Another crucial idea in the novel is the definition of true heroism. When Hannah is distraught over the death of a young child she has grown close to, she says the Jews in the camp are “monsters” to let these horrors continue without actively fighting. Rivka, on the other hand, believes that it is much more difficult to continue to live, to suffer and watch others suffer than to “go out shooting”; she concludes that everyone who finds the will to continue in the camp is a hero. Later in the novel, the author illustrates the truth of Rivka’s statement: the survivors of the camp, like Gitl and Rivka, allow the memories of those who perished—including Chaya—to live on. Specifically, Gitl names her organization after Chaya, and Aunt Eva/Rivka names her niece after Chaya as well.

The author supports this idea of true heroism in her afterword, where she reemphasizes the importance of memory and storytelling. Yolen says that for the camp’s survivors, true heroism was simply to live, to endure, “to witness,” and “to remember.” Through the novel itself, Yolen tells a story that keeps the past alive for new generations of readers; thus, the author herself continues the acts of witnessing and remembering practiced by the camp’s survivors.