Etty Hillesum - University Years

University Years

Not much is known about Etty's university years. She moved in left-wing, anti-fascist student circles and was politically and socially aware without belonging to a political party. Her acquaintances from this period were amazed to learn of her spiritual development during the war years, a period in which she adopted clearly different interests and a different circle of friends, although she did maintain a number of her pre-war contacts. Etty took her master's exams in Dutch Law (public law in particular) on 23 June and 4 July 1939. Her academic results were not striking. In addition, she studied Slavic languages at Amsterdam and Leiden, but the conditions of war prevented her from completing this study with an exam. She did, however, continue to study Russian language and literature until the very end and also gave lessons in these subjects. She taught a course at the Volksuniversiteit and later gave private lessons until her definitive departure for the Westerbork transit camp. The diaries were written largely in her room on the Gabriel Metsustraat, where not only she and Wegerif but also Wegerif's son, Hans, and a chemistry student by the name of Bernard Meijlink were living.