When I read Lady Lazarus the first time I became a little irritated. The second time I read through the poem I was saddened. The third time that I read the poem I looked up some definitions to a couple of words that I was unfamiliar with. When all was said and done I realized that this was the poem that evoked the most emotion from me. 
I have always been interested in history especially history that significantly changes society. There were not a lot of events that changed lives more in that period of time than World War II and the Holocaust. There were so many people that were persecuted and killed in Germany by Hitler and his Nazis like homosexuals, Polish people, people from other political ideas, and even Jehovah Witnesses (A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust) http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/people/victims.htm. However, none of these groups were treated and persecuted like the Jewish people. History books are full of horrible pictures and documentation of the unspeakable horrors that these people experienced. Humiliation when they were first brought to the camps was just the beginning of what was yet to come; “Them unwrap me hand and foot- The big strip tease. Gentleman, ladies” (Plath, Sylvia Ln. 28-30). There were survivors but I am sure at one point they wished for it all to end, for death, “I am your opus, I am your valuable. The pure gold baby that melts to a shriek” (Plath, Sylvia Ln. 77-80). Even in death there was no honor, there was no respect, “Ash, ash- You poke and stir. Flesh bone, there is nothing there- A cake of soap, A wedding ring, A gold filling” (Plath, Sylvia Ln. 83-88). These are the things that were written that caught my interest, which brought the emotion to the surface. It saddens me to think that people would do this to other human beings. Work Cited
A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust. Unknown editor. 14 July 2009. Florida Center for Instructional Technology. 8 September 2011, < http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/default.htm> Plath, Sylvia. “Lady Lazarus.” Collected Poems. Ted Hughes. HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. 198
After reading the poem, I wasn't sure what exactly the author was trying to convey. But I can easily see with your interpretation how it could be describing the Holocaust. I was trying to find some deeper meaning, but maybe it is just as simple as that, a recollection of the atrocities that happened those years ago.
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