Parallel Journeys: Study Guide Questions Set 1  Directions: look through your notes and discuss the following questions with your group. Provide an answer by referring to a location within your notes or writing down a brief response. 1. Did Hitler give kids a choice over whether to join Hitler Youth or not? 2. What was the purpose of the German girls who were part of the Hitler Youth?  3. Where was Auschwitz and what was its purpose? 4. What did Helen and her husband decide to do about their daughter, Doris? Know all the details.

Parallel Journeys: Study Guide Questions Set 1 5. What was Hitler’s Final Solution? What did many think it meant? What did it really mean?   6. How does Germany deceive Russia with the signing of the non-aggression pact? 7. What was Operation Barbarossa? 8. Was the Final Solution made public? How was it handled? 9. How, when, and why did the U.S. enter the War?

Parallel Journeys: Study Guide Questions Set 2 1. How does the War turn against the Germans during the battles with Russia?  2. Who were the Righteous Gentiles? What did they do? 3. Who was Heinrich Himmler? What was he in charge of?   4. What were the conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto? The conditions of the cattle cars? 5. Describe the scene where Alfons meets Hitler?   6. Know about the conditions at the concentration camps: the importance of shoes, the fate of mothers and children at Auschwitz, Helen’s attempts at survival and cleanliness, and who was Dr. Joseph Mengele?

Parallel Journeys: Study Guide Questions Set 3 1. What happened during the Christmas Eve attack? Which side was in control?  2. Why did the SS stop the gassings at Auschwitz?  3. Describe the filth there? 4. Describe the Red Cross visit.  5. Toward the end of the war, Alfons is given a four-day leave. Where does he go? 6. At the end of the war what became of Hitler? 7. What happened when the American arrested Alfons? How is this different from when the French arrested him? Describe his fate with the French and what nearly happened to him.

Parallel Journeys: Study Guide Questions Set 3 8. When Alfons first saw films of the Holocaust that the French made him watch, what did he think?   9. How did Doris first react upon seeing her mother again?   10. What country do Doris and Helen go to after getting healthier?  11. What happened to the top Nazis? Describe what occurred at the trials at Nuremberg. 12. Who went to these trials? 13. What country does Alfons go to next and why? 14. What did Helen want to do about these crimes of prejudice now that she has survived? 15. How did Helen and Alfons meet? 16. What was their purpose in touring and telling their stories? Did they have any difficulties from their audience? Describe.