The train
One of the first symbols which appears in the film is the train with which many men, women and children were transported to Auschwitz, train also shown at the beginning of the film. The trains are used here as a symbol to represent the large scale of the destruction caused by the holocaust.
The mud
One of the motifs in the film is the mud. Kitty mentions mud countless times in the film and it is used when the camp and the place where the inmates were housed were described. The mud is repeated so many times to make the viewer understand just how dire the situation was.
The dogs
Apart from the mud, Kitty also mentions often the dogs she often have to battle with. The dogs are also used as a symbol to represent the brutality with which the people in Auschwitz were treated and also the way in which they were seen as being lower than animals.
The crossroad
Probably the most important symbol in the film is the crossroad, also shown and described in great detail by Kitty. As Kitty even admits, the crossroad became a symbol for the people in the camp and for those came after the camp was close. Thus, the crossroad is used here as a symbol for life and death.
The smell
One of the things no one was able to escape in the camp was the smell of the burning bodies and the smell of those bodies which were left in the open to rot away. The smell and way its prevalence its described is used here as a symbol to describe the constant threat of death.
