Hi, everybody! I am sure that all of you have read the book by now. I have some questions for you and I want to let you know that both Amy and I are eager to find out what you think!
Choose whatever question appeals to you and start writing!
1. What do you think Amy's goals were when she asked Max to participate in the project?
2. Describe Max's relationship with friends and neighbours in Targu Lapus and how things changed by the late 1930s. (chapter 4-6)
3. What happened to Max and his family in May 1944?
4. What stands out to you as Max describes the situation on the train? (chapter 7-9)
5. How did Max find out about the fate of his family after they were separated?
6. Max describes several experiences at Kaufering III. Which one stands out to you the most? Why?(chapter 10-13)
7. What decision did Max and other prisoners have to make when they were sent back to Dachau? What did Max choose and where did he go as a result of his decision? (chapter 14-16)
8. Discuss the challenges that Max faced within the first year of being liberated. (chapter 17-20)
9. What prompted Max to begin speaking and telling his story?
10. The author asks the question "How can we be certain that their lives, memories and legacies are remembered?" How would you answer this question?
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ReplyDeleteI think Ami has involved him in the project because the power of the example is the deepest moralizing form (question 1)
DeleteI agree about the power of example. What kind of example do you think Max sets for us?
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DeleteMax proves an unequal power because he has the power to tell everything he has done
On June 6, 1944 , the train bearing Max and his family was arriving at Auschwitz.Max and his family climbed into a boxcar.Max recounts"If you stood up , you couldn't sit down.If you sat down, you couldn't get up".
ReplyDeleteThat year , he and his brother were separated from their parents and sister.(question 3)
Can you even imagine this? I can't.
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ReplyDeleteI guess the most insightful lines I read were those which described people yelling and suffering, this description made me cry.
Max tried to enlarge the space for the elders and the sick ones, unfortunately the space was too tight that they could barely move a finger.(question 4)
It makes me cry, too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Delete(Question1) I think Amy's goal was to write a book that lot of readers would like to read and Max was that person who lived a story. Max is a truly survivor and his sad story about the life during the Holocaust is very striking. The only part that makes us happy is Max himself, being alive and sharing his biography. These create a book with a deep story.
ReplyDeleteYou are right... he is truly a survivor! I like how you talked about the positive part... how he is sharing his story while he still can.
Delete9. Lisa, Max's daughter, spent some time in Israel, where so many Holocaust survivors were talking about their experiences and she began thinking about why her father wasn't ready to do the same. At her insistence, Max considered doing this, but he only began telling his story at an event, being sent by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. His life has changed after that and he realized that he can tell his life story, without being a speaker.
ReplyDelete10.I am certain that their lives will be remembered because of us.Children will learn at school about the Holocaust and then they will search for more information. What will they find? Books. One book about Max's life and his experiences, another one from Elie Wiesel and many others. Apart from these books, there are movies and more important, we are here to tell people what we already know and make them understand that we have to prevent this from happening again.
This is so true, Diana. These survivors are passing their stories and lessons to us. I feel that we have a responsibility to continue to tell their stories.
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ReplyDeleteIn early may 1944 ,an important announcement was sent by Hungarian authorities throughtout the city by way of the town criers and their drums - "The city has regulated that at 5a.m. tomorrow all Jews must resport to the market square".There was fear and confusion in every Jewish home as people rushed to gather and pack clothing ,food,family pictures,and other personal items. In the early morninghours,the Jews of Szaszregen were surrounded by Hungarian gendarmes and marched a mile and a half outside of town to an abandoned brick factory-the ghetto.The swift,efficient,and murderous deportation of the Hungarian Jews had begun.(question 3)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this situation. Can you?
DeleteMax has a unique story behind and it's very useful not to lose that part of history Max lived. He realized that nobody will achieve similar experiences and finally decided to reveal his past. At least for me, the part of the book describing Tg. Lăpuș is very heart touching. I'm glad that I finded out how the town I'm living looked years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think when you read the parts about Targu Lapus? Have you ever heard any other stories about your town during WWII?
Delete1.I think she wanted to make the book more personal, not just another history book. By asking for Max's help she made sure that Max's story will continue to live and be shared, and offered us a chance to understand how much suffering the Holocaust caused.
