TRAIN READERS GUIDE

TRAIN
DANNY M. COHEN

READERS GUIDE
for classrooms, book clubs & communities

Train not only fills a gap in Holocaust literature;
it is also powerful, moving, and hard to put down."
— Alexis Storch, The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education

Over ten days in 1943 Berlin, six teenagers
- Tsura, Alex, Ruth, Elise, Marko, and Kizzy -
witness and try to escape the Nazi round-ups.
Inspired by real historical events,
Train gives voice to the unheard victims of Nazism:
the Roma, the disabled, homosexuals, intermarried Jews,
and political enemies of the Nazi regime.

***** WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD *****

TRAINS

With the title Train, it's no surprise that trains and railway tracks appear throughout the novel in a number of ways. In what different ways do trains feature in the story? Why is this train motif significant? What is the meaning of the porcelain train?

THE PUZZLE

Every year, Alex creates a fun treasure hunt for his sister, Ruti, leading to her birthday gift. But this year, the treasure hunt becomes broken. What does Alex's treasure hunt represent? In what ways is the treasure hunt disrupted and damaged? How does the treasure hunt become connected to other characters in the story? How does the disruption reflect Ruth's and Alex's experiences during wartime?

THEY'LL NEVER KNOW...

In the first line of Train, Tsura says to herself, 'They'll never know we were here.' What does Tsura mean by this? What does this say about how Tsura perceives herself? The book ends with the same phrase. What does this phrase tell us about Holocaust history? Who are 'they'?

COATS

Throughout Train, characters exchange clothing with one another, or borrow or steal clothing from others. When - and how many times - in the story does this happen? Why are these exchanges important? What do they tell us about Holocaust history and Holocaust victimhood?

IDENTITY

Certain characters in the novel fall into more than one category of victimhood. Which characters are targeted by the Nazi regime for multiple reasons? What do these dual categories tell us about Nazi ideology? What do they tell us about the identities of individuals during the Holocaust? What do they tell us about identity and prejudice today?

OBJECTS

At various points in the story, different characters find objects left behind or lost by others. Which objects are intentionally left behind, and which objects are lost or forgotten? How do these objects transmit messages? What do these objects represent?

GUILT

Guilt is a hidden theme of Train. How is guilt treated and shown? How and why do different characters feel guilt? How does guilt develop and change throughout the novel? In what ways may instances of guilt be misplaced?

GENDER, RACE & SEXUALITY

How does Train raise questions about and challenge stereotypes around gender, race, and sexual orientation? How do representations of women within the story change how we think about wartime? How are homosexuals characterized? How do portrayals of Roma and Jews within the story challenge Nazi stereotypes? How do explicit contradictions of stereotypes within Train change how we think about the Holocaust? How does Train challenge stereotypes that endure today?

RESISTANCE

How is resistance represented throughout Train? What different forms of individual and group resistance do characters perform? How do these acts of resistance change how we think about Holocaust history? And how might they change how we think about our own actions today?

SECRETS

A number of characters in Train either keep or uncover important secrets about themselves or others. What are these secrets? What do these secrets reveal to us about each character's identities, fears, and choices? What historical themes do these secrets reflect and underscore?

ENDINGS

Train can be seen to have a number of different endings; each character, including each minor character, has a different fate. How does the final chapter - Dark Skies - shape how we think about the Holocaust?

CHARACTERS

Does Train have a central character? Which character do you find most compelling? Which characters drive the story?

TSURA

For what is Tsura fighting? What does she fear? To what extent does Tsura's forced sterilization by Nazi doctors as a young girl drive her actions as a young woman? What questions about Holocaust memory are raised by the argument between Tsura and Wolf? Tsura is Roma. She could also be categorized as a resistance fighter or political dissident. To what extent are these identities connected? What is Tsura's likely fate?

ALEXANDER

Is Alexander's identity as a Jew connected with his identity as a homosexual? Or are these identities separate? While detained in the community center, why does Alexander write down his experiences? What evidence within the text might help us determine what happens to Alexander in the community center office? What is his likely fate?

RUTH

How does Ruth change throughout the novel? What does she ultimately learn? How is her name a clue to the essence of her character? How does Ruth's Catholic identity affect her actions? Did you expect Ruth to solve Alexander's treasure hunt?

ELISE & VIKTOR

Elise's father is a German soldier. Her mother is a Nazi sympathizer. Elise is a member of the German Girls' League. And yet Viktor was murdered by the Nazi regime. Where should we place Elise and her family within Holocaust history? Should we consider them to be complicit with the Nazi regime, or are they victims? Throughout the book, why does Elise act the way she does? What does the relationship between Elise and Viktor represent?

MARKO

Why does Marko make so many mistakes? Marko is Roma. He is also a homosexual. To what extent do Marko's identities converge? How is Marko affected by Tsura's homophobia? By the end of the novel, is Marko redeemed? What is Marko's likely fate?

KIZZY

Where should we place Kizzy within Holocaust history? Kizzy is Romani and so she is a target of Nazism. At the same time, she is a witness to the Nazis' persecution of Jews. In what way is Kizzy a rescuer, too? What is Kizzy's fate?

NIKOLAUS

Although Elise sees him a number of times, we learn very little about the African boy in Hackescher Market. Who is Nikolaus? What is his story? Why is the omission of Nikolaus's full story significant? What might his story be?

PROFESSOR DUERR

What is Professor Duerr's life story? What hidden histories does Professor Duerr represent? Why do we tend to forget these kinds of stories?

WIM & DEITER

How are Wim and Dieter different from one another? How do their actions overlap? They are both Nazi soldiers, yet we as readers perceive them quite differently - why is this?

WOLF & SERAPH

What hidden histories do Seraph and Wolf represent? Why is Wolf so angry at Seraph for her actions at Marzahn? How does the relationship between Wolf and Tsura shed light on the relationship between Jews and Roma during and after the Holocaust?

ESTHER, FELIX & ARI

How do Felix and Esther help us understand Kizzy's actions? How do the fates of Felix and Esther frame Kizzy's story? What is Ari's likely fate?

ANNETT & SAMUEL BRODEN

What factors contribute to the viability and success of the protest on Rosenstrasse? To what extent is the Rosenstrasse Protest a 'selfish' demonstration? What is Samuel Broden's likely fate?

NAMES

Repeated names: Alex's father and Kizzy's baby brother share the same first name - Samuel. Likewise, Ruth's American birthfather, William, shares a first name with the Marzahn guard, Wim, which Tsura learns is short for Wilhelm. Why are some names in Train repeated?

Unknown names: We never know the real names of Seraph and Wolf. And we never know the name of Tsura's great-uncle, or the first name of Professor Duerr, or the names of Elise's parents. Why are some names in Train never known?

TRAINDANNY M. COHEN