Throughout the novel, some characters find small moments of hope, and others find ways to survive for long periods under torturous conditions. What messages about humanity are conveyed by these situations? Consider these points as you formulate and support your response.

• Is hope required for survival?
• In what moments does Dita specifically find hope or happiness despite her situation?
• Which characters were able to find hope more often than others? How does their outcome compare?

Teaching Suggestion: After a dark and sad book, it may be beneficial to guide students to reflect on the brief, positive moments from the novel. This prompt focuses on the resiliency of humanity and the novel’s moments of hope and strength.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who benefit from strategies with close reading and recall, it may be helpful to divide the class into small groups and have each address a section of chapters to locate evidence of hopeful moments. After groups share their results, individuals might address the larger question about the meaning of hope and its impact on humanity in a private journal response.

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A Story Retold”

In this activity, students will retell the story in chronological order based on important events.

The story of Dita and her library is often told out of order and through flashbacks. Work as a class to re-order events in a linear fashion.

• In a small group, note individual important events from an assigned section of chapters on index cards or flash cards (one event per card).
• By communicating with other groups, display the events from the novel in chronological order (the order in which they happened), not the order in which they were told to the reader.

Review the re-ordered story together. Correct any events that are out of order and reflect on events that may have been missed from the overall retelling of the story.

Teaching Suggestion: Alternatively, small groups might work to retell the story sequentially through the 10-12 events they determine to be most important. Groups can compare retellings once they are ready. For additional challenges, consider revising the task to include the events that connect most strongly to a given theme or those that focus on an individual character.

Differentiation Suggestion: If the class includes students who are often leaders and may talk over others, consider providing a limit to the number of suggestions they can make. Similarly, if you decide to break students into smaller groups, consider creating a group that allows all the quieter contributors to speak.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. At the very beginning of the novel, the narrator offers that “books are extremely dangerous; they make people think.” (Chapter 1)

• Why might some leaders not want those they lead to think? (topic sentence)
• In an analytical essay, explain in three detailed points why Nazi leaders refused prisoners access to books in the concentration camps. Include at least three quotations to support your analysis.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the connection between your topic sentence and the theme of The Power of Books to Give Life Meaning.

2. Throughout the novel, many characters reflect on memories of their life prior to Auschwitz.

• In what ways might memories be a powerful tool for survival? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, discuss the cause and effect of 2-3 specific moments in which a character considers their memories. How does the memory support (or hinder) that character’s survival?
• Conclude by summarizing the connection to the theme of In War, Nothing Is as It Seems.

3. In several dark moments in the novel, the prisoners can be heard singing.

• What does music symbolize throughout this novel? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, identify and analyze at least 3 examples of the symbolism conveyed by the author using music.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, judge which of the novel’s three themes is best supported by your examples and summarize a rationale for the theme connection.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the theme Love Is Stronger Than War. In a well-developed argumentative essay, advocate for the relationship in the novel that you believe is the best embodiment of this theme. Consider love from multiple angles in your thinking. Is romantic love stronger than familial love or friendships? As you compose your essay, be sure to include at least three quoted moments from the text to support your argument.

2. In Chapter 22, the author writes, “Dita suddenly sees fear as a type of rust that undermines even the strongest convictions. It corrodes everything; it destroys all.” Analyze and explain the metaphor that the author is using here. Then, evaluate the truth of this quotation within the context of the novel. Does fear beat strong convictions? Use several moments from the text to support your reasoning.

3. Dita is the main character, but there are several sequences in which the narrator focuses on other characters. Pick one of the minor characters who is featured via their own viewpoint. Compare and contrast their story and characterization with Dita’s. How are their situations different? In what ways do they behave or react similarly in Auschwitz? Be sure to cite at least 3 pieces of evidence from multiple sections to support your answer.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does the narrator imply when they claim that Dita is like Snow White in that “She, too, was lost, surrounded by wolves”?

A) Dita does not know where Auschwitz is located.

B) Dita faces dangerous people and situations.

C) Dita is a fictional character.

D) Dita has black hair and pale white skin.

2. Which theme is best summarized by Professor Morgenstern when he says, “God silenced our thoughts so that only we can hear them”?

A) The Power of Books to Give Life Meaning

B) Love Is Stronger Than War

C) In War, Nothing Is as It Seems

D) Religion Helps Guide People

3. What secret does Dita discover about Hirsch when hiding in her library?

A) He is in love with a man.

B) He is secretly working for the Nazis.

C) He has multiple wives.

D) He doesn’t know how to read.

4. What does Dita realize about Mengele near the end of the book?

A) He is even more dangerous than he appeared.

B) His threat was empty; he does not even remember her.

C) He is a twin; that’s how he could watch everything.

D) He lets her get away with more than other prisoners as amusement.

5. For Dita’s family, what is the biggest threat in the concentration camp?

A) Disease

B) Firing Squad

C) Famine

D) Spies

6. Why does Dita investigate Fredy Hirsh’s death?

A) She hears a rumor about it.

B) She was too scared to help him last time.

C) She does not believe he would die by suicide.

D) She is part of the camp’s police force.

7. Which character ends up being a lifelong friend to Dita?

A) Lisel

B) Fredy

C) Miriam

D) Margit

8. Which character is the first to help Dita understand that nothing is as it seems in war?

A) Margit

B) Her mother

C) Morgenstern

D) Fredy

9. What happens to the books in Dita’s library?

A) She brings them with her through relocation.

B) They are found and burned by the SS.

C) Readers do not know; they are left behind.

D) The British find them when liberating the camp.

10. What is the end result of Dr. Mengele?

A) He is tried and hanged for his crimes.

B) He escapes and is never punished.

C) He dies during the liberation of the camp.

D) He is injured during one of his experiments.

11. How does Rudy try to help the camp after he escapes?

A) He joins the Red Cross.

B) He reports what he saw to government officials.

C) He begins killing Nazis whenever he sees them.

D) He writes a novel condemning the war.

12. How does Dita decide that Morgenstern isn’t as irrational as people think?

A) He recites Beowulf word for word.

B) He runs around catching ashes with a butterfly net.

C) He winks at her during selection.

D) He dies by suicide.

13. What is one of the most important jobs that the teachers have, according to Fredy?

A) They serve as living books.

B) They serve as resistance spies.

C) They steal food for the children.

D) They do experiments with the children.

14. Which characteristic best describes Dita?

A) Wise

B) Careful

C) Fearless

D) Mean

15. Which of these is a distinct characteristic of Dr. Mengele?

A) He smells very bad.

B) He whistles Beethoven.

C) He is very short.

D) He speaks exclusively in third person.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What trait about her mother bothers Dita the most?

2. Explain at least two ways that the prisoners in Auschwitz maintain their Jewish identity.