troops invaded Poland. In 1940 they expanded to Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and then France. Norway and Denmark were conquered that same year.

 Hitler took control of all the newspapers in all the occupied countries and published propaganda to uphold his regime. He confiscated radios. Those who resisted his irrational regime belonged to the so-called Resistance. Members of the Resistance were sent to concentration camps or executed after being interrogated.

Millions of Jews died in gas chambers. Others died of starvation, diseases or were shot to death.

  How did Dita manage to survive the ominous conditions of the concentration camp in Auschwitz? How did she manage that secret library for a while? How did she endure  starvation, lice, diseases and other harsh conditions? Iturbe's book will help you to understand how she survived. Many Jews were forced to labor in factories without enough food. The atrocities Dita had to witness make me look at her in awe today: the humiliations, brutality and barbaric actions she suffered in the hands of the Nazis did not crush her spirit. 

 The Librarian of Auschwitz has been an intense, emotional read that shook my heart and inspired me to read more books about the Holocaust.

 When I write about cultivating inner peace I think of Dita Kraus. Despite the trauma of her teenage years, she never stopped fighting for her dignity. She became an English teacher and promoted a love for books. She is now ninety-four years old. You can listen to this recent interview here:

  I strongly encourage people to read The Librarian of Auschwitz. It is a very well-researched novel based on real facts and people. When Antonio Iturbe learned about the minuscule library in Auschwitz from the book The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel, he dived into the research that led him to write this book. 

 His interviews with Dita Kraus played an important role in the craft of the novel.

 On October 7, the barbaric acts of Hamas in Israel reminded me of the sadism, brutality and cruelty of the Nazis. The enemy today is called Hamas. Hamas wants to destroy Israel and exterminate Jews. To understand this terrorist organization, which has ruled Gaza like a cult since 2006, you can listen to somebody who escaped the regime in Gaza: his name is Moseb Hassan Yousef. He is the son of one of the founders of this organization. Poorly informed people call Hamas a group of “resistance” or “liberation”. This is not correct and we should explain it. How is Israel supposed to stay safe while Hamas continues to have the intention to repeat the attack it perpetrated on October 7?

   Whenever I ask this question, I get no response. 

 My Writing Life blog promotes the freedom to read books, supports democratic principles everywhere and stands up against any kind of hate.

 This book blog is taking a break until February 2024.

Thank you for visiting My Writing Life blog: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration.

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to read my writing on the following book:

 Life Went on Anyway by Olev Sentsov

Here's a well-researched article about the evidence on links between Hamas and Vladimir Putin:

https://www.mei.edu/publications/essential-questions-about-russia-hamas-link-evidence-and-its-implications

ManuScrita: Poems on Life, Love and the Nature of Reality by Michael Teichberg

 

“It’s always something to know you’ve done the most you could. But don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last!”

Charles Dickens

 This time of the year is a period of reflection for some of us. Witnessing so much violence, hate and extremism across the world, the mind seeks the light afforded by wisdom and hope. Today’s poetry collection responds to this need. It is a favorite of mine because it offers a sanctuary of wisdom, a universe of aspirations, and an introspective journey in which the spiritual-self reunites with the bonds that are meaningful to us, the connections that leave an indelible memento in the heart…

 Confusion and helplessness are part of grief, so it is a relief to settle on this poetical land of fortitude to embrace who we are amid the chaos, to acknowledge that life matters, even when others try to convince us that this is not the case. 

 Peace without safety may remain elusive. Yet inner peace is still something one can cultivate amid dire circumstances as a fuel that sustains one’s inner strength and resilience.

 Michael Teichberg’s poetry is unique, but it contains the wisdom and simplicity of Kahlil Gibran’s poetical style. Teichberg’s writing is direct and sincere. I am sharing a fragment of his poem “Anger Management”:

“Always strive for a life of peace.

For the heart easily sways to a negative place.

Let not the things that trouble us, trouble us.

The mind is fortified by the peace we choose and trust.

Existence is simplicity and in simplicity

We find great capacity

To embrace the positivity and beauty of the world.

 

We are quick to react to evil,

Letting brute instinct unfurl.

But self-discipline and reason can reign supreme

To overcome the chaos of our reactive extremes.

Those on the path to Enlightenment

Must embrace the oneness of all, without resentment.

In moments of conflict, patience is key,

For rash actions only serve to multiply the debris”.

