Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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barrel-organs were heard. She sar quietly in the room; she was not allowed to play in the backyard, and she could not hear birds chirping. Her only pleasure was being touched by the sun. Her wide open eyes expressed a well of sadness. The girl grew thinner and thinner, and her face expressed deep yearning and longing. It happened that Monsieur Tomas took the defense of a very famous murder case, as a hobby naturally, and a new era began in his life. Every morning he submerged himself in the depth of the case, and an absolute quietness ruled his house. One afternoon, while Monsieur Tomas meditated, an extremely strange accident happened. In the backyard, under his windows, a barrel-organ was playing. The impression was mighty. Monsieur Tomas was dumbfounded, he did not know what to think or to do. His face became white as snow, his body began to tremble. For a moment he thought it was an hallucination. But the vulgar, vivacious, like circus rope dancers ' sounds of the barrel- organ revived him. This very moment his tender and tolerant heart gave birth to primitive instincts. He wanted to shout, beat, kill, to destroy this barrel-grinder. Like a tiger, he jumped to the window, he opened his mouth to shout, then suddenly he heard from across a child ' s voice. The little blind girl danced, singing happily. Her always pale face became reddish colored, her lips became full and smiling, from her poor eyes a rain of tears streamed. In this quiet house, she did not experience such a storm of feeling. What wonderful phenomena were the false tones of the barrel-organ. How magnificent the roar of the trumpet, the same which nearly brought Monsieur Tomas to an apoplexy. Especially, since the organ-grinder saw the girl ' s happiness, he began to stamp with his heels and whistle joyfully. In this moment, the faithful servant of the lawyer broke into the latter ' s study dragging the new door-keeper. I just told him, the servant explained, to throw out the organ-grinder, sir. I told him we have a contract. The organ-grinder was playing already the third tune, loudly and falsely. The blind girl was drunk with happiness. Monsieur Tomas, removing his eyes from the girl, turned phlegmatically to the new doorkeeper: Listen, my dear sir, what is your name? Andre, sir. Listen, my Andre. I shall pay you one hundred francs, every month, do you know why? No, sir. You should never let any barrel-organ in the back yard. hastened to explain the servant. No, said Monsieur Tomas, smiling sadly. On the contrary, you should let the barrel-organ play, twice a day. 23

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Tomas became enraged and invited the one for a duel. The house in which Monsieur Tomas lived changed ownership frequently. Naturally every new owner increased the tax. and the first one who received the raise in rent was Monsieur Tomas. The lawyer paid the taxes under one clear condition — that a barrel-organ would not be played in his backyard. Disregarding this contract, Monsieur Tomas called every new door- keeper and conversed with him: Listen my dear, what is your name. ' ' John, sir. Listen, my dear John, I shall give you one hundred extra francs every month. Do you know why? In order that you should not allow any barrel-organ to play in the back-yard. Such conversations took place with every new superintendent. Four rooms of his six had windows on the street, and two in which the windows opened to the backyard. Every day he sat in his study before his desk and read. Opposite his windows, in the backyard, was a little apartment whose inhabitants changed constantly. Now, there lived two women and a little girl. They earned their livelihood as seamstresses. The younger one was the mother of the girl. The windows of Monsieur Tomas and the new inhabitants had been open all day, so when Monsieur Tomas sar in his chair, he could see excellently what was occurring in his neighbor ' s house. The rooms were furnished poorly; on the chairs and tables everywhere lay pieces of material prepared for sewing. In the morning she cleaned the flat, at noon they had a poor lunch, and none of them left the sewing machine until the evening.. The girl was sitting usually beside the window. She was a child with dark hair and a beautiful pale face, but always sad. Sometimes the girl dressed and undressed her dolly, but she did it very slowly and with a certain amount of difficulty. Sometimes she sat quietly as if she listened to something. Monsieur Tomas had never seen this child singing, or jumping, or running across the room; he did not even notice the slightest smile on the pale lips of the motionless face. Strange child , he said to himself, and he started to watch the girl more carefully. Once he noticed that the mother gave her a bundle of flowers. The girl ' s expression changed a little bit, she smelled the flowers, touched them tenderly and kissed them. Finally, she put them in a glass of water, and said: Mother, how sad it is here. Monsieur Tomas was shocked. How could it be sad in this house, when he constantly was in high sp irits. Once standing at the window in his study, a strange scene appeared before his eyes. Hastily he put on his eye-glasses and he saw this poor little girl standing in her window, and with her eyes wide open, she looked directly to the sun. On her ever motionless face, feelings expressed themselves, something like joy and sorrow. She does not see! whispered the lawyer, and his eyes began to burn — a reaction that the girl should have felt — and he wondered how a person could bear the heat of the sun, which is like a flame of fire. Indeed, the little girl was blind. At the age of six, she had had the measles, and as a result she lost her sight. In the beginning, she and her mother thought it temporary, but as the days passed and no improvement ap- peared, the girl got used to the dark night of her life. Systematically, her memory of seen expression began to be cloudy. Day and night meant for her the same; she lost the dimensions of reality, and entered only into her known world of voices and touch. The face and hands acquired an extreme sensitivity. Distant phenomena reacted upon her only through the sense of hearing. She sensed the slightest rustle, she recognized every voice, every step, the dog barking, the cat meowing, the echo of the street; she loved it and lived in it. But, since she lived in the house of Monsieur Tomas her life was much poorer and monotonous, no happy voices of playing children, no loud talking door-keepers, no backyard-traders with old things, and no heavenly sounds of 2?

