as quickly as possible. We do not bring any food to the cripples. We give their portions to the healthy children instead of sustaining the life of the incurably ill at this difficult time.
25 March Two [cripples] have died today. Perhaps out of hunger. Room 9, where the cripples are, is horribly dirty. We place four more people there who have horrible pediculosis. The lice simply drip down from their bodies. There is nobody to clean that room. The wards are lying on the cots which have no bedding. They are half-naked and it is very cold in there. One old man and one cripple finally died after a long period of suffering.
26 March [6] For several days the Care Section has been sending us cream of wheat for the children. We add water to the allocated ration so that there is enough for all the children. After that dilution each child gets three teaspoonfuls. We have been getting milk too: 3−4 glasses for 50 children up to the age of three. We do not get milk every day.
In room 7 there lives a man named Aszkenajzer—the father of three children. He lost his wife during the war. Unable to cope, he left the children at the mercy of fate in our centre and escaped. The oldest one—a girl aged seven—took care of her younger siblings. It was heart-breaking to watch her feed her younger brothers. After several days of absence Aszkenajzer came back. His fatherly love prevailed. Whenever we walk through Aszkenajzer’s room he looks at us with a desire for revenge in his eyes. His children are hungry.
27 March Today the Care Section did not give us any bread because it had not received the ten-grosz coins. Such a state of affairs cannot continue for long. People are embittered. We need clothes. It is a matter of life and death for these people. We do not know how long the gates will stay closed. The lady doctor claims that the cases of typhus fever will multiply due to the general pediculosis. She ordered us to shower them and shave off all their hair. A nurse spotted lice in the eyebrows of a sick old man. This shows the standard of hygiene here. The floors are washed every day. Today children were given frozen eggs, which no longer looked fresh. The lady doctor managed to wheedle some drugs from the Centos.
