A Holocaust Victim's Point Of View | Teen Ink

A Holocaust Victim's Point Of View

March 21, 2010
By Jaquie BRONZE, West Palm Beach, Florida
Jaquie BRONZE, West Palm Beach, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 407 comments

Favorite Quote:
This is certainly one of my favorites: "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." -2 Samuel 6:22


I wear the Star of David
Strung upon a golden chain
Draped around my neck in pride
Yet they see it as a stain

They cannot see my heart
For what it truly is
Cannot Hitler hear the sound,
Beat-beating just as his?

Like a bullet piercing through my skin,
Blood pouring from the shot,
Like a glass of red, red wine,
-Shattered on the Kristallnacht.

My heart is broken by the torment,
By the scorn and the abuse,
Fast upon my heels
Hitler’s hounds have been set loose.

All my people are condemned
My hopes and dreams forgotten
In my sight I see my end
My beliefs, they have deemed rotten

There is no use in fighting
Breathe in, breathe out. Surrender
Nothing can protect you
No guard or defender

Swing lower now sweet chariot
From the Ghetto make a prison break
I’ve been giving oh, so much
What more have they to take?

They took me from my family
They took me from my home
It seems they’ve taken everything
My religion’s all I own

I am up at dawn
And lashed till dark
My screams drown out
The angels hark

As they’d visit us
Each tortured night
The lucky ones go
Into the only light

That shines on us
Where the Nazis choose
To exterminate all
Of the living Jews

That’s why this is happening
That’s why we breathe this foul air
That’s why my people suffer
My religion makes my life unfair

So what if I think differently?
What if my eyes are brown not bluish?
Look at who I was before
I was so much more than Jewish

I was a daughter and a sister
A lover and a friend
Too soon my family saw the grave
And put these titles to an end

I fear this hell cannot be blessed
I fear this cell is a lifelong friend
Soon no more beats inside my chest
Can you now hear its screeching end?

Not the first and not the last
More Jewish and gypsy souls will pass
Within this place they’ve made for death
Inside this room they’ve filled with gas

If you were to listen at the door
You’d hear the people say a prayer
“Sweet death please come more swiftly!”
Whispered into poisoned air . . .

What has this horror taught me?
-That there is nothing more to learn
When your heart is slowly stopped,
And your body left to burn.


The author's comments:
I wrote this after reading Anne Frank for the first time. I'm not Jewish myself but I still took hold of the inspiration given to write this piece. I hope you enjoy it. God bless!

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This article has 41 comments.


Hitler said...
on Oct. 13 2017 at 7:16 pm
Ayeee bro good story but bruh u got my mane hoe hitler all wrong here damn bruh i feel so sad being his pimp rn cuz u up her dissing on my bro jkjk bruh hitler awsome tho bruh even tho he did all that wrong shit

laila_265 GOLD said...
on Apr. 20 2017 at 1:04 am
laila_265 GOLD, Houston, Texas
12 articles 0 photos 34 comments
I read this poem for the first time at least five years ago and still think about it. Amazing job.

RachyCobain said...
on Jun. 3 2014 at 2:14 pm
What techniques did you use to convey the meaning of this poem?

on Nov. 5 2012 at 3:47 pm
HannSawyer15 BRONZE, North Brunswick, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 107 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I say... lets speak it. Lets fight it. Lets write it. There's nothing to hold on to if it's already gone."

