That she survived at all is a testament to her determination and strength, but that she survived, and managed to find her children after the war says even more about her fortitude and sheer force of will. The story does portray a few of the Germans as humane, but mostly they are monsters, high on killing and on destruction. The same hatred exists in the world today, and again, it is based on race and religious beliefs. The sad thing is that the same kind of atrocities could, and do happen in today's "enlightened" world. Famine and "racial cleansing occur in Europe and Africa, and Muslims still execute Jews and Christians for their beliefs. It is quite frightening to see that we, and a planet, have not learned lessons from massacres such as the Holocaust, and still persecute and maim because of belief and misunderstanding. Dina's story is meant to give a glimmer of hope, because she survived, and many others like her managed to survive. However, it is discouraging and disheartening when the realization hits that the same thing can still happen today, and there would still be people like Elizabeth, who follow orders to save themselves at the cost of others.

Reading this account is also quite eye opening. Seeing what the Jews endured during the Nazi regime makes many of the problems we face today seem trivial in comparison. Life is much simpler now, even if there are complicated issues that face us every day....

Basic survival is not an issue, and neither is living life in constant fear. Dina experienced these things, and somehow managed to survive, and then put them behind her. It seems we are not so strong today, and that many of us would not survive in the conditions that Dina managed to live in. Life is difficult and demanding, but nothing is as demanding as simply staying alive in a world determined to liquidate you. Reading this makes the reader understand just how easy life today is, and how lucky we are to live the lives we live today, without care, and with many conveniences.
In conclusion, reading this story of survival is indeed hopeful, but it is also discouraging. Dina survived, and made a new life for herself. More importantly, she lived to tell the story of what she witnessed, so people could more fully understand just how horrible the Holocaust really was. There are still people who truly believe the Holocaust did not happen, and it is an exaggeration by Jews. No one could make up the stories of cruelty and horror that survivors recount, for no one could actually believe human beings were capable of such unmitigated cruelty. The Holocaust was real, and reading real-life accounts such as Dina's simply makes it all the more real, and all the more appalling.