Author: Rebecca Hainsworth
Location: West Yorkshire, England

Rebecca Hainsworth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1991, and is currently studying for her A levels at Beckfoot School. She intends to study an English Literature degree at university and go into teaching. Her work is inspired by a keen interest in Holocaust history and the poetry of Dan Pagis and Miklos Radnoti.

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A History Student Speaks about the Holocaust

I am not a Jew.

I have never walked in the gutter,
lower than the thuds
of horses’ hooves.
I have never tied
the white bandage of a brand
around my arm,
only to discover it did not
stop me from bleeding.

I am not a Nazi.

My hand has never soared skyward
like a kite and proclaimed
“Heil Hitler”.
I have never seen
a spider of a swastika
and felt tears of joy swell my eyes.

I was not there.

Yet I cannot hide the guilt
I feel, sitting in the pit of my stomach.

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