"These are my last words…” is the opening sentence found over and over again in this unique volume of hand written letters authored by those about to be killed during the Holocaust. These are the actual letters found over the last 60 years, hoarded by their families and friends, and ultimately collected by Yad Vashem, the major Holocaust Museum in Israel. These last letters were sent from the ghettos, hidden in the cattle cars and train stations, and smuggled out of the Concentration Camps. They reveal the hope and aspirations of the doomed and express the concern these martyrs had for their loved ones, and oftentimes, the belief that their own spiritual continuity lay in their children’s survival. Includes a geographical index of where the letters were found and/or sent from. Dear Children,
Remember, both of you, what Amalek [the Nazis] has done to us. Remember this and don’t forget it your whole lives, and pass this on as a sacred will to the next generations. The Germans killed, slaughtered, and murdered us calmly and in tranquility. I saw them and I stood among them when they sent many thousands of men and women, infants and babies to be killed. How are they then able to eat with appetite their morning butterbrod, while teasing and mocking our martyrs? I saw them when they came back from the vale of murder; filthy with the blood of our beloved ones from their feet to the top of their heads. I am writing at a time, when many people are broken, many widows and orphans, naked and hungry, are stationed at my door requesting our help. My strength wanes. I am naked and empty with no words in my language. For a moment, I close my eyes and picture the two of you standing before me. I hereby hug and kiss you, and I tell you until my last breath that I am your loving father.