1. In the initial section of Daniel's Story, titled "Pictures of Frankfurt," it's evident that life for Jews in Germany was becoming increasingly challenging. Despite this, many families still retained some options regarding their future. Imagine being one of the adult family members and try to persuade the others to follow your plan. For instance, Uncle Walter insists, "Palestine is the answer," while Uncle David suggests the family should join him and his new wife in America. In your role play, be ready to counter the proposals of other family members.

2. Daniel states, "By the time I was eleven, I'd almost forgotten life had ever been different." What do you think Daniel meant by this? Discuss other parts of the book where Daniel might have felt he had "almost forgotten that life had ever been different."

3. Daniel's Oma Miriam crafts a Hitler Youth uniform for him, hoping he can regain a sense of freedom. Although Daniel initially complies with his grandmother's wishes, he eventually stops, realizing, "How easy for them to put on the uniform and with it all of Hitler's ideas, forgetting any moral standards they might have had." After the war, some individuals charged with war crimes defended themselves by claiming they "were simply following orders." How valid is the "following orders" defense?

4. During the nearly three years Daniel and his family spent in the Lodz ghetto, they managed to survive while many others did not. Who played a role in the family's survival, and what contributions did they make?

5. Matas remarked, "Often I place my characters in situations where their assumptions are challenged or where they are forced to challenge others. I hope their dilemma will challenge the reader in a similar way." How did reading Daniel's Story challenge you personally?

6. Daniel's Story was written at the request of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. As you read the book, you likely formed your own mental images of the physical settings, such as the Lodz ghetto and the concentration camps. Visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website at www.ushmm.org, where you can find numerous photographs from that era. How closely did your mental images align with reality? While your visualizations might have been in color, all the photographic images are in black and white. Why do you think this is? Would the photos have a stronger emotional impact if they were in color?

7. After Daniel begins attending the Jewish school in Frankfurt, he observes, "We were separate now from everyone else in Frankfurt. Separate and somehow less important. Not as good as the 'pure,' 'real' Germans. . . . I knew I was no different from them, and yet sometimes—I wondered." What measures did the Germans take to isolate the Jews in Germany?

8. Despite the horrors of the Holocaust, there were moments of immense selflessness and compassion exhibited by individuals who faced the grim reality of their impending deaths. Which of these examples touched you the most emotionally?

9. When Daniel witnesses the bodies being burned in pits at Auschwitz, he reflects, "And I almost threw myself in with them. That was the closest I'd come to ending it all. . . ." This is the moment when Daniel almost considers suicide. What do you believe gave Daniel the strength to choose life instead?

10. While working in the photography studio at Buchenwald, Daniel takes a family portrait of a German SS officer, his wife, and their two young daughters. He describes the scene: "They looked so content, so well-fed, the model of a perfect family. The father kissed the children pleasantly when the pictures had been taken. The model father." Later that day, Daniel witnesses this "model father" cruelly wound and then kill a young boy, emptying "his gun into the child's body." When the camp is liberated, Daniel, now armed, has a chance for revenge and pretends he will shoot one of the SS officer's children. However, afterwards, he remarks, "I stalked away feeling dirty and miserable." Why do you think he experiences these emotions?

11. Why do you think Matas chooses not to end Daniel's Story with the liberation of Buchenwald?