Dear diary,
Yesterday morning was just a normal average day in Berlin. The sun was shining and I was playing with my friends in the streets. But today, my dad said "Bruno,this week, we will be packing up and moving house"! I was devastated. Now, I will not be able to contact or play with my friends. Even though my older sister Gretel (who is twelve) is in the same situation as me, she keeps telling me "Bruno, it's okay, it's okay". She keeps reassuring me. That's all she has been saying to me for the last few days, along with "I love my dolls so much, they are my family". Even though Gretel hates me, I think she is amazing. Being so reassuring to me, keeping me calm and displaying so much responsibility. I love my sister. We are about to board the train towards my new 'really happy' life. What what can I do. I'm very sad however it's not the end of the world . Besides, everyone else in my immediate family is going through the exact same thing as me so why should I be complaining? I shouldn't.
Dear diary,
We have just moved in to the house. It's certainly big. I feel like I am an extremely rich person. There are army officers and security guards everywhere. You may think I enjoy all of this ; big house, lots of security but NO. I HATE IT. I don't care how big or secure our house is, I just want to be with my friends. I feel like I'm am isolated in America's toughest prison. The family maid Maria is helping me unpack my clothes and personalising my room by putting things I like on the walls to make me feel at home, however, it is not helping me at all. Again, I feel like I am in a prison. I ask myself why, why, why me; and I am getting no clues towards finding an answer.
| Shmuel and I playing chess |
Today is another day, I am going to try to forget everything that happened yesterday and move on. But today, looking out my window, I see a farm. But the animals are wearing light blue and white striped pyjamas. I call Gretel to come and clarify for me but she does not come. I wait a few minutes and I eventually find a very grumpy sister asking me "what's wrong now" you whimp? And I said "look at the farm over there with the animals wearing light blue an white striped pyjamas. She thought that it was a farm as well. We went downstairs and asked mother what it was. She cautiously said"yes Bruno, you're right, it is a 'farm' and the animals are 'special'. I believed her. Both Gretel and I were oblivious of anything suspicious.
Dear diary,
Yesterday, the weirdest thing happened. I was swinging on the swing outside yesterday just having a good time and I started to see smoke coming out of the chimney, but it was different smoke. Not smokey smoke, smelly smoke. It almost smelt like people. But I didn't think anything of it. So I continued to swing and I realised that the smell out of the chimney was coming from the farm with the special animals. Again, I didn't think anything of it. I got so distracted by everything that I was not concentrating on the way I was swinging. Then all of a sudden, BANG. I fell off the swing and plummeted my face in to the dirt on the grounds of OutWith. But that was just the start of the weirdness that occurred. Mother was out, so as soon as I screamed, a man in the light blue and white striped pyjamas rushed to my aid. He was like an angel. He just helped me up and bandaged me without a word. Which I found very surprising. He looked very sad and I did not know why so I just sat on the table and he just sat on a plastic chair waiting for my mum to pick me up and take care of the situation. He told me his name was Pavel and he was once a doctor but at the time he was peeling potatoes for dinner, so I just laughed. The man in the striped pyjamas was basically a slave. He never talked or interacted with anyone. He just worked. Mother took care of the situation and then the man just went back to work peeling potatoes.
Dear diary,
This morning, I made up an alibi that I was going out reading on the swing, but in actual fact, I was going to go exploring out the back of the house. I waited until my parents were not looking,
I took my chance and bolted for it. Then for the next few kilometres, all I saw was bush, bush and more bush. I thought I had got lost, and then I saw a huge, electrified fence near where the funny smoke was coming from. I walked closer and closer and then I started to see a little boy that looked my age with his head shaved, on the other side of the fence wearing the same light blue and white striped pyjamas as Pavel our servant. The little boy was just sitting down on the grass almost like he was meditating. I went as close as I could to the iron prison and said "Hi I'm Bruno. What's your name"? He looked up in shock and replied "Shmuel". Again, I laughed; but I really shouldn't have. Because I later found out through chatting with him that he was nine and he doesn't have a mother or father. I also asked him about the number on his pyjamas because I had noticed that our servant was wearing the number 1324 on the left corner of his pyjamas and Shmuel was wearing the number 937 on his pyjamas. It turns out that it's not a numbers game, but more their outfit that they wear everywhere they go in the iron prison. It was an amazing chat and I think I stayed there for about one and a half hours.
Dear diary,
I saw Bruno a few times after that, and our chats were everything from asking each other how we were feeling to even discovering why Shmuel was in the camp. Since Shmuel was stuck in behind an electrical fence all his life, he didn't know much about important issues like government and he had never been to a big city like Berlin before. So I went home and asked father (who is an army officer) and he told me that the 'farm' was not actually a farm, rather a camp for Jews or Jewish people. I also got told that Jews were bad people. Very bad people. They are not nice and that I should never be friends with them. My sister agreed with father. They said, that it was a good thing that all the Jews were locked behind an electrified fence all their lives because they were not actual people.I was left very, very confused.
