I Have Lived a Thousand Years

I Have Lived a Thousand Years

• Genre: Nonfiction; autobiography
• Originally Published: 1997
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 720L; Grade Range: 7-10
• Protagonist Central Conflict: In I Have Lived a Thousand Years, Livia Bitton-Jackson (previously known as Elli Friedmann) shares her personal account of surviving the Holocaust as a young Jewish girl during World War II. The central conflict revolves around Elli’s harrowing journey through concentration camps, the loss of loved ones, and her determination to hold onto hope and reclaim her life in the face of unimaginable cruelty.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: The Holocaust; violence; death; genocide; antisemitism

Livia Bitton-Jackson, Author

• Bio: Author and Holocaust survivor; I Have Lived a Thousand Years is her memoir recounting her experiences during the Holocaust.
• Other Works: Elli: Coming of Age in the Holocaust (1980), My Bridges of Hope: Searching for Life and Love after Auschwitz (2003)
• Awards: Christopher Award for Young People's Literature (1998)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Jewish Identity
• The Survivor’s Responsibility
• The Loss of Innocence

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the historical and social contexts surrounding the Holocaust, particularly surrounding children’s experiences of concentration camps and modern-day campaigns to remember the atrocities committed during this genocide.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Jewish Identity, The Survivor’s Responsibility, and The Loss of Innocence.