Hilke's Diary

Hilke's Diary is a battered chintz-covered little book with a flowery pattern, its lock (once so important to its young owner) long-since broken. It has survived an incredible near-70 years, and was the inseparable companion of a little German girl throughout World War II. Hilke was evacuated from Hamburg and separated from her family; she was placed in 1940 with her uncle and aunt in Meisnheim, then later in 1942 she was sent to an estate as a companion for a little girl. Her siblings were also sent away, split up in the desperation to place them somewhere safe as bombing on Hamburg intensified with the firestorm in 1943. In 1944, Hilke was sent to a boarding school on Lake Constance, miles from home. When the war ended this school closed and the pupils were left on the streets with just a handful of money, no papers, and no responsible adult to help them get home. Hilke then embarked on a long journey across Germany to find her family, unsure whether they had even survived the bombing. Her childhood diary was her one confidant along her arduous journey home. This title presents the important record of the experience of war through the eyes of a little German girl. It is complemented by family photographs, contemporary articles, maps, and a timeline of events.