Yellow Star

Resilience in the Face of Hardship is illustrated in the positivity and celebration of the ghetto dwellers in the spring of 1941; they determinedly continue to find joy and meaning in life through weddings, dances, songs, and births. Amid the joy, fear persists, as even the babies in the ghetto are designated by their yellow stars as Jewish: Their “pink faces [are] swaddled in blankets stitched with yellow stars” (48). In other words, life is inherently unsafe for them and their families. This can be seen by the increasing numbers of ghetto residents dying in these chapters. Hava’s death is insinuated when Syvia thinks, “[D]eep down we know that there is no queen inviting little Jewish girls to tea” (50). Internalized antisemitism is present in her reflection; even though she is a child, she has internalized the racist designation of her family and community as being inferior. As a result, she is confident that no person of royalty would ever have a Jew like Hava over for such an intimate social event.

After Hava’s disappearance, Syvia’s awareness of Hava’s death is further evidenced when she reflects, “I don’t want to go out by myself” (51). The lawlessness of the ghetto, overseen by Nazi soldiers who place no value on the lives of the Jewish inhabitants, creates immense fear. This is further illustrated by the neighborhood gossip, which centers around:

Who is gone, who is sick, who died, who has been murdered. It could be an old person or a baby or anybody. The German soldiers (Nazis) who keep us here do not care if we are sick or starving alive or dead. They beat people and shoot them right in front of everyone (54).

The Nazis’ lack of empathy here highlights the fact that no one in the ghetto is safe, no matter who they are or what they are going through. The powerlessness of those in the ghetto against this horrific treatment is illustrated when Syvia notes, “[N]o one can say anything, because the Nazis are the law” (54). This makes six-year-old Syvia feel immensely fearful as she passes the armed guards; she doesn’t want “a Nazi to notice [her] and think, Jew. Because then [she] might die, too” (55). Antisemitic Genocide is referred to as a theme here, emphasizing the indifference the Nazis have toward the suffering and lives of children.

Indignities and Hardships of Life in the Ghetto continue to be explored in these chapters. In Chapter 8, Syvia’s family learns that 20,000 more people are to be moved into the ghetto; terrifyingly, this news arrives just as winter comes, leading to increased rationing. Syvia’s fear is evident in her reflection, “How will we survive the winter?” (59). This fear is justified when Syvia later observes that “[w]inter erases whole families,” and that her own family is “weak and starving” (61). More people in the ghetto means more people dying from starvation.

As well as the daily indignity and threat of starvation, Syvia’s family must sell her doll to feed the family; the compunction and distress of Syvia’s father at having to make this desperate decision is clear: “Papa’s eyes are sad, though, and somehow I know that he had to sell her (like the other things we have sold) for money or food” (56). Syvia needs to draw on maturity and composure beyond her age as she manages this disappointment: “I try very hard to not make a fuss. I am a big girl now, I tell myself, I do not need dolls” (56-57). The reader is positioned to feel that, at six years old, Syvia is not the “big girl” she believes herself to be, and that her distress and disappointment at her only toy being sold is justified. Syvia is pitied for the hardships she must endure at such a young age.

The hardships of the ghetto are juxtaposed with the white house that Syvia sees beyond the fence. Everyday features of the woman’s house and her life—like the flowers in her yard (rather than just practical vegetables) as well as her dog (which would have been eaten for meat in the ghetto)—are amazing to Syvia, further emphasizing the impoverished conditions of the ghetto: “It seems like a dream to live outside the ghetto. The houses look so bright and clean” (55). By comparing life outside the ghetto to a dream, Syvia reveals her belief that such a life is now beyond her reach. Not to mention, Syvia’s internalized antisemitism continues to be evident in her sad acknowledgment that even if she was nice to the woman’s dog, the woman in the white house would not be nice to Syvia; she would “call the Nazi police and they would kill [her]” if they tried to escape from the ghetto (56).