II
The outbreak of war and the traumatic experiences during the bombardment and occupation of Warsaw had a strong effect on the youth. Many have immigrated to the lands occupied by the Soviets, hoping they will be able to continue their education there, find a job, or at least escape persecution by the Germans. It should be noted that when it comes to young people, it was the most valuable, independent individuals who left Warsaw; often they sympathised with Stalinism, dreaming of creating a new life. Based on their letters, it seems that such young people were happy with their lot, and that they found a place for themselves. Young Jews felt liberated from the nightmare of antisemitism, and, unused to political independence, imagined that they really were free. Hence the often naïve, sometimes downright unsavoury enthusiasm for the Bolsheviks. It was forgotten in what circumstances and with whose support they had seized the eastern part of the Republic of Poland. The vast majority of young people, particularly wealthy ones, remained in Warsaw. They had nothing to do. Schools were closed, they had entire days [8] to do whatever they pleased, but could not even go out into the street for fear of being captured for forced labour. Therefore, they were completely confused. They were in no hurry to study, either. Many of them hoped that the war would end in the spring of 1940. Thus, the clandestine education, organised at the turn of 1939 and 1940, consisted primarily of younger children, sent by their parents to secret classes. Older ones chose to wait to see what would happen, especially boys. Girls were gradually joining classes. The autumn of 1940 brought ground-breaking changes. It became clear the war would not end anytime soon. The ghetto was established, and the Jewish district concentrated a huge mass of young people from bourgeoisie and intelligentsia milieux, who were looking for something steady. Newly opened vocational schools were extremely popular. Boys especially, trying to get a job as soon as possible, enlisted en masse, many primarily in order to protect themselves against the threat of labour camps. The latter consideration was especially important, which is presumably why fewer girls were interested in vocational education. They joined secret classes instead. What motivates young people to learn during the war? All sorts of reasons come into play. Young people fear derailment and want to do something useful. They expect that the war will end happily, and then it will be relatively easy to obtain the corresponding
