Hope

One overriding theme in HIllesum's diaries is the idea of hope. When Hillesum began writing, it was out of a sense of hope for the development and cultivation of her own self-knowledge. Hillesum believed that getting her thoughts, feelings, and observations down on paper would help her to understand herself and contribute to her emotional growth and intellectual acumen. As time passed, however, and the horrors of what was happening around her began to become more and more real, Hillesum turned her focus further inward in the hope of gaining some sort of transcendent understanding of it all. In other words, Etty Hillesum was more concerned with living fully and richly even in a time of war and social trauma for Jews such as herself.

Her faith deepens over the course of the diaries and Hillesum eventually reached a place of resignation. By choosing to go to Westerbork...