I just posted this on the geocities site guestbook:

(from the archive, re: the Dreyfuss reference- he had written from prison on Devil's Island about "seeing the most beautiful birds")
>She is addressing Harold's unspoken question about her experiences in the concentration camp. She is really talking about HERSELF and the attitude that she brought to the concentration camp. "Later on, HE realized that they had only been seagulls. But TO ME they will always be glorious birds." Seagulls are a symbol of freedom and she is telling Harold that she was able to keep her mind free and joyous even in the worst circumstances. -- Gayle

(my response)
To this I would add that she was saying that *after* the horrible experience, instead of allowing a pradigm shift back to mundane ways of thinking - trying to put it all out of mind forever, as many do - she has taken the things she appreciated, those few precious positive things that her spirit demanded that she glean from the experience, and kept them warm and bright within her heart, for the rest of her life. -- jvol