In I Am a Star, Inge Auerbacher tells the reader that the story she is telling is not a story that is focused on victimization, but a story focused on survival. Out of the fifteen thousand children in Terezin, Inge was one of one hundred that survived. One and a half million children died in the Holocaust; but Inge survived. While she explained how she was in one of the most horrific events that ever occurred, Inge also told what positive things came out of her presence in the event.
In the beginning of Inge’s journey, when anti-semitism began, the Jewish people were in a dangerous position. The Jewish people had to wear a yellow star, the Star of David which had the word Jude transcribed, translating to Jew in German. “Papa told me to sit in such a position on the train so as to ‘naturally’…show more content… They united as a family that spent time together and looked after each other. Despite the onerous and macabre situations, they cared for others more than themselves. “Mrs. Rinder had arrives earlier in Terezin with her husband and her young son Tommy. This good lady, whom we had never met before, gave me a mattress by dividing her son’s mattress in half. Mr. Rinder was fortunate to work in one of the community kitchens and therefor was able to share some extra food with us at times. A deep friendship developed between us until the fall of 1944, when the entire Rinder family was deported to Auschwitz and death in the gas chambers.” (Auerbacher 42). If anything the Rinder family helped the Auerbacher family survive longer. They showed kindness and compassion towards each other instead of selfishness. If the Auerbacher family could have helped the Rinder family, they probably would have; they would understand the circumstance the Rinder family was in because they were in the same circumstances as them. This trait of humanity kept people sane throughout thier