I Have Lived a Thousand Years

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Foreword

Reading Check

1. On April 30, 1995, Bitton-Jackson returns to the site of her liberation by American soldiers for a commemoration ceremony. In what city did this take place?

2. Of the people who attend the commemoration ceremony, how many of them were Holocaust survivors?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As stated in the Foreword, what is the main purpose of Bitton-Jackson retelling the “past evils” of her experience in the Holocaust?

Paired Resource

“Livia Jackson on Josef Mengele”

• In this USC Shoah Foundation clip, Bitton-Jackson discusses the moment she met the notorious Nazi doctor, Dr. Josef Mengele, for the first time.
• This momentous meeting is one example of the many traumas Bitton-Jackson—only 13 years old at the time—endured that lead to a Loss of Innocence for her and so many other Jewish children.
• Consider the message in the Foreword about the importance of remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust. How does bringing up memories like the one about Dr. Mengele serve that purpose?

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. As a child, what does Bitton-Jackson dream of becoming when she grows up?

2. What is the excuse Bitton-Jackson’s teacher provides as the reason all schools are closing?

3. Bitton-Jackson is forced to give up what birthday present in Chapter 3?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are the different ways Bitton-Jackson and her brother react to being forced to wear the Jewish star?

2. Describe Bitton-Jackson’s encounter with Mr. Stern at the synagogue in Chapter 5. How does it foreshadow what’s to come?

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 7, Laura tries to put a positive spin on the family being transferred to the labor camp, saying that at least there will be what there?

2. Why does Bitton-Jackson miss saying goodbye to her father when he leaves for the labor camp?

3. Laura uses what material to make knapsacks for the family?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Bitton-Jackson find pride in her Jewish heritage in the ghetto described in Chapter 6?

2. Though the guards assure Jewish residents that they will receive all their possessions back when they return from the labor camps, something makes Bitton-Jackson sneak her notebook into her blouse. What does she see?

Chapters 11-15

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 12, what age does Dr. Mengele instruct Bitton-Jackson to say she is?

2. What does the sign hanging above Auschwitz’s gate say?

3. When Bitton-Jackson first files into the barracks in Chapter 14, how long has it been since she had a drink of water?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 11, why does Pista point to his breast pocket when he waves goodbye to Bitton-Jackson?

2. Describe the scene during Bitton-Jackson’s first night in Auschwitz. What is the mood in the barracks?

Paired Resource

“Some Notes on My Father’s Cousin, Joseph Roth”

• In this Tablet article from 2016, Barbara Probst Solomon discusses a retrospective of Roth’s works, including The Wandering Jew.
• She discusses how, 77 years after Roth’s passing, he remains a “great chronicler of prewar Europe” and Jewish Identity. In rereading his body of work, it still has much to tell us.
• How does this modern discussion of Roth give you greater insight as to why The Wandering Jew helped Bitton-Jackson discover new depths of her own Jewish identity?

“Christian Persecution of Jews Over the Centuries”

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum gives this overview of the Jewish experience throughout history.
• As described in this piece, even centuries before the Holocaust of the 20th century, Jewish people were facing persecution.
• Were you aware of the hardships Jewish people faced during this period? Bitton-Jackson calls the scene in Chapter 10 and 11 “medieval.” Why do you think Bitton-Jackson reflects upon Jewish displacement of this era?

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. On the way to the latrine, Bitton-Jackson sees her reflection in what object for the first time since arriving at Auschwitz?

2. On their 10th day in Auschwitz, Laura finds someone willing to swap places in the barracks, making it possible for which relative to be nearer to Laura and Bitton-Jackson?

3. The prison-guards are known by what German term?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 19, Bitton-Jackson witnesses someone being killed for the first time. What happens, and what realization does this make her have?

2. What is the “miracle” that happens in Chapter 20?

Chapters 21-25

Reading Check

1. Why does Laura faint on the train from Krakow to Auschwitz?

2. Who helps Bitton-Jackson free her mother when a bunkbed collapses on her?

3. In Chapter 25, Bitton-Jackson learns that the next morning the SS will select women who will work where?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Which of Laura’s behavior in Chapter 22 shows that she has lost her will to live?

2. What are the circumstances in Chapter 24 that lead Bitton-Jackson to understand the true scope of Auschwitz?

Chapters 26-30

Reading Check

1. How has Laura managed to save a handkerchief from her marriage trousseau?

2. In Chapter 28, Bitton-Jackson and her mother are transported to what German town?

3. The factory director (Herr Zerkübeloversees) selects 35 women for what group? Provide the name of this group.

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 26, how does Bitton-Jackson convince the SS that she is a “good worker,” despite the wound on her leg?

2. How does Laura’s decision to use her potato to kindle a Sabbath light in Chapter 30 contribute to the book’s larger themes?

Chapters 31-35

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 33, rumors swirl that the camp will be evacuated into what nearby country?

2. What special food permission do peelers get, as described in Chapter 34?

3. When Bitton-Jackson and Laura are freed by American soldiers in Chapter 35, Laura refuses to eat until they find whom?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the SS guard known as “Goat” save Bitton-Jackson’s life in Chapter 31?

2. As described in Chapter 32, what is the dream that Bitton-Jackson has about her father and what might it represent?

Paired Resource

“Holocaust Memorial Stones at Last Allowed in Bavarian City”

• This 2017 article from The Local describes the long struggle to have Holocaust memorial stones placed in the city of Augsburg, Germany.
• A cornerstone of The Survivor’s Responsibility is making sure the atrocities of the Holocaust are never forgotten—thus, memorials like this one are incredibly important.
• How do you imagine Bitton-Jackson would respond to this story? Why do you think it’s taken so long to commemorate the Holocaust victims on this site?

Chapters 36-40

Reading Check

1. When gunfire erupts in Chapter 36, where does Laura suggest that Bitton-Jackson hide?

2. In Chapter 37, Irene sustains injuries on what part of her body?

3. What song does the everyone on the refugee boat sing when the Statue of Liberty comes into view?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Bitton-Jackson returns to her family home in Chapter 38, how does she find that it’s changed?

2. After the terror of the Nazi concentration camps, how does Bitton-Jackson feel about readjusting to her newfound freedom?

Recommended Next Reads

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal

• Arriving at the Auschwitz labor camp at age 10, Buergenthal miraculously survived through his wits and some incredible strokes of luck.
• As another memoir of a childhood in the Holocaust, the Loss of Innocence is a major theme in the book.
• Now a judge in the International Court of Justice, Buergenthal’s memoir—like I Have Lived a Thousand Years—is infused with a sense of responsibility to help those who suffer from tyranny worldwide.
• A Lucky Child on SuperSummary

Daniel’s Story by Carol Matas

• Published in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial exhibit called Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story, this book for young readers is a fictionalized account of what it was like to grow up in Nazi Germany, as told through a 14-year-old boy Daniel.
• Dealing with themes of Jewish Identity and the Loss of Innocence, Daniel’s Story is based on the real-life stories of children who grew up in ghettos and labor camps during the Holocaust.
• Though fiction, echoes of Bitton-Jackson’s story—and so many other Jewish children’s stories—can be found in this tale.
• Daniel’s Story on SuperSummary