April 10, 1939 – Klaus Langer

Klaus Langer, just days before his fifteenth birthday, wrote about friends who had already escaped the growing Nazi threat. Like many other German-Jews, Klaus and his family were desperately seeking a way out of Nazi Germany. He began keeping a diary shortly after his bar mitzvah in 1937. He wrote about his activities in a Zionist youth group that helped to prepare him for a new life. Unfortunately, he often had to record his anguish over delays and roadblocks that prevented his departure.

On April 10th, 1939, Klaus was able to report that many of his friends were gone, scattered around the world. “Kume is in Chicago, Lobi in Montevideo, Paul now lives near Amsterdam. […] Bobby is going to England, but does not know the exact location.” Klaus was left behind, separated from his friends. He was finally able to leave in September, but his parents and grandparents were unable to escape. They all perished in the Holocaust.

Klaus Langer’s diary was included in a book entitled, Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust.  Read more about these young diarists.