My Found Poem & Questions for the Holocaust Survivors

My Found Poem

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In front of us flames. In the air that smell of burning flesh. (26)
Surely it was all a nightmare? An unimaginable nightmare? (28)
Not far from us, gigantic flames in a ditch, children thrown into the pit. (30)
Face to face with the Angel of Death (31), my God and my soul murdered. (32)
Weeping with joy, weeping with fear. (33) Slow agony. (31)
Anything is possible… (30) Is that so (31) with the threshold of death? (33)
Damned souls; humanity (30) gone, consumed in the flames. (34)
The silence poisoned the air and took one by the throat. (35)


Our class has been given the wonderful privilege to meet and listen to some survivors of the Holocaust. The following are possible questions I may ask them if I am given the opportunity:

Did you hear about the mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps before you yourself were deported? If so, how did you handle this startling news? Did you look at the situation that would soon affect you with optimism or pessimism?

What was the hardest part of the Holocaust for you? (i.e. leaving your home, being separated from the people you loved, seeing the brutal murders of people you knew, etc.)

Did you find it difficult to talk about your experiences at the concentration camps after the Holocaust was over? What is your main purpose in sharing your experiences with younger generations?

"Police: Auschwitz sign stolen for 'mad collector': Response

The infamous "Work Sets You Free" sign was stolen from the Auschwitz death camp on Friday, December 18, 2009. The inscription 'Arbeit macht frei' had been hanging above the entrance to the camp since 1940, around the time of the Holocaust. This sign still evokes chills to this day to people visiting Auschwitz. Police found the sign hidden in some woodland and covered with brushwood and snow on Sunday, December 20. Investigators are trying to figure out how the thieves managed to bypass an elaborate and extensive system of cameras and security guards despite having to carry the heavy and unwieldy sign. They have been led to believe that the criminals must have had some sort of inside knowledge. Police believe that the most likely motive for this robbery was for financial gain. They are still trying to determine whether or not someone had ordered the theft of the sign.

From the moment I read the title of this article, I was disgusted. It just deeply disturbs me that there are people out there who are greedy enough to steal one of the most important symbols of Nazi terror from the Holocaust that still exists today, all in the interest of money. This sign is not just any old artifact that remains from the time that the Auschwitz concentration camp was actually in use. To people all over the world it is a symbol of the horrific and brutal murders of over a million men, women, and children by the Nazis. It is a symbol of remembrance of the victims, a tribute to the survivors, and also a reminder of the terrifying history of Auschwitz as well as the entire Holocaust. It would be extremely offensive and immoral to steal the sign for any reason at all, but the likely motive behind this robbery is especially repulsive. To think that there are people who are willing to illegally remove such an important symbol of the Holocaust just for their own monetary benefit truly upsets me. The ignorance, insensitivity, and extreme greed of these robbers makes me sick.