 

 

  There is something addictive about Teichberg’s poetry. I feel compelled to understand how his consciousness swims through the mystery and confusion of life’s uncertainty. With many of his poems, I fall into a trance of emotions or thoughts and ideas that transport me…

 His poems are endowed with percipience and a sense of hope, but some of them simply feel magical in the way they help us to connect with our own roots. For example, the first poem, “My Light”, is about his grandmother:

“New loves and friendships may arise,

But none can compare to the familial love

From my first moments to her final ones.

Her laughter, my favorite song.”

When he describes his grandmother, I think of my own grandmother:

“Her warm disposition, a hug with each gaze,

Her selflessness, a rare and precious gem.”              

The metaphor of their bond is accurate and heartening. I feel the same way about my own grandmothers:

“A bond built on laughter, safety and comfort.

Our own temple, a retreat from the world,

Where we talked about everything.”

 This is a poetry collection “to be transported, challenged and moved” while “celebrating life, love and the nature of reality through a mystic’s lens.”

  The land of his poetry is a place where the reader can take a break and reflect upon the complexity of the self, the freedom of being detached from the prisons of stereotypes and labels, without being confined to the tyranny of prejudices.

  I appreciate how Michael Teichberg’s poetical world awakens the reader to see something beyond the expected conventions of reality, reminding us that the mystic’s lens nurtures the mind in a way that may leave the soul in a place that is unfamiliar to others. (The author of this blog post creates that lens from the clay of experiences, discipline and steady intentions).

  Do I agree with every message? Not necessarily. I don’t embrace the animalistic concept he shares in a couple of his poems because this concept can be used as a weapon to place humanity on a pedestal. The author of this post does not believe that humanity has earned such a position. (As I mentioned in another post, I don’t need to agree with everything a writer says to love a book). I also disagree with the drastic distinction made between East and West in his poem “The Divide”. I don't see "the east as being obsessed with the self as part of everyone and everything else." 

    Teichberg’s insightful poetry collection includes prose poetry and photo poetry as well…

 “Being driven to live life from within creates a greater mind that when hatched can achieve anything. A life lived solely externally is one run by shallow desires and limiting moralities.”

 Poetry speaks for itself, so my words here are somewhat redundant. I will close the post on MichaelTeichberg’s ManuScrita with a fragment from his poem “Babbling Bliss”:

 “In the shadowy corners, where ideas take root,

Like mushrooms sprouting amidst the darkness,

Even as authoritarian forces seek to tear them apart,

Silky threads of freedom persist.

 

The heart, propelled by revolutionary fervor,

Is catapulted into bleeding passion for change.

Words possess the power to transform,

Turning brothels into sanctuaries of worship,

Where sin and vulgarity can dissolve the veils of myth.”

 

 Photo by Benjamin Lizardo. Source: Unsplash.com 

 Everyday I think of the hostages abducted by Hamas, and I hope that peaceful negotiations will be reached to set them free as soon as possible. My heart is with them and with their families. Let's not forget them. Let's speak up for their release.

 

 

 

Remember This Day by Linda Drattell

 

 

  Linda Drattell’s latest poetry collection is a reflection born out of resilience. Wisdom emanates from life experience when one chooses a path of humility and growth. Her poems are about tenacity, healing, dealing with unexpected trials and contemplating the wonder of everyday life. It may be a subtle invitation to accept challenges with authenticity, patience, perseverance: the gifts that the wisdom of experience can provide when we open up to them…

   My favorite poem from Remember This day is the one she dedicates to her special friend: an ageing horse whose tenderness and gentle attitude captivated my heart. Every time I read this poem to somebody tears flood my eyes.

   I appreciate that there is no preaching in her poetry. Her poems honor the precious bonds with loved ones and contemplate the transformation that results from resilience. There is a paradox between the fragility of life and the strength that evolves from life struggles.

   I like to revisit her words, to savor them in silence or share them… Linda is a poet, author and advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing in California.

  Linda Drattell is also the survivor of a terrorist attack by a radical Islamist on Bastille Day in Paris in 2016.

  One of her poems narrates her terrifying experience and reveals the inner emotional landscape of being the survivor of a terrorist attack, but I will only share a brief fragment of her poem:

 “Trauma creates a gravel road in our brains.

Thinking too much about what happened

widens that gravel road…

I avoid crowds these days.

Always keep my phone charged.

Every so often, my husband and I cry.

July 14, 2016.

I am slowly forgetting the date.

Then a similar attack occurs another date,

elsewhere.

How do we know when we are healed—"

 

  Let’s not forget…

 I received a copy of Linda Drattell’s Remember this Day in exchange for an honest review.

