For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago, maybe even beyond. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions a couple of times a month. Here are the questions from one of the lost 2020 Spring sessions, Cilka's Journey. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Cilka's Journey
by Heather Morris
Summary:
New from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris, comes this powerful new book based on a heart-breaking true story.
Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her.
In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.
After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic Circle.
Innocent, but imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival. Chilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love.
Based on what is known of Cilka Klein's time in Auschwitz, and on the experience of women in Siberian prison camps, Cilka's Journey is the breathtaking sequel to the internationally bestselling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A powerful testament to the triumph of the human will, this novel will make you weep, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by one woman's fierce determination to survive, against all odds.
'She was the bravest person I ever met'
Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz -- author's website
Background Information
Since this novel is a historical reconstruction of real events that have not been that widely discussed, at least in the West, we provided some historical context when we covered the book initially. Here are the facts provided:
At the end of WWII, approximately 250,000 Jews were in concentration camps and millions more had been killed.
While some found freedom after the war, many either became trapped in the same camps as "Displaced Persons," or killed for trying to return to places like Poland.
Those behind the Iron Curtain suddenly found themselves trapped in "work" camps in Siberia with almost the same level of oppression as the concentration camps.
Some Jews/civilians released from concentration camps were forcibly "repatriated" into Soviet Russia whether they wanted to or not.
Even the few captured Russian soldiers who survived the War (only 20-40% survived the camps) found themselves released from POW camps and transferred into these gulags.
Any contact with "The West" would mean that you were considered "contaminated" and would have you sent to a similar fate.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Cilka continues to find herself singled out?
Talk about both the positive and negative reality of the previous question. Why do you think this is?
Cilka is a complex character. Explore her strengths and weaknesses. How realistic was her portrayal?
There is repeated discussion about changing rules and whether it is better to stand out or fade into the background. What do you think was better in this situation and why?
Cilka falls in love with Alexandre without really speaking with him. This part is complete fiction. Do you find the ending believable?
Did you know about this element of Russian history? How has this book changed your viewpoint? Has it? Did anything surprise you?
Cilka gave up her chance at freedom to keep Josie from losing her child. Would you have done the same?
How successful a sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz did you find Cilka's Journey? Do you have a preference?
For those of you that haven't read The Tattooist of Auschwitz, do you want to read it?
What questions would you have for Cilka if she were here today?
Cilka was forced to put her mother onto the truck going to the gas chamber. Do you think this was the right choice?
Cilka repeatedly talks about a lack of choice. What is your opinion? Do you think she had one anywhere or was she just doing what she had to?
Cilka is often seen being cruel to be kind. Who else (in real life or a s a literary character) has a similar personality? Could you do it?
The book is part historical fiction, part memoir. The author is clearly very sympathetic towards Cilka. What is your own attitude towards Cilka and why?
Which of the women in Cilka's hut are you least sympathetic towards and why?
Additional Resources
While elements such as Cilka's romance are fictional in nature, Cilka was a real person and most of the events did actually happen.
More background information can be found through our history databases or at:
Note:
Early in the pandemic shutdowns, there were a few months that either found themselves lost or cancelled due to confusion, changing schedules, and difficulties getting the word out. These books we will consider returning to so that individuals who want to discuss them can. Once we are back again at our usual numbers, we will put it to a vote to see if anyone is interested in any of them for a future season.