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THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK A Book Review 10LET SHAPIRO, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Through the pages of the diary she kept for two years, Anne Frank emerges as a warm, vibrant, and living adolescent girl. The diary, a gift from her parents, was begun soon after Anne ' s thirteenth birthday. Before the disappearance of the Frank family Anne had been a carefree schoolgirl. Despite the war she was thoroughly spoiled by her family and seemingly lacked nothing. She was the pet of her teachers and the object of many a schoolboy ' s affection. Her friends were almost countless; yet Anne felt the lack of a true friend in whom she could confide and bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart. She intended for her diary to contain not a series of bald facts, but to be her friend, whom she named Kitty. The Frank family had emigrated to Holland from Germany when Anne was four years old. Six years later, however, the Germans occupied Holland. Surmising the extent to which the Nazis would carry out their goal of exterminating the Jews, the Franks had made extensive preparations to go into hiding. Their plans for disappearing were unexpectedly speeded up, however, when the Gestapo issued a call-up notice for Anne ' s sixteen-year-old-sister, Margot. Their hiding place was a concealed apartment in the back of Mr. Frank ' s place of business. For over two years the Franks, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel lived in these rooms without once leaving. At first, living in the Secret Annex seemed to Anne like being on vacation in a very peculiar boardinghouse, but very soon the novelty wore off. Fresh air became a longed-for luxury and fear of detection was a constant menace. Frequent burglaries of the adjoining warehouse, unexpected ringings of the bell, and frighteningly close air raids gave life in the Secret Annex a nightmarish quality which the reader feels as if he himself were experiencing it. The greatest hardship for Anne was not being able to attend school. Her studies were Anne ' s main pursuit during the years of seclusion. History especially was a favorite subject and she had a strange fascination for tracing the family trees of European royal families. She longed for the day when she would be free to explore the public libraries again and read her fill of Greek and Roman mythology. Writing also meant much to Anne, whose ambition was one day to become an author or journalist. No matter how lonely, frustrated, or unhappy Anne became, there was never reason for being bored in the Secret Annex. Anne, Margot, and Peter Van Daan even learned shorthand through a correspondence course. The occupants of the Secret Annex were never completely isolated from the outside world despite the fact that for two years they could not leave their apartment. Their Gentile friends, who alone knew of their retreat and who kept the fugitives provided with all necessary supplies, were frequent visitors to the secret dwelling. The radio, their prized possession, kept them in contact with London, New York, Tel Aviv, and Berlin — but the latter station was tuned in only for classical music. The diary contains lively descriptions of the daily sessions around the radio and the arguments subsequent to each news broadcast. Anne ' s diary is interspersed with conversations, humorous situations., skillful carica- tures and philosophic reflections amazingly perceptive for a young, inexperienced girl who asked herself: How can you write about philosophy? Through its pages can be traced Anne ' s growing-up from the carefree schoolgirl to a mature person who fully realized both her shortcomings and her potentialities. The almost constant bick- ering and quarreling among the Franks, Van Daans, and Dussel tormented Anne in her sensitivity. To these altercations, coming in the midst of this upheaval in her young life, Anne ' s reaction was impertinence. Misunderstood by her parents, unable to confide in her sister, rebuffed by the Van Daans and Mr. Dussel, she was constantly scolded and reminded of her faults. To conceal her loneliness and disguise her distress, Anne put up a front, giving an impression of conceit, disrespect, and impudence. As the months passed, she became further estranged from her parents and realized the futility 24