 You can learn more about the author’s literary works by checking her website.

 

Photo by Pieter Van Noorden. Source: Unsplash.com

The Darkness Manifesto: on Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life by Johan Eklof

 

 Who doesn’t appreciate the beauty of a starry sky? The quiet light of stars and planets and the serenity of the moonlight evoke a sense of mystery and wonder.  For many living beings, however, the light from the stars and the moon is a guide and a resource required for survival.  On the other hand, the artificial lights that humans infuse into the night erase the delicate nature of the night sky.

 The abusive use of garish human lights confuses insects, birds and various living beings who depend on the moon and the stars to get food, mate and thrive.

  Life is regulated by rhythms. Both day and night form the natural rhythm of the world, and respecting this balance supports human health. I appreciate how Johan Eklof details the effects of darkness on the way the human body functions. The hormone fluctuations that result from respecting the natural cycles of light and darkness support the quality of sleep, restoring and bolstering health and stamina.

 Half of all insects are nocturnal. They need several hours of continuous darkness to obtain food and find a mate. Eklof explains it clearly, “The night’s limited light protects these insects, and the pale glow from stars and the moon is central for their navigation and hormonal systems. Disturbances in the natural oscillation between light and dark is therefore a threat to the night insects’ very existence.” The lighting in cities disrupts the health of thousands of living beings in various ways; Eklof’s book helps readers understand this phenomenon on multiple levels. In the state of Florida, for example, research showed how the lighting in cities inhibited the birds’ immune system and the impact of this situation on human beings: “Sparrows with West Nile fever were infected an average of two days longer if they were exposed to artificial light during that time. This increased the risk that the virus would spread to human beings.”

 A single bat can eat 3000 insects in one night. For this reason, they are very good at controlling the population of mosquitoes. Bats can make a big difference in the comfort felt on a terrace on quiet summer evenings. In Asia rice is the most important food for billions of people. One hundred million tons of rice are destroyed every year, but bats help to reduce the loss of rice by feeding on the insects that destroy those crops. Pesticides are not as effective as bats. Besides, pesticides have an impact on human health and the environment. Bats contribute one million dollars a year to Thailand's economy. In North America bats save three billion dollars every year by protecting corn and cotton crops. Bats are also pollinators, just like hummingbirds, bees, bumblebees, and moths. Furthermore, their droppings are effective fertilizers. In order to survive, bats need the darkness of the night.

After a powerful earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994, a power outage hit the city. As a result, the Milky Way, which had not been seen for decades, became visible. The emergency services were flooded with calls about the strange light phenomenon. The power outage allowed people to see something that light pollution had kept hidden...

 Human beings insist on negating the need for darkness by inundating the night with unnecessary lights. Light pollution is often ignored. Yet it contributes to the extinction of several species, disrupting entire ecosystems and wreaking havoc on human health. Eklof’s book educates readers to understand the need for a paradigm shift in the attitude toward the darkness of the night. It inspires us to cherish it and to recognize the essential role it plays in our lives.

  France is ahead in the field of addressing light pollution, but it is not the only country that began to tackle the issue. “France passed legislation in 2019 over how much light can be emitted into the atmosphere. In 2021 the law was fully implemented and regulates everything from brightness and color temperature to time of day and the coverings of street lighting. It remains to be seen how this will be implemented in practice and what the effects will be. But more and more countries are undertaking similar initiatives. In the Austrian capital of Vienna, they’ve started turning out the lights at 11:00 p.m., and in Groningen in the Netherlands industry and agriculture lights are regulated by law. Western Europe seems to have woken up in this regard, while the rest of the world is still at the starting block about the threat of light pollutants.” There are promising examples in other places. For example, the city of Flagstaff in Arizona received a special recognition: the Dark Sky City status as a pioneer in introducing lighting regulations to enhance the night sky. Their ambition was to be able to see the preserved night sky in an urban environment; astronomers were the driving force of the regulations.

 In the meantime, it is not difficult to turn off the lights when we don’t use them. It is even easier to avoid wasting money on lights that invade the precious darkness of the night. We may be rewarded with the image of a peaceful sky illuminated by the glow of the moon and the stars. It is empowering to know that we can save lives through simple actions. 

Photo by Neida Zarate. Source: Unsplash. 

Here's an article with more information and ideas on how to address light pollution:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution/

Light pollution threatens coastal marine ecosystems. Here's an article on this:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/09/light-pollution-threatens-coastal-marine-systems