Dear diary,
After staying up all of last night thinking about what father and my sister were saying, I continued to feel very, very confused. I raced back to see Shmuel. I asked him if he knew why he was behind the electric fence and then he went silent. He then revealed something that I didn't see coming. He said to me "I'm a Jew". I then told him what my family said. He took the info and moved on. He started talking about his lifestyle and I started talking about mine. We just talked and talked and talked. We said goodbye to each other and I reached my hand through the gaps of the fence and he did the same. Now we had a bond as strong as ever. That night, I went back home and had nothing much for dinner. Just seven peas and one single bite of meat and then went to bed. Around about half past nine, I still couldn't get to sleep so I snuck into my sisters room in tears. Se accepted me, let me in and tucked me under the covers. She could see I was clearly distressed about something so she asked me "what's wrong Bruno"? I wasn't going to lie. But I didn't completely tell her the truth. Asked her if there is such thing as a nice Jew and she replied NO.
I tried to convince her that not all Jews are bad but then she asked me why I thought that. I tried to spit everything out but I just couldn't come to terms with it. I simply said "I don't know".
Dear diary,
Yesterday, I was just in OutWith and then guess who I saw cleaning the dishes and setting up for dinner? BRUNO! I was shocked (in a good way though). I immediately went and got him some food. I got him a bread roll. He started eating it like he hadn't eaten for weeks. And it turns out that he actually had nothing to eat for weeks. He continued to set up and clean and then all of a sudden, lieutenant Kolter, a guard from the army asked Shmuel how he received the bread roll. The lieutenant screamed at him asking I'm how he got it demanding an answer. When he didn't get an answer, he asked me how he got the bread roll. I freaked and I just without thinking, instantly said that "I don't know this boy, I just saw him and he stole the bread roll". Straight after, I felt like such an idiot because I could be ending my best friends life. Shmuel exited the facade of OutWith and I haven't seen him since. That night I felt terrible and once again, unsurprisingly, couldn't sleep. Just then, I went to the site to visit Bruno and he wasn't there. I started to get worried.
Dear diary,
The past few days have been extremely stressful because I keep visiting the site of my best friend and every time I go, he is not there. I am currently extremely fearful that I may have ended his life. I have not been sleeping at all. The tension is SO high, however, I cannot show it because If I do, my parents, especially father will begin to question me and then all the information, that I have being meeting up with a Jew on a daily basis and being nice to him, will gradually start to leak out and if father finds out, I tell you, he will certainly not be happy. Also, I am currently BEGGING that lieutenant Kolter will tell father what happened. And again, if father finds out anything to do with Jews or running out to the back where it is out of bounds, he would give me unimaginable punishments such as not eating for weeks or getting smacked and whipped. That is if I am lucky. I am really, really scared now.
Dear diary,
Today was a new day and I tried not to stress too much about not seeing Shmuel but it is very hard not to stress when you think that before I lied to the lieutenant, Shmuel and I were meeting up with each other everyday and also, I could not imagine the shame and guilt I would feel if I ended a nine year olds life. Although, if he is dead, I have got no one to blame but myself. Thankfully though, I try
one last time to search for Bruno and it was successful. He came back to his usual spot sitting down on the grass in the same meditating position. I greeted him the same way I met him; by saying "hi". He looked up at me and as soon as I saw his face, I knew I had made as huge mistake by saying what I said to the lieutenant. Even though he was not dead, he didn't come out of if un-injured. I could easily see a battered eye with a few significant lacerations here and there. I felt terrible, but at least he was alive. I quickly apologised and he took his time but he eventually accepted my apology and said "it's alright". I still felt terrible but I felt more relieved than I did before. We started playing chess and we had fun. Shmuel was beginning to get happier but I could just tell that something else was wrong. I asked him "Shmuel, what's wrong"? And he said "I can't find my dad".
We just looked at each other and you could feel the sadness and fear in both his eyes and mine. I made him a promise to make up for injuring him. I said "I will help you find your dad no matter what it takes". I made the promise and now I have to keep it. I did something bad to Shmuel and now I have to redeem myself.
Dear diary,
Earlier today, I met up with Shmuel and we discussed ways for me to find his father. We kept thinking and thinking and thinking and kept trashing ideas and trashing ideas and it just really wasn't working. After almost two hours of ideas, I we came up with an idea that was actually physically possible. For Shmuel to get a spare set of clothes for me and for me to dig a hole under the fence so I would look like I would fit in with all the Jews. Both Shmuel and I were ecstatic and very excited about this master plan, however, I was the most nervous I have ever been in my life because, if something goes wrong, it could potentially ruin our lives forever. But I made the promise so I have to follow through with it. At the same time, I felt happy about doing this because I feel as though I am doing something for Shmuel. Otherwise If I took and never gave back, that would not be very nice and it would also make me a person with no benevolence or friendship whatsoever. And that is not who I am so that is why I am doing it.
Dear diary,
Time for my plan to take place. This morning could very well be my last because if anything goes wrong, it would put my life and Shmuel's life in jeopardy. If this goes wrong, it could be my last journal entry ever. But I am willing to take that risk. Allin the good of finding Shmuel's dad. Firstly, I will go and tell my parents that I am going onto the swing to look at the views while reading my adventure books, then I am going to sneak out at ten AM, next, I will meet Bruno at the fence, dig a hole under, change into the spare set of clothes, get Shmuel a sandwich, enter the Jew side, find Bruno's dad, get back out to the my side and finally, run home ready for lunch. If this goes terribly wrong, it IS the end of the world.
Kind Regards,
Bruno
GOODBYE.
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