Inside the crowded barracks of Auschwitz, in 1944 Poland, Susan grows thinner everyday. She was sent to this living Hell on earth because she refused to pledge an allegiance to Adolf Hitler. She didn't want to follow a leader who is actually a brainwashing mad man. Susan wondered why she wasn't shot for her refusal.
She knew that the Allied powers could be in danger because Hitler wanted to use the TARDIS and turn it into a super-weapon. Her grandfather was forced to work on it, he along with Ian and Barbara were planning an escape from Berlin but they didn't know what to do. When a soldier ordered her to give the Hitler solute, Susan refused and she was sent to Auschwitz. The horrified faces of Ian, Barbara, and her grandfather plagued her mind. Barbara was beyond tears and Ian and the Doctor were beyond rage.
When Susan arrived at Auschwitz, she lost everything she had with her. Her clothes and her hair. Susan was given a tattoo on her arm representing her prisoner identification, forced to strip nude and have her hair shaved off by a Kapo. She was then given a stripped uniform to wear and assigned to a barrack. Everyday she worked tirelessly through forced labor, god-awful labor. She was given little to eat, she grew thinner everyday. Nazi torture is hell, far worse than Dalek torture.
Susan wanted to record everything she suffered through while at this death camp. She wanted to give a visual record of what happened to her while at this horrible place.
She began writing one cold day, she hid what she wrote under some rocks. The days became colder and colder, she continued to write.
One freezing night in the middle days of October, snow poured upon Poland. Susan was shivering, nothing to keep herself warm. She was dreaming about someone, somehow, would help her escape. Susan was numb all over, she literally can't feel her fingers or toes because of how cold it is. Susan cried softly and quietly.
It was midnight, Susan was all by herself. Cold and alone, until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. Susan turned over, she was frightened. Before she could say anything, Susan realized that it was just a fellow prisoner also wearing a stripped uniform with a shaven head. The other prisoner was just a girl who was Susan's age. The girl was just as thin as Susan was, she was shivering badly.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you," the girl spoke with exhaustion and red eyes. She was holding papers with writing on them, those papers belong to Susan. "You were writing on these papers and I found them myself. I thought they were very interesting. I found them to be very heartbreaking."
"Who are you?" Susan asked calmly after catching her breathe.
"I'm Anne," the other girl said, "Anne Frank."
Susan finally sat up. After realizing what she just heard, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Anne Frank was one of Susan's favorite writers and hearing Anne say that what Susan wrote was heartwarming. Susan was honored. She wanted to hug Anne right now but that would just freak out Anne a little bit, and Susan wasn't sure if it wouldn't be a good time or not, considering their situation.
Susan introduced herself, with some tears in her eyes. "I'm Susan," she said, "Susan Foreman."
The two started to talk, they had a conversation about each other's lives before they were sent to Auschwitz and the losses they had when they arrived. The two girls were tearful and they hugged each other, they comforted each other, in a time of hell.
The day was the 28th of October, 1944. Today was the day of selection, to transfer to a different camp. Susan wasn't told where the camp was but she hoped it wasn't an extermination camp. Her identification number was called and she stepped forward. The "Doctors" inspected her body and confirm her selection for transfer.
She along with many other prisoners was forced onto a train that will go to Germany. The trip lasted a few days until it finally arrived in Germany. The prisoners were forced to walk for miles until they finally arrived at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Susan then became scared. Typhus would become an epidemic at Belsen that will kill most of the prisoners. She then froze in her tracks.
"Move you fucking Jewish scum!" an SS soldier yelled, pointing a gun at her head. Susan started moving for her life, many prisoners were killed on the spot if they didn't move.
The prisoners arrived at Belsen at night. It was damp and cold, but it was no extermination camp. There were no gas chambers and there were no crematoriums. The living conditions were worse than Auschwitz; some prisoners were order to sleep in tents. Instead, Susan would sleep in a room full of baggage. Luckily the guards don't know.
A storm came one night, bringing high gust of wind. Several tents collapsed and prisoners struggled to stay alive. Susan was being haunted from the screams outside. Just then, two girls force open the door. It was Anne and her sister, Margot.
"Anne," asked Susan, "is that you?"
"Susan?" Anne responded. The two sisters joined Susan on the baggage where Anne quickly fell asleep. The next day, it was sunny outside and the birds were chirping. The girls slowly awoke, starting with Anne. She looked outside and noticed the singing birds.
"Birds," she said, "there were no birds at Auschwitz."
"Nothing lived there," Susan responded, "nothing good ever lived there. Just innocent people who lost their humanity. People who wanted to die because of the cruelty. Only the Nazis lived there."
Anne turned to look at Susan and Margot, giving the two of them a sad stare. She was thinking about what Susan had just said.
"There is good in everyone Susan," Anne softly argued, "despite all this, I still believe that there is good in everyone, even the Nazis."
Susan comes to the aid of Anne as she gives her ill sister comfort. Margot is no able to walk and disease is spreading rampantly around the camp. People are beginning to die, dropping like flies.
"How cold is it?" asked a weak Margot.
"I heard it was around 20 degrees," answered Susan, "but we would never know for certain."
It was snowing outside; it was only getting colder as time went on. It felt like a freezer during the night. Susan could her inmates, including Anne and Margot screaming for the doors to be closed. Susan was afraid to say if that would have helped. It was the middle of winter, possibly in February or March, the snow storm stopped. Susan went to look around and she found Anne and Margot sleeping together, trying to cling to life.
"Would you like some bread," Susan asked, handing the ill sisters some food.
"Thank you," said Anne as she shared the beard with Margot.
"Is there anything I can do for the two of you?" asked Susan.
"No thank you," Anne replied, "we are together and we have our piece." Margot smiled contentedly but she could scarcely say a thing. She was too ill, suffering from a high fever.
Susan came back the next day to check on the sisters, Margot was gone and Anne was alone. She looked more ill than yesterday, and she looked saddened.
"Where's Margot?" Susan asked.
"She's gone," Anne replied with a low voice, "she died this morning." Susan could tell that Anne had no more tears and she sat down on Anne's bunk to keep her company.
"I'm sorry," said Susan with a quiet voice.
"It's not your fault," Anne responded, "It was never your fault. No matter how long I hid, I was still going to die here."
"You can't die here!" Susan yelled quietly.
"My family is dead," Anne responded, "I have nothing."
"What about your friends?"
"My friends are dying, nothing can save us. The Germans have won."
"The Germans have not won!"
"Look around Susan, does this look like victory! My home country has lost. The Allies never came to save us! I lost all hope I ever had in this war. I want to die."
"Please don't go."
Susan began to cry. She is witnessing the death of her friend. She knew she can't change history, not one line. But if Anne can't live on longer, what is she suppose to do.
"Can you please stay with me?" asked Anne, crying her last remaining tears. Susan agreed, she felt it would be horrible if she left Anne to die alone. The two girls talked about the dreams they had before they came to the camp. A few days later, Susan awoke and felt a cold presence.