The fact that this isn't published in Teen Ink upsets me... this is amazing.

on Nov. 5 2012 at 3:29 pm
Joob-Stache GOLD, Rice Lake, Wisconsin
16 articles 0 photos 96 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't be afraid to take a chance, to take a fall, in the end it could be worth it all<3

That was REALLY amazing!!(:  

bookwriter23 said...
on Nov. 5 2012 at 12:25 pm
Thank you so much for taking such an interest and dedication into learning about the Holocaust.  It is crucial to learn about it so it is not repeated.  Your poem was written beautifully, capturing the emotions of the Jews during that time.  Thank you for spreading the word! 

on Nov. 5 2012 at 8:58 am
ChobaniLuvinPenguin PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
29 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well."
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I am simply speechless. THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!!! Your poem shows the true horror of the Holocaust. It has a fast rhythm and flows well, but most importantly, it shows how brave you really are. Many thanks for bringing this to the attention of those who did not understand, and thank you for putting your heart and soul into this. You are an amazing writer! God bless! :') 

on Nov. 4 2012 at 11:52 am
ChrisJ PLATINUM, Rochester, New York
24 articles 15 photos 289 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

This is a truly great piece, now I see why it won the Editor's Choice Award! It is very moving, and sad, and deep. Please make sure to read my poem 'Abused', it relates to this concept but isn't abot the holocaust.

Megan99 SILVER said...
on Nov. 4 2012 at 8:43 am
Megan99 SILVER, Princeton, Massachusetts
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
What would you do, if you knew you could not fail?

This is such an amazing poem. great job! I really felt moved by this.

Sonza SILVER said...
on Oct. 30 2012 at 9:55 am
Sonza SILVER, Bhubaneswar, Other
5 articles 0 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away. - P. G. Wodehouse

i have read the book.....its really touching , heart piercing........ but i think i got a better view of those times through your gripping poem.......well done!!

Claire_A GOLD said...
on Oct. 29 2012 at 6:22 pm
Claire_A GOLD, Pleasanton, California
11 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Always a poet, even in prose."
~Charles Baudelaire

Wow! This was the first peice from Teen Ink I read, and it's still my favorite! I love your word choice and organic rhyming!

on Oct. 25 2012 at 8:52 pm
Ultim@te SILVER, Sisters, Oregon
5 articles 0 photos 27 comments
Wow this is touching

on Oct. 25 2012 at 8:31 am
not.that.girl BRONZE, Troy, Michigan
1 article 2 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thought never to heaven go.

:,( I'm usually never a fan of poetry, but this was beautiful. Soo touching, I literally almost cried. (:

on Oct. 23 2012 at 5:00 pm
sweetangel4life GOLD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
19 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Romeo and Juliet ( Quote Act II, Sc. II).

"Let them eat cake."
Marie Antoinette

i lovlovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove this poem

on Oct. 23 2012 at 10:39 am
awaitingHisreturn SILVER, Rushville, New York
9 articles 1 photo 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to remain with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat

Thank you for standing up for what you believe and confirming that the holocaust did indeed happen. It was a horrific time in history, but no more wrong or cruel than what we do everyday when we refuse to love. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and give you his peace, and may your love for him increase with every passing day. -Annie Borisuk

on Oct. 21 2012 at 9:25 pm
joecool101 PLATINUM, Brighton, Massachusetts
26 articles 0 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Think once and nothing will happen; think again and ideas will flow to your mind.

- Joshua Eibelman

Excellent piece of writing. My only concern is that the Jews were not persecuted becasue of their religion but becasuse of their Jewish race.

on Oct. 19 2012 at 12:35 pm
NavyCopperQuill, Blank, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

This poem truly touched me. Amazing job. Please keep writing, because you have a gift for it! :)

on Oct. 15 2012 at 4:05 pm
Atl.Braves03 BRONZE, Tampa, FL, Florida
4 articles 0 photos 75 comments

Favorite Quote:
God is God and I am not
I can only see a part
Of this picture he's painting
God is God and I am man
I will never understand
Because only God is God

Beautiful. This is my favorite poem I've read on here. Amazing job :)

larsonland said...
on Oct. 12 2012 at 11:32 am
Truly, beautifully written, while such a tormenting feel.

on Oct. 9 2012 at 2:40 pm
kelciee_nicolee SILVER, Hubbard, Texas
8 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"You'll never know what the excitement feels like just by sitting out on the sidelines!"

Holy Crap! This is sooooo good! Keep up the good work!