Writing Prompts - Ella Silber

Prompt 1

At 3:08 in the film, Ella Silber describes her liberation experience: “We woke up, we didn’t see any Nazis, nobody. We didn’t know what was going on, then all of a sudden we heard a noise. We ran outside and we saw some American soldiers. It was then, that we understood that we were free. It sure was a surprise!” Throughout the film, she discusses her lack of control over her life, and the senseless acts that she witnessed daily under Nazi occupation. Write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes how the arbitrary nature of the Holocaust is developed over the course of the film, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details. Cite strong and thorough evidence from the film to support your analysis.

Prompt 2

Ella Silber, Art Pais, and Nessy Marks were born in Lithuania but emigrated to live in Tennessee.  Each of them experienced the Holocaust differently. Review two of the films and write an essay comparing and contrasting their experiences as Lithuanian Holocaust survivors.