ReplyDelete2. His relationship with those people was friendly, however by the late '30 it became more and more hostile due to the religious and political status of the Jews at the time.
4. The hope that some of the Jews on the train still held, the hope that it will be alright in the end strikes me the most because I know that it only got worse and many of them didn't even last till the end.
I definitely wanted to make it more personal. I wanted people to understand that these horrific events involved real people, just like us, not just numbers.
DeleteMax has experienced a dramatic life story. He had the chance to survive such a terrible experience. He wanted to tell the people about the drama he has live in the jew's prison, so the history will not be repeated.(question 9)
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely a dramatic life story! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
Delete1. Amy's goal was to obtain a very detalied information about the environment of those traits by using Max's memories. She wanted to make an accurate description about those horrific moments based on someone who lived through that and managed to stay alive. The best advice for something always comes from someone who trully experienced that.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! The best information always comes from those who experienced it.
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ReplyDeleteI think Amy has asked Max to participate in the project because you can not find a more real and inspiring source to write a book about the Holocaust than a man who has lived on his skin the terrible experiences there.(question 1)
I was touched by the way you described this... that he was a man "who has lived on his skin the terrible experiences." This is so true.
DeleteI guess Amy`s goal was to start a project which finally will contain the life story of a man who went through all, Max Steinmetz.
ReplyDeleteMax is a real fighter, after selection in 1944 where he saw his family for the last time, he had the power to overcome and escape from that "hell", Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more that 1.1 milion people died.(question 1)
You are right! Max is a real fighter! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Delete1.I think Amy's goals was to make people understand and appreciate more Max and his story.So, writing the book, Amy was able to demonstrate to Max how many people are interested of the things that he has gone through, while managing to make us truly understand what the Holocaust meant and what are its causes now.
ReplyDelete2.Max with his friends and neighbors had a very good friendship. They played together, they played soccer, because they did not know football.By the late 1930s things had changed because of religion, the situation became so difficult that "Jewish boys stopped playng soccer altogether" and "the camaraderie and friendship provided by soccer throughout his boyhood years were gone".
3. In May 1944, Max and his family were forced to take some personal things and go to the Ghetto, because it was the time when "They had us where they wanted us. They took our homes; they took our belongings; they took our businesses",says Max.
Your comments are very thoughtful. Thank you so much for sharing them.
DeleteI think Amy's intention was to write a book as close as possible to the truth , to describe life during the Holocaust , and the best way to do it was to use Max's words. (question 1)
ReplyDeleteYes, these were definitely my goals. Using Max's words was the best way to tell this story.
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ReplyDelete1. I think Amy's goal was to help Max remembering the days before Holocaust, when he lived in Tg. Lăpuș, and to write a book which will be Max's legacy for all of us.
ReplyDelete10.We can be certain that their lives, memories and legacies are remembered, because always will be one person, like Amy, who will be interested in that and will pass it on to the others.
What do you think Max's legacy is to all of us?
Delete(Question 1)I think Amy's goals were to show people how difficult it was for Max to survive those years being trapped with others like him
ReplyDeleteand to mark those events to never happen again in the future.
(Question 9)After a long time from what happened during the Holocaust, Max refused to tell his story to his family. The reason he is telling it now is that
his daughter Lisa convinced him of the importance of sharing his horrible experience to others.
We must all definitely say, "Never again!"
Delete1.First of all, I think Amy wanted to give Max some beautiful memories of the place where life was a disaster for him. At the same time, she did what she wanted, wrote a book, and shared his impressive life story.
ReplyDelete3.Max's family tried to get a visa to go to Palestine, but this was impossible because of acts they had never received. In May 1944, due to the war, they had to live in the ghetto, trying to get away with everything that was bad.
6.Max's experience is the most obvious because it was terrible. Even his prison number "72041" and Henry's "72042" show very large numbers, but there were even more prisoners, this place being very different from vast complexes of Auschwitz/Birkenau and Dachau, built camps surrounded by wire in field.
Max definitely has beautiful memories of his childhood in Targu Lapus.
DeleteI think that Amy's goal when she asked Max to participate in the project was to let others find out from a survivor what really happened during the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteVery true! Hearing a survivor tell their story is very powerful.
