May 5, 1942 – David Rubinowicz

David Rubinowicz was a young Jewish boy from Krajno, Poland. He was born on July 27, 1927, so he was only 12 years old at the beginning of World War II when his hometown was occupied by the German armed forces. For two years, he kept a diary that chronicled the slow destruction of his family through economic deprivation, random violence, various humiliations, and constant fear.

On May 6th, David’s worst fears were realized. The police were conducting raids to capture people to be sent away for forced labor. They entered the home where he was staying, but passed over him, temporarily, because he was too young. Later, David learned that his father and some of his cousins had been taken. In situations such as these, no one knew if or when the captured person would be able to return. This uncertainty was part of the terror experienced by the Jewish victims of the Nazis. David’s diary writing reflects the enormous stress that he was under, but also revealed that he fought to maintain a sense of hope and dignity to the very end.

Read some of the writing of David Rubinowicz and learn more about his life in the book, We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas.