The Diary of Mary Berg:
Growing up in the Warsaw
Ghetto
Miriam Wattenberg
From Lodz, Poland
Fled to Warsaw
Mother (Lena), Father (Shya) & Sister (Anna)
Father owned an art gallery
Wealthier family
Mother is an American born citizen
Gave whole family protection and privileges
Mary Berg’s Diary
Written in 12 spiral notebooks
Used a code language
First published February 1945 (before the war was
over)
Warsaw Ghetto: A Diary
Shortened last name to Berg
Protect family and friends alive in Poland
Warsaw Ghetto
First formed November 1940
Mary only 15-years-old
Importance of wealth: bribing
Housing, education, labor camps and jobs
Surrounded by terror, but led normal lives
Formed illegal classes
Went to restaurants
Mary and friends formed a club: Lodz Artistic Group
Raise relief funds: put on plays
Pawiak Prison
Citizens of neutral countries were interned
European and American countries
Mother in contact with a Gestapo agent
July 17, 1942: Interned as American citizens
With Polish born husband and daughters
Living conditions
Many families within cell
Mattresses filled with straw
Two meals a day
July 22, 1942: The Great Deportation
Saw over 300,000 Jews being deported
Vittel Internment Camp
January 18, 1943: Vittel, France
Roomed in hotels
Luxuries of spas
Hospital
Movies and entertainment
Shops
Parks
Classes
The Red Cross
Monthly packaged food
Mary volunteered
Children’s art classes and playtime
America
March 19, 1944: Selected for an exchange with
German prisoners in the United States
Will not go back to Poland
Remembrance of friends and family killed
Post 1950s: Disassociated herself from
the diary
To forget the past
Adult life is unknown
Holocaust &
Genocide Education
Few diaries/journals been saved
Who experienced living in ghettos or concentration camps
Survivors passing away
Not published again until 2007