The phrase “Return to Life” is often used in connection with the period immediately following liberation. What do you think were the first things the survivors needed in order to “Return to Life”?

Do you think the phrase accurately captures the Jewish experience at this time? Explain your thinking.

Henry says that he remembers feeling that maybe he was one of “the chosen ones.” Do you think this was a common feeling among survivors? How might a feeling like that carry with it a tremendous responsibility in the minds of survivors?

What other emotions do you think survivors probably experienced after liberation?

Who does David Abrams say he found upon arriving home?

Why do you think David wanted to walk up to his house rather than accept the ride that was offered to him? What do you think the walk symbolized for him?

What feelings and emotions might those who had been able to escape Nazi-occupied Europe have had to contend with after learning the personal and general extent of the devastation during the Holocaust?

How did the progression of stanzas include increasing degrees of the speaker’s recognition of what was going on? How do these changing degrees of recognition seem to impact the poet’s sense of self?

What is the theme of the poem? Pick out one line or stanza that you believe contributed significantly to the theme of the poem and explain why you selected this particular line or stanza.

What questions are left unanswered for you, as the reader? Why are these questions unanswered?

What do you think the poet’s motivation was for writing this poem?

In his testimony, Anton says, “We were happy, we were sad, we were happy that we were free, that we were alive and the Germans had lost. As long as one of us was alive, the Germans lost because they wanted to kill us all, and they couldn’t kill us all.” What are your feelings listening to Anton explain the feelings Jews had regarding liberation? How does what Anton says fit into what you already know about the “Final Solution”?

Paul Parks tells about speaking to a young girl in Dachau who many years later sees and remembers him “by his eyes.” Do you find it surprising that this woman remembered her liberator after so many years? Why or why not?

What do you imagine were some of the thoughts and feelings liberators had after their experiences liberating the camps? What kinds of things do you think they thought about in light of what they had witnessed?

What is the effect of hearing both survivors and liberators talk about liberation? What kind of information do you learn from each?

What kind of information does the survivor provide that would be impossible to learn any other way?

What role does Harry like to believe his upbringing would have played in his choices?

What questions does reading this testimony raise for you?

How were the examples of life in the DP camp that Daniel describes an indication that the survivors were trying to reestablish themselves and trying to rebuild their lives?

How does Ester Fiszgop describe her experience in an Italian DP camp?

In her testimony, Ester says, “I started under the penalty of death—that was my beginning, and then I finished with the penalty of death and I got five years of retirement.” What do you think Ester means by this statement?

Ester says that “no one complained.” Why do you think no one complained, despite the horrible conditions?

Would survivors, in your opinion, have been justified had they become criminals and thieves? Explain your thinking.

From what you read and heard in the testimonies in this lesson (or unit), what kind of attitude did most survivors adopt? What are the possible reasons for this attitude?