Five Chimneys: The Story of Auschwitz

How do the conditions in the cattle car foreshadow the family’s experience at Auschwitz-Birkenau?

Do you condemn prisoners who steal from each other in the barracks? Justify your answer using textual evidence.

Although Lengyel’s involvement in the resistance endangers her life, how does it also prolong it by providing hope and purpose? Use textual evidence in your answer.

The majority of Lengyel’s recollections are based on her own first-hand experiences. Why do you believe that she also chose to include sections of the statement of Dr. Albert Wenger, an American lawyer and economist?

How do the corpses of Auschwitz-Birkenau as described in Chapter 12 operate as symbols of the camp’s deprivation, cruelty, and program of genocide?

Which act of resistance—from subtler examples like the couples making plans through the fences to more brazen examples like the murder of the Greek Sonderkommandos who refused to kill the Hungarian civilians—do you find the most moving and inspiring? Justify your answer with textual evidence.

How is Irma Griese further characterized by her wardrobe as an evil antagonist?

Which aspect of the Nazis’ manipulation of newly arrived deportees, such as the cheerful band and the line of ambulances for the sick, do you find the most jarring? Justify your answer with textual evidence.