Etty Hillesum

Etty Hillesum (January 15, 1914 – November 30, 1943), born in Middelburg (Netherlands), was the author of diaries and confessional letters describing her spiritual awakening and the persecution of Jews in Amsterdam during the German occupation. Originally from a Jewish family, Etty studied law and Slavic languages ​​at the University of Amsterdam. The works of Rilke and classics of Russian literature such as Lermontov, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky, as well as the thought of Saint Augustine, greatly influenced the development of her inner world. In 1942, she volunteered at the Westerbork concentration camp and in September 1943 was deported to Auschwitz, where she and several members of her family eventually died. Etty Hillesum's diaries and letters were first published in the Netherlands in 1981 and translated into dozens of languages.