The Librarian of Auschwitz

“In Auschwitz, human life has so little value that no one is shot anymore; a bullet is more valuable than a human being.” 

This quote, in the first paragraph of the book, is the author’s way of introducing the reader to the horrors they are about to witness as 6 million Jews are killed during World War II. The story takes place near the end of the war, and food and supplies are in demand. Prisoners are starving at Auschwitz, but also, the SS and other Nazi personnel are beginning to feel the pinch. This sentence is meant to show the current mood and situation of the war, but it also demonstrates the author’s main theme throughout; that the Jewish (and other prisoners, such as the Gypsies and homosexuals) are so little valued that the Nazis would rather not waste a bullet if there is a cheaper way to kill. Following this quote, readers learn about the gas chambers; cheap, effective, and thorough ways to kill. 

“Adults wear themselves out pointlessly searching for a joy they never find, but in children it bursts out of every pore.” 

At 14, Dita has her first kiss, and even a year later, when she is at Auschwitz, she remembers that day with joy. She also thinks about how hard her father takes the rapid change in the family’s life and the development of her mother’s neutral expression as she greets their hardship. Dita realizes how hard it must be for her parents, but she pities them, too, and all adults who don’t cultivate an attitude of finding a spark of happiness in each day.