level of the Jewish petty bourgeoisie. This has a very negative effect on the situation of teachers, whose earnings increased only slightly in 1941 despite the hellishly high cost of living. The general increase in fees in the spring of 1941 brought ludicrous results. Currently, for the best-paid secret classes, a teacher can earn a little more than 4 zl per hour; with 2 hours a week, this provides about 34 zl a month. Mostly, however, the hourly fee is about 3 zl, and in many cases it is only 2 zl. One of the main reasons is the competition of non-professional forces.
[7] I have the impression that the work of teachers, despite many shortcomings, has considerable social significance. In the event of a successful conclusion of the war, the Jewish community will have a group of properly educated young people, who will join the intelligentsia as a cohort. The brains of these young people will not be poisoned by the stupid fascist demagogy that teachers had been forced to spread before the war. Only now can they honestly say what they think in class. The secret classes are also undoubtedly a certain barrier against demoralisation, which is rapidly spreading among young people. Boredom, inactivity, and, above all, universally present corruption and the Thirteen, feeding on poverty and the weakening of the moral resistance of the masses—these are the forces that most threaten youth. It should be noted that the pre-war era had exerted a very negative affect on the mental attitude of the youth. Secret classes can prevent demoralisation only to a very minor extent, as they include relatively few people. However, they will at the very least help to infuse a certain group with intellectually good and morally acceptable standards. It seems to me that after the horrible corruption of the war, such healthy elements will be essential. The interesting thing is that the young people are very much aware of this aspect of secret classes, and often express this in conversation. Better individuals know what threat they are facing, they try to avoid it, and are eager and willing to learn.
One question remains: what is the attitude of the participants to the secret classes? It should be said that young people learn diligently and in the course of their work, they often show a lot of interest. But it would be a mistake to attribute their hard work in classes only to diligence and attention. This is also due to strictly practical reasons, especially among older pupils—namely, the desire to complete their education as quickly as possible so as to reduce its costs. This is quite understandable in the trying times of war, but the young people and their parents often emphasise it with such exaggeration
