Can Heaven Be Void?

Baruch Milch

1943

Sensitive Content

This text recounts acts of violence against Jewish people. The text provides insight into Jewish history; however, The Posen Library does not condone or promote violence or oppression of any kind.

July 15, 1943

I am in hiding in a loft over a stable, in a village, with good people. The risk of death hovers over me, as it does over all Jews these days, and the slightest lapse of vigilance on my part may cost me my life. I desperately need to spill this heavy burden onto paper. Perhaps it will give me a little relief.

I do not know whether I…

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Creator Bio

Baruch Milch

1907–1989

Physician Baruch Milch was born in Podhajce, Poland. His wife and family were killed during World War II, but he survived because of the need for his medical skills. He was forced into hiding in 1943 and wrote details of his wartime experiences on scraps of paper that he later donated to the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. After immigrating to Israel in 1948, Milch rewrote his memoir in Hebrew, which was published in English by Yad Vashem.

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