Liverpool Street Station

The Liverpool Street Station is symbolic of the past. When Austerlitz visits the location as an adult, he suddenly remembers how he came to London as a child. The setting is thus a portal into his buried childhood experiences and launches his subsequent excavation of his past life.

Childhood Photographs

The photographs that Vera shows Austerlitz are symbolic of loss. One of the photos is of Austerlitz as a child. However, Austerlitz struggles to associate with the image as he does not remember this era of his life. Therefore these photographs reify the life and family that Austerlitz lost when he was a little boy.

Terezín

Terezín is symbolic of violence and annihilation. Just a quiet town in the present, Terezín was the former ghetto during World War II where his mother was interned. Visiting the place compels Austerlitz to confront...