NOTES FROM GIRL X
7 January 1944
To the people of Paris,
Today, I give you irony. We are starving Jews who could be taken away at any moment, for any reason or no reason. Yet my parents still felt they must punish LB and me for disobeying them and going to the black market. Here is the irony : What could they take from us that had not already been taken? The cinema? Cafes? Walks in the park? Evenings with friends in their homes? All are already forbidden.
So this is what our parents did—they took away our books, pens, paper, and chessboard for an entire week. You cannot imagine what it is like to be trapped in an apartment without these things. There was nothing to do but nurse Maman back to health and play the piano.
And now, for some excitement. On Day Six of our punishment, two representatives of the CGQJ paid us a visit. We were reminded that under the law of 22 July 1941, French authorities are permitted to seize Jewish property and sell it for the “benefit of France.” In other words, legalized stealing. Four workmen came and took away our piano.
Dear reader, if you purchase a grand piano and find a small brass plaque on the inside etched with a Jewish name, then you, too, are a thief. Think of Girl X when you play your stolen piano. By the way, her favorite piece is Für Elise.