A Lucky Child

Buergenthal argues in favor of treating German refugees, the descendants of Nazis, with compassion. Elaborate on Buergenthal's argument. Why does he believe it is important to treat them fairly?

Buergenthal reflects:“I doubt that we would have been able to preserve our sanity had we remained consumed by hatred for the rest of our lives”(192). Why is the concept of forgiveness important to Buergenthal, and how does his worldview compare to other Holocaust survivors?

A feature of Buergenthal’s memoir is Jews turning on each other in the ghetto and in the camps. Why do you think people chose to do this? What commentary does this offer on Buergenthal's view of humanity?