Sophia Wentz
Tina Hertel
FYS 183
First Paper
21 September 2023
Children Conquer Chaos
From 1939 to 1945 the world was in turmoil over the violence and intensity of WW2. This includes the men fighting on the front lines, the women trying to maintain stability in the life they lead back home, and the children who were going through a variety of experiences such as separation from families and even fighting for their lives. Specifically, the children born into Japanese and Jewish heritage. While other children were home with their families waiting out the war, the Japanese children were thrown in internment camps and the Jewish children were waiting out their time in concentration camps being controlled by the Nazis. In the articles, letters, and books written on this dark time in history, there is a subtle theme throughout the depictions of children. That is their sense of hope and positivity being shown, even in the most unsavory moments. This positive hopeful outlook can be largely due to the support of the adults in the lives of these children protecting them and shining a guiding light while they navigate the horrors of WW2.
Upon doing some research, I discovered that the joy and positivity these children exhibited was long lasting, being documented in letters from the time of war. For example while the war was going on many children wrote letters to those they looked up to and adored. I read a letter written by a girl named Louise Ogawa while she was in a Japanese internment camp. In the letter she immediately showed signs of hope and joy by right away saying, “About a month has gone by but we are still as happy as we were two years ago, and I am looking forward to the future when all this will be over” (Ogawa Letter to Clara Breed from Louise Ogawa, Arcadia, California, May 7, 1942). It really is surprising that she right away wanted to show how she was happy and doing well, even though the situation the Japanese were in at this time was truly terrible, since they were all being marginalized and thrown together because they were “untrustworthy”. As well as this was shown in a research article entitled, “Postmemories of joy? Children of Holocaust survivors and alternative family memories” by Diane L. Wolf. This backs up the idea that positivity throughout the war with children of Jewish descent is shown later on in life when the survivors have had their own children. A man named Mina talks about how his father told his stories about the Holocaust like they were this grand adventure. “Although two of his siblings were murdered, his stories were about “survival and triumph,” Mina stated. Certainly, her father could have cast these stories differently, as tales of desperation, hunger, cold, and misery all of which he surely experienced. Instead, he transmitted a sense of excitement and courage and described empowerment and personal victory over the enemy. He turned frightening stories into exciting adventures. He may have been deliberately protecting his children with this fantastical rendition but regardless, his stories reflect his optimism and strength” (Wolf Posts Memories of Joy? Children of Holocaust survivors … – sage journals). It truly is shocking how a person can go through something so traumatic with a positive mindset and come out of it living on with just the same thoughts about the experience. This is quite the feat and certainly these children did not have to go through this alone.
To support those positive experiences, in historical documents, evidence shows that a strong factor in the children’s strength in WW2 is the sense of safety from adults watching over them, no matter how hard it was for the adults themselves. Unlike the children, it was found in an article entitled, “Resilience and Vulnerability Among Aging Holocaust Survivors and Their Families: An Intergenerational Overview” that the adolescents did not have the same positive attitude. This is most likely due to the pressures of protecting others, especially the children. In the article the author says, “On the other hand, older survivors’ vulnerabilities typically lie in distinct psychosocial domains. Such domains of vulnerability may manifest themselves in posttraumatic symptoms such as intrusive traumatic memories, sleep disturbances, and other forms of emotional distress” (Shmotkin, Full article: Resilience and vulnerability among aging holocaust …). The Clara Breed collection and the Last Letters of the Holocaust, are prime examples of these children having someone watch over them while they experienced these horrors. In the book “Dear Miss Breed” by Joanne Oppenheim, the author states, “Miss Breed, as the children called her, was not just their librarian; she was a friend to dozens of Japanese American young adults, teenagers, and schoolchildren when war with Japan began in December of 1941”(Oppenheim Dear miss breed). When these children were sent away they would write to her about the things that went on and she in return would send them books or necessities to help them get through the tough times in the camps.
