The last few months of my life
I was dreadfully afraid...
so often
When I think about it now …
it was the fear that was the worst thing of all.
The fear of actually dying.
All those humiliations...
did not compare.
All those terrible things we saw did not change that.
But the idea …
that you could be the next to die...
that was the worst thing of all.
AFTER THE ARREST
We left Auschwitz.
COUGHING
BANG
AIRPLANES
The train often stopped because of the bombing.
Stay calm.
BANG Lying in the wagon...
I thought of mom and dad.
Our family...
had been torn apart.
How were they doing?
And what about the others?
We thought the journey would never end.
But then...
the doors opened.
SCREAMING
DOGS BARKING
In the Annex...
I longed for nature so much.
And this is where I saw the woods for the last time.
We were so glad...
that we could get off the train again.
Into the fresh air.
At last there was something other than the stench of urine and shit...
sickness and death.
It was a relief.
THUNDER
DOGS BARKING
After the registration...
when we were given a number again... though this time on paper, not on our arm,
we had to stand outside for hours.
It was November...
and it was freezing.
After that...
we were taken to a camp with tents.
Without beds.
On the ground.
THUNDER AND DOGS BARKING
One night there was a dreadful storm.
A CLAP OF THUNDER
SCREAMING
That tent’s going to collapse !
SCREAMING
THUNDER
We thought we were going to die.
More tents collapsed.
But no one came to help us.
So all the women decided to go to sleep together outside on the ground.
Margot, Auguste and I huddled together to stay warm.
Without them...
I would have lost the will to live long before.
From the tents and the mud...
we went to filthy, overcrowded barracks.
COUGHING
We were surrounded by other women.
Sisters.
Mothers and their daughters.
And women who had no one left at all.
We were left entirely to our fate.
Everything OK?
The guards were actually always on the towers around the camp.
So we actually barely saw them.
But when we did see them...
we were terrified of their whims.
And the Germans knew that.
And they used it
to make sure that all those prisoners...
did exactly what they wanted.
There were infectious diseases.
like diphtheria.
There were festering wounds.
And typhus.
Virtually everyone who caught typhus died of it.
If red spots appeared on your skin after a few days of fever ...
the shakes...
and vomiting...
COUGHING
you knew you were lost.
At the end of December we decided...
to celebrate Hannukah with a few of the women.
This is the Jewish Festival of Light.
Cheese.
We had all saved some food.
And we sang nursery rhymes.
*The road was long
*the horse cantered along happily
I have fond memories of that evening.
*I bet I’ll find the road myself.
*The driver lay down to rest.
We did try to make the best of things.
* Wishing you a safe homecoming, my friend, my friend
* Wishing you a safe homecoming, my friend*
At dusk we often secretly went to the fence
which separated our part of the camp from another part which had greater freedoms.
At the fence you could sometimes talk to the people there.
I hoped for news about mom or dad.
But no one knew anything.
Is it OK? Is it warm enough?
Margot was sick.
She had a really high fever...
and a terrible headache.
She was in such a bad way that
I hardly recognised her anymore.
And I was also...
feeling worse and worse.
Anne!
Guess who’s here!
Your friend, Hanneli! She’s by the fence!
Go and see her!
Anne? Anne Frank?
I couldn’t believe it.
Hanneli, My dear little friend, Hanneli.
We were so happy to talk to each other.
She couldn’t believe that I was there too in Bergen-Belsen.
I told her how bad things were for us.
And Hanneli offered to help us.
Do you know what I’m going to try to do?
I’m going to see if I can try and bring you some food next time.
Can you come here again at the same time the day after tomorrow?
And I went.
Two days later.
I summoned up enough strength to walk to the fence.
I’m going to throw it now.
One, two...
When the woman grabbed the package
and ran away with it …
I started to shout and cry.
Calm down, Anne, calm down.
But Hanneli reassured me. I’ll just try again.
Hurry back to Margot.
A few days later...
I did manage to catch the package.
But the small amount of food in it...
was no use anymore.
A few days later...
we were both getting sicker and sicker.
Margot started to develop...
bright red spots on her skin.
She had typhus.
I can’t really remember...
those last few days very well.
Girls...
I have to go.
Keep faith, Anne.
Keep going.
I’m thinking of you.
Auguste...
was being transported away.
Now I only had my sister left.
Are you coming to have some cake?
And then...
my sister died.
Dear sister...
my own dear sister...
I was still alive
But it didn’t feel like that.
All my life
my thoughts had been the most important thing to me.
I could write about them.
Tell stories.
And analyse.
This is very strange.
This is my camera. Yes, it’s yours.
I paid for it.
And so I want to have another look…
at all the pieces... Mm
that I made...
and then make a real story with them.
For me the most important thing is to clearly show ...
what life is like here, what it is really like.
I want to do something so that people will remember me.
I really want to mean something
to everyone.
I knew what was going to happen.
That I would die.
All my dreams...
would come to nothing.
But I had accepted it.
I couldn’t go on anymore.
I really couldn’t.