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Inge Heiman Karo

(Written at age 11)

For various reasons, the Jews are emigrating from Germany. They are all going, one after the other, unceasingly, every day, hundreds and thousands of them. Behind them stands sorrow. Unseen, it walks behind many of them, follows their every step into the new land, and never leaves their side.

And yet, we still have a faithful friend, a father who cares for us and will always care for us, our G-d! We will trust in Him and with His help will even be able to create a new life for ourselves in a strange country among strangers.

Our fate is like a huge hurricane; it blows us some place, lets us rest, and then, just when we want to put down roots, it pulls us out and drives us into another unknown part of the world. It was always so and will probably never change.

Our life is a gigantic thick book, in which fate always enters new words and rules that we have to learn. Theoretical knowledge is not enough; we have to show what we can do at once in a practical way. Fate will show no mercy to whoever does not keep up and lags behind and leave him stranded by the wayside. In this way, we all step into a different country. Not all of us into the same one. No, fate directs us into all of the countries of the world. It does not care where to.

Words that we did not know a few years ago have taken form and come to life, and they pursue us even in our dreams. Wherever one goes, one hears only: “Will you be called for a hearing soon?”; “My G-d, I have number 26,000”; “Will your child be sent away?”; “What are your American relatives doing?”; or “Do you have an affidavit?” Words such as sponsorship, children’s transport, U.S.A., municipal office, Aid Society, passport, steamship ticket, export duty, suitcase, furniture, clothing, climate, etc. are the order of the day. Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Ohio, and many more have become familiar to us. Daily, this one and that one receives letters bearing all kinds of foreign stamps.

These are the inescapable consequences of emigration, and we have to bear them. I believe that we are gradually getting used to them.