The letter to follow was from a boy named Tetsuzo Hirasaki, and in this case Clara Breed helped him out tremendously. By this I mean she sent him all the things he needed to work as a barber to be able to afford the lifestyle he needed during his time in the internment camp. In his letter he says, “I also received the box of barber equipment so that is now complete. It was better you mailed them in installments, for if you had mailed them all at once I would have had a deuce of a time trying to carry them all” (Hirasaki [Letter to Clara Breed from Tetsuzo (Ted) Hirasaki, Arcadia, California, April 22, 1942]). Tetsuzo goes on to talk about how things are improving, how happy he is to be working with the equipment, and how everything is going to work out. Much like the intro says in the Dear Miss.Breed book, she really did have a desire to support the children in whatever they would like to pursue and send them gifts. In this case she was supporting his budding barber career by supplying all his needs. She proceeded to do a similar thing that she did for Tetsuzo with several other children, including Lousie Ogawa, who was mentioned earlier. This labeled her as a strong supporter and guide for the Japanese children throughout World War 2.
This trend of having a “guardian angel” watching over the children followed into the Last Letters of the Holocaust as well. Reading the letters from the family of 7-year old Edik Tonkonogi and his grandmother Rivka Mittelman showed strongly how she was Edik’s protector and guide throughout their hiding from the concentration camp. While Edik’s letters consisted of simple comments on his day like, “Grandma and I are going on an outing to Auntie Maria’s house. I also kiss and hug both of you very tight” (Tonkonogi Letter that seven-year-old Edik wrote to his parents, Klara Mittelman and Lazer Tonkonogi, from Satanov in 1941). His grandmother’s letter later on showed a much darker side of all that was happening. Her letter said, “Malka and Leibush remained, but Edik and I managed to escape, so now we are all well and everything is alright” (Mittelman, “Letter that Rivka Mittelman sent to her daughter Klara Mittleman from Satanov on 23 May 1941.”). The time they escaped lines up with the day that Edik said they were going on an outing to the aunt’s house. Therefore his positive carefree letters were really the light hearted truth of the much more sinister need to escape the place they were in, which was brought to life by his protector Rivka in her later letter.
While the adults of the world were dealing with the pressures of World War 2 and its effect on their lives, the Japanese and Jewish children were fighting to even live a life. Even though the conditions were anywhere from uncomfortable to unlivable, these children kept their heads high and were positive that things really would get better, and they did get better by 1945. From knowledge gained through the letters written by these children, it is very possible the support systems the kids had found in the adults of the world were a driving force in keeping them smiling from day to day. Whether it be a family member, a stranger, or even a librarian, these children had someone to lean on and supply them with all the tools to make the life they found themselves full of positive memories.
Bibliography
Hirasaki, Tetsuzo. “ [Letter to Clara Breed from Tetsuzo (Ted) Hirasaki, Arcadia, California, April 22, 1942].” Received by Clara Breed, Japanese American National Museum , Japanese American National Museum , 22 Apr. 1942, https://janm.emuseum.com/objects/11978/letter-to-clara-breed-from-tetsuzo-ted-hirasaki-arcadia. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Mittelman, Rivka. “Letter that Rivka Mittelman sent to her daughter Klara Mittleman from Satanov on 23 May 1941.” Received by Klara Mittelman, Last Letters From the Holocaust 1941, Yad Vashem, 23 May 1941, https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/last-letters/1941/tonkonogi.asp. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Ogawa, Lousie. “Letter to Clara Breed from Louise Ogawa, Arcadia, California, May 7, 1942.” Received by Clara Breed, Japanese American National Museum , Japanese American National Museum , 7 May 1942, https://janm.emuseum.com/objects/63017/letter-to-clara-breed-from-louise-ogawa-arcadia-californi?ctx=3d6e2abf39fffc08a170a6f31936450c628cc9bc&idx=4. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Oppenheim, Joanne. Dear Miss Breed. Scholastic, 2006.
Shmotkin, Dov. “Full Article: Resilience and Vulnerability among Aging Holocaust …” Taylor and Francis Online, Taylor and Francis Online, 26 Feb. 2011, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15350770.2011.544202.
Wolf, Diane. “Postmemories of Joy? Children of Holocaust Survivors … – Sage Journals.” Sage Journals, Sage Journals, 11 Feb. 2009, journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1750698018811990.Tonkonogi, Edik. “Letter That Seven-Year-Old Edik Wrote to His Parents, Klara Mittelman and Lazer Tonkonogi, from Satanov in 1941.” Received by Klara Mittelman, Last Letters From the Holocaust 1941, Yad Vashem, 23 May 1941, https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/last-letters/1941/tonkonogi.asp. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
