Not the Diary of Anne Frank… which, it has just occurred to me, I have never actually read either.
As I have tried to start writing in the past, I have had this book on my shelf for quite some time, and I’ve decided that today I will pick it up!
I actually don’t know much about this book, other than the fact that, given the years 1916-1924 on the cover, this book addresses the experience of Russlaender Mennonites… but in a deeply personal way.
In a practical way, I’m interested to see how the MCC and CMBC and their scholars and editors treated this material, turning a deeply personal journal into a book ready for publication. I’m interested because I have my grandparents journals and would like for them to not disappear, you know? I am considering how they can have a longer life, so they can serve as breadcrumbs for whichever of their descendants become curious for details of their own history.
I appreciate that the editors have provided historical overview ahead of each chapter, so we can see what was happening in that part of the world at the time (chaos unfolding in Russia, the rise of marauding groups of bandits) before diving into Anna Baerg’s deeply personal thoughts and experiences, living on a wealthy estate, the daughter of the estate overseer. So she knew intimately the wealth and benefits that fell so easily to some, and also knew that none of that was hers.
She was also not a healthy person. I googled her name to see what would come up and saw that she was referred to as a “hunchback”. That’s an outdated term, by the way (this book was published in 1985) and I googled it — today the term is kyphosis. Which probably a lot of people have because everyone’s addicted to their phones (heyyyyy maybe you’re reading this on your phone right now! No judgement!) but that makes me think this isn’t such a big deal, right? Hmmm. Perhaps she will say more about what her affliction is, as I read on.
I haven’t read much yet — I had to stop at the second paragraph to tell you that I am loving the juxtaposition between dry history (like, even though it’s describing something hugely dramatic, how is it so dry? I guess it’s just because it’s facts, no emotion…?) and Anna’s inner life.
So it begins with a historical description of the situation surrounding the Mennonite settlements in 1916… danger was closing in. And then we jump into what she was writing in her diary: “Nothing much happens here.”
Somehow that gives me chills and makes me tear up. Because… much will happen, and is about to happen. And it is bad. And REAL.
Also I can see that her writing is beautiful. Listen to this: “I don’t think there will be much to tell in my diary… A tiny mirror is what it should be, reflecting a little of the life that passes by. Outside, the November wind wanders restlessly over the steppes… And far, far above the ordinary world the stars are shining, steeped in holy peace…”