The Ballerina of Auschwitz

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Dr. Edith Eva Eger opens her memoir with a letter to the reader. Have students respond to the author with a letter of their own after reading and reflecting on The Ballerina of Auschwitz.

Ask students to use their letter to explain how the memoir changed their view of the world or of themselves. While they should use interesting language and provide specific details to support their point of view (or refer to specific passages or quotes that resonated with them), they should keep in mind that the point of the letter isn’t to tell Dr. Eger about what she already knows about herself. Instead, students need to explain how her story affected them and what they learned and felt and understood that they didn’t before reading the memoir. Offer guiding questions to help them think more critically about themselves:

• What did you learn about yourself either while reading or after reading this memoir?
• What insights about the world did this book reveal to you?
• How does your own story connect to Dr. Eger’s?

After the letters have been written, invite students to share their work and then lead a discussion about how writing in this format helped them process what they read and how Dr. Eger’s words affected them.

Questions for Discussion or Reflective Writing

1. How does Edie’s passion for dance and love of movement and physical expression help her during her imprisonment in Auschwitz?
2. How does Edie’s relationship with Eric compare to her relationship with Béla? How was each relationship important to her survival? What needs did each relationship fulfill?
3. What role does love play in Edie’s story? How does love—romantic, familial, and self-love—serve as a source of both vulnerability and strength in Edie’s life?
4. At what moment does Edie decide to survive? What helps give her the strength to move forward? What does she mean by “choosing freedom” and how does that concept evolve throughout her life?
5. After the war, what helps Edie find mean­ing and pur­pose and joy  in being alive? How is she empowered by the choices she makes? How does she find a way to forgive herself for her mother’s death?
6. What messages does The Ballerina of Auschwitz offer about resilience, freedom, and hope? At the end of her memoir, Edie asks, “Has my generation taught the youth well enough to prevent another Holocaust from occurring? Or will our hard-won freedom capsize in a new sea of hate?” What lessons from Edie’s story are most urgent for today’s world?
7. What calls to action do you find in the book? What is your personal response to Edie’s message? How has her life story inspired you? How will you act?

Related Resources

Curriculum Guide for The Ballerina of Auschwitz from Simon & Schuster
Dancing Through Darkness: Dr. Edith Eva Eger’s Journey from Auschwitz to Inspiration from The Growing Readers podcast
Teaching Materials on the Holocaust from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Educational Materials from Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies