The diary of a somebody

Be interested in everything (Linda Gage 1947-1995) When I was about eight years I had a voracious appetite for reading.  At the library I remember picking up a book about someones diary and thought this would be fun to read. The girl who wrote it called her diary 'Kitty' and in my mind she was quite a precocious little madam.

For some reason I did not understand, she and her family had to hide away from some people I thought were called 'The Nasties ' then as I continued to read, it dawned on me that this was a 'real' story.  I was really enjoying her adventures in the little attic rooms of Amersterdam, looking forward to the end of the tale, as I knew from reading other books, that it always ended with the hero escaping or the children getting home just in time for tea.

When I got to the end I remember reading the final paragraph at least twice before it dawned on me what happened to the little girl who called her diary 'Kitty'  This was the ultimate consequence of vilifying a whole religion or race because of the actions of a few.  A little girl died because she happened to be born Jewish. As humans we love to group people together and give them a label, forgetting that those people are all individuals.  Today is National Holocaust Day a day to remember the little girl and her diary called 'Kitty.'