Sample Interview Questions  

Remember not all of these will be appropriate for everyone.  The last two questions for the survivors and liberators are important to ask.

Survivors

• Describe what your life was like growing up before the war.
• Can you tell us what the Jewish community was like?
• Did you play a sport?
• What did you do for fun with your friends?
• How old were you when you first heard the name Hitler?
• How did things change when the Germans invaded?
• What was it like when Hitler came to power?
• Did you have non – Jewish friends before the Holocaust and how did they react to the changes?
• Describe what it was like to leave your home with almost no possessions.
• What was it like to be in hiding?
• What was daily life like in the ghetto /concentration camp?
• Do you have a tattooed number? How did you feel when you lost your identity and became a number?
• What kind of activities did you do there?
• What interesting /moving story would you like to share with us?
• How/ why did you join the resistance / partisans?
• Can you describe liberation day?
• What happened to you after you were liberated?
• Did other members of your family survive?
• How did you come to Israel or America?
• Do you have any mementos/ pictures of your family to show us?
• Did the Holocaust affect your belief in Hashem?
• In what ways does the Holocaust affect your life today?
• What kind of message would you like to pass on to young people and to future generations?

World War II veterans

• In what ways did your life change when World War II began?
• Why did you decide to join the army and how old were you
• Where were you during the war?
• What was your unit’s function in the army?
• Can you tell us about your activities as a soldier?
• Did you have any kind of Jewish life in the army?
• Describe what you saw and felt when you liberated a concentration camp
• Do you have any mementos of this period to show us?
• How did this affect your life?
• What kind of message would you like to pass on to young people?