Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Lili Kasticher wrote at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp from April to November 1944. The possession of a piece of paper or a pencil stub was absolutely forbidden in Bireknau. Anyone caught with such contraband was immediately sentenced to death. Consequently, inmates at Auschwitz produced virtually no written material, with rare exceptions, such as the “Sonderkommandos,” who documented everyday life at the camp, in the hope that someone would find them after the war, as indeed occurred. Jewish inmates were ordered by the Germans to write postcards to their relatives, describing the “decent” living conditions prevailing in their “new place.” No women are known to have written at Birkenau except for Lili Kasticher, who risked her life by stealing pieces of paper and pencil stubs to write poetry. She encouraged her friends to do the same by offering them a prize, a portion of her daily rations. Lili also wrote a political-social manifesto entitled “Rules of Behavior,” intended as a guide to survival for herself and her blockmates, understanding the power of these writings as a means of rebellion and metaphysical revenge. The notes she wrote were concealed on her body until her liberation in spring 1945.