Writing Prompts - Hedy Lustig

Prompt 1

Hedy feels that her childhood was robbed from her by the Holocaust. She said, “I was never a small child. I was always an adult and I missed not being a small child.” Explain how the events she experienced in Germany and the hardships she suffered when she came to America stole her childhood from her. Write an essay that both summarizes and analyzes Hedy’s beliefs about the importance of childhood and its absence during the Holocaust. Be sure to cite specific evidence to support your analysis.

Prompt 2

Although they received papers to go to the United States, after Kristallnacht, circumstances worsened for Hedy’s family. German soldiers arrived to inform people that they would be getting rid of the “Jewish problem.”

Write an essay that compares and contrasts Hedy’s family’s experiences during Kristallnacht with other survivor accounts of this event about the meaning of personal loss related to the Holocaust. Be sure to cite strong and thorough evidence from each source to support your argument.