They had the bodies of small children but the faces of teenagers and, when you could see them, very old eyes. I felt, somehow, a kinship with those children and was waiting for a chance to talk with them.
In this quotation, Alicia points out the lasting and sever effects of the Holocaust on young individuals. Her description indicates that the children are teenagers. And yet, she describes their bodies as looking like those of small children. This can be attributed to the starvation that Holocaust prisoners experienced. Though these individuals are likely teenagers, their bodies have been so starved of necessary nutrients that their bodies are underdeveloped and look as if they belong to small children. Perhaps the most striking description, however, is that of their eyes—which Alicia describes as “very old.” This once again highlights how even the youngest prisoners have been aged to severely by the Holocaust and their imprisonment. Though they are young children, they have seen and experienced so much more than young people should. This has aged them. This quotation does an excellent job of highlighting both the mental and physical toll that Nazism took on even the youngest prisoners.
I realized that a person could actually become one of the living dead; could go on living but feel nothing, not pain, not fear, not sorrow.
Here, Alicia points out how Nazism and the Holocaust completely removed humanity from the lives of those affected. In this quotation, Alicia perfectly captures the idea that one can be alive without truly living. She aims to emphasize how, though prisoners and victims could still be physically living (heart pumping, organs functioning), they could be practically dead. This once again highlights the horror that was the Holocaust. People were so depraved of humanity that they were essentially the living dead. They lost all motivation to live and were deprived of the most basic human decencies.
She looked to me like a branch dismembered from a tree, an arm without a body, a mind filled with grief, a bleeding heart, a walking tragedy.
Once again, Alicia highlights the toll—both physical and mental—that the Holocaust took on average people, regular citizens, and innocent bystanders. This woman, who is leaning against a church in apparent grief, is characterized by Alicia’s physical descriptions. Alicia uses this woman to highlight that, although some people may have been left physically intact—no missing limbs or body parts—they are far from whole. The grief and anguish of the Holocaust has dismembered people emotionally and mentally; left them as a shell of their former selves.
Moshe’s death meant more than the loss of a son—it also made my parents realize that their lives were not their own to control, that they no longer had the power to protect their children.
This quotation highlights the intense danger that families—particularly Jewish families—experienced during the Holocaust. When individuals have children and become parents, most take on a role of intense responsibility—one in which they become the guardians of the children they have produced. As Alicia highlights, however, even parents were powerless to protect and save their children during the Holocaust. This is perhaps one of the cruelest aspects of the Holocaust. Hitler and the Nazis took away the right of parents to protect their children.