Delete2.Max's relationsheep with friends and neighbours in Targu Lapus was a good one, friendly.He played soccer with all neighborhood and school friends, not football because they didn't know it.Max's neighbours were not all Jewish.His family was close to several families but one family in particular because they had children his age and lived right next door.
ReplyDeleteBy the late '30 it became more and more hostile due to the Jewish political status at the time.
Have you ever heard any of these stories about your town during WWII? Have you ever heard anyone talk about what happened to the Jewish community in your town?
Delete2.Max's relationship with friends and neighbours in Targu Lapus was a good one, they played soccer almost every day, and they watched American movies on Saturday nights or Sundays.By the late '30 those friendships were destroyed by religion.
ReplyDelete3.In May 1944, the Jews had to report to the market square.Early in the morning, the Jews were surrounded by Hungarian gendarmes and marched a mile to the ghetto, as Max and his family were forced to leave their home for the ghetto.
10.I'm sure their lives, memories and legacies will always be remembered due to the books that keep them alive.
Your comments are very thoughtful. Thank you for sharing them.
Delete1. I think Amy asked Max to participate in the project because having an actual Holocaust survivor take part in such a project turns it from a history lesson in something more. Max's horrible experience must be shared in order to raise awareness of the Holocaust and its horrors and by having Max share his story, Amy managed that and much more.
ReplyDelete10.I personally think that Holocaust awareness has risen considerably thanks to people like Amy who make sure that life stories such as Max's are known and valued.There are a lot of books on the subject and plenty of movies that are considered masterpieces which portray the horrors of the Holocaust quite accurately and because of that, we can be sure that this major turning point in our history will not be forgotten.
I have always been curious... what is Holocaust awareness like in Romania? In Targu Lapus?
Delete1. I think Amy's goals were to write a "living" book. A book made to highlight a person's story with feelings and experiences of a completely brutal drama but at the same time, a true one.It is said that"only the one who passed through knows" so in the case of Max, he is the main pawn in all this story,it was him who Amy nedeed for all her accounts to get color and life .
ReplyDelete3. In may 1944 Max saw his family for the last time. They were forced to go to Ghetto being dispossessed .
"A 'living' book"... I LOVE that!!!
Delete4. The thing that amazed me the most was the attitude with which people handled the situation. Although they were transported in inhumane conditions, resulting in the death of some, they took care of each other, they kept each other warm and tried to give space to the ones that needed it the most. Acting like that in that situation to me seems unbelievable.
ReplyDelete7. After being liberated Max couldn't just pick up where he left off, he lost everything he had so he needed a new beginning and that is scary in a lot of ways. Finding relatives that were not directly affected by the Holocaust was the first major challenge he had to pass, and then getting all the papers he needed to be able to join them in America was yet another problem that he had to solve. After giving it a lot of thought he decided to start a new life there and so the challenge of renewing his life began, among others, learning English was sure one of the hardest things he had to do but with hard work he managed to do it.
Can you imagine starting your life over in a whole new country? Can you imagine how difficult that was? Hard for me to imagine.
DeleteI believe that Amy involved Max in this project to present us the Holocaust and his life.(question 1)
ReplyDeleteI think that Max started to tell us his story to show us what he've been through.(question 9)
Your comments are very true! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Delete1. Involving Max in this project gave Amy and her book even more credibility. But, I think that the main goal was to raise awareness among people, giving the fact that Max's story is a really powerful and inspiring one.
ReplyDelete2. Max really got along with his friends, but in the late 1930s things started to change, they began avoiding Max because of his religion.
10. I think those who lived during the Holocaust era will always be remembered because there are a lot of things we can still learn from their incredible life stories.
You make some really important points. What do you find inspiring about his story? What do you think we can learn from this?
Delete1.I think that Amy's goals when she asked Max to participate in the project were to teach students about the Holocaust and make them understand how important is to learn from other people's mistakes. Hearing the story told by a survivor is more impressive and touching.
ReplyDelete8. After Max was liberated his health was very damaged for a long time. He started to search his family but the enormity of it all was too overwhelming and heartbreaking for his condition.
It definitely was my goal to teach people about the Holocaust. It is also Max's goal so that something like the Holocaust never happens again.
Delete1. I think Amy asked Max to participate in the project because she wanted to give us a better view of what Max had gone through and she wanted to show the world in detail those atrocities.
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