Yanke's journey by Alajah Day

Kraków, Poland

20019833 — 2024-11-13 17:00:20 UTC

Yanek and his family live in Krakow, Poland. But in just a blink of an eye,their city was invaded by Germans begging WWII. For now, Yanek and his family remain in Krakow. For a little while they stay in their flat with several other families. Anti-Semitic rules have been put in place that persecute Jewish people,taking away any rights they had.Over time walls are built up around the ghetto to contain the remaining Jews who have been taken for resettlement or deportation yet. One-by-one may Jews were relocated to other Jewish ghettos,work camps,concentration camps or were killed on site.

With the stress of no food and constant hiding,Yanek is living in fear of being caught by the Nazi.His emotional state is one of the constant terror and panic at what awaits him at every turn.The unknown aspects of the war leave a feeling of being unsettled.Yanek's begins to doubt his fathers constant hopefulness and positivity and wonders who is really right-his father or Uncle Moshe. "I still worried he was wrong,but fresh bread made me forget all my troubles.For a little while at least"(pg.25) Douting your parents for the first time is a struggle for Yanek especially in war-torn poland.

Płaszów, Kraków, Poland

20019833 — 2024-11-15 16:55:19 UTC

Yanke came back home and the only person that was left was his cousin and his mom and dad had to passed, and sooner than later he was taken to work as a sower for the Nazis and on his way there he saw his uncle Moshe and yelled out to his uncle , After Yanek did that a soldier came and hit a kid next to Yanek so hard that he died. After his uncle said to him " survive Yanek survive at all cost"meaning that he doesn't want the Nazi's to tear him down or kill him and he also tells Yanek that he should be a good worker but not to good of a worker to where the Nazi's will notice him and he also says that Yanek should not tell anyone his name nor should he even have one here. Yanek listens to his Unlce Moshe which is like he 2nd last family member that could help him stay safe and out of trouble so he can stay alive because his Unlce Moshe has already lost Yanke's parents and he doesn't want to lose Yanke to .

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Daniłowicza, Wieliczka, Poland

20019833 — 2024-11-20 16:40:00 UTC

I picked a salt mine because Yanek was taken to this beautiful salt mine and was forced to work mining with other jews and while he was at the beautiful salt mine he was in a beautiful but bad moment because he has no choice but to listen and work for this Nazi but at the same time while he is working at the salt mine for the Nazi's he gets to see the beautiful parts of the Salt mine even though he was kinda having a panic attack while coming down the elevator because he didn't know what will happen to him once the elevator opens. Once he got off the elevator they made he work at the mine and while he was working he saw a Jewish person who were working for the Nazi's and he was going around snitching on Jews and telling the Nazi's that they had good items in there unit and he was also the one who robbed Yanek's family which left his mom scared and in shock after Yanek knew who he was all that anger came back but suddenly The man who left his mom scared ended up dying from other Jews. The other Jews smashed his head with a shovel and pushed salt in his open wounds and left him there. Once the Nazi found out they didn't care who did it because they claimed all of the Jews would die soon enough .

Trzebinia, Poland

20019833 — 2024-11-20 16:46:59 UTC

Birkenau, Ofiar Faszyzmu, Brzezinka, Poland

20019833 — 2024-11-25 16:31:53 UTC

Yanek was put into a crammed kinda like car and it was so tight in the car that someone actually died from it being to tight but he was still standing after he died but good thing for Yanek he was by an air vent and he was able to fell the cold air and he was also able to get water from the melting snow , The car ride was about 3 days long and once they finally made it to the place they were still kept in the car for about 1 more day, When they were finally let out after all those days people were dropping to the floor because they ended up dying in the car so once the door opened it released the pressure casing them to all drop on the ground .

Yanek was at his lowest when he was in the shower and the water would not come out so he started making up these fake Scenarios in his head about why the water isn't coming out like it should and it made him so Frustrated that he even started laughing and becoming somewhat crazy and saying things like "You can kill me now I give up you win", But once the water came out running down him he felt like he was reborn again and it changed his perspective and now he wants to do everything he can in his will to stay alive so he doesnt die. Yanek even gave another kid the same advice that his uncle Moshe gave him before he passed away, Yanek did this to help give the little boy the same confidence that he has. Yanek helping someone else shows that he cares about other people even if he doesn't know them .

Bergen-Belsen Memorial, Anne-Frank-Platz, Lohheide, Germany

20019833 — 2024-12-06 16:53:39 UTC

When Yanek was in Bergen-Belsen he thought he would be able to survive until he started getting bullied by moon-face, Like moon-face would hit Yanek in his face just because yanek so called "looked at him wrong" and everytime moon-face saw Yanek he would hit or be kicking Yanek so eventually Yanek had enough and asked to be moved and to be able to be moved Yanek would have to run around to show that he was fit enough so that's exactly what Yanek did he ran and he was able to prove that he was fit enough .

Buchenwald, Weimar, Germany

20019833 — 2024-12-09 16:34:18 UTC

In chapter 25 Yanek has seen so many people die and get mistreated by the guards but soon as he saw the guards mistreating the deer by taking the deer and tying its antlers to the fence and this sent so much rage into yanek because the deer doesn't know whats going on and he is defenseless, The same guards that did this to the deer was not allowed to go to the zoo because the Nazi care more about the animals than they do prisoners. Which is sad because Yanek learnt that the Nazi treat the animals way better than the treat the prisoners like Yanek .

Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoznica, Ofiar Gross Rosen, Rogoźnica, Poland

20019833 — 2024-12-10 16:35:02 UTC

Yanek was sent to Gross Rozen but this time in a train where Yanek lost a button without noticing and once again multiple prisoners still die but Yanek hardly notices from all the death he has been seeing since the War so it doesn't even faze him anymore, While on the train Yanek tries to sleep so he can stop thinking about how hungry he is but we was woken up from hearing a bomb and a plane and Yanek wants the bomb to hit the train and kill everyone on the train so it can take them from the nightmare that they are living in. Soon as Yanek gets the gross frozen his set of mind changes once again and now he wants to stay alive again. An Kapo ask's Yanek where is his button on his jacket at and Yaneks doesn't know and the Kapo gives him a punishment of 20 lashes, they make Yanek count out loud in German and he forgets the number 11 in German so they make Yanek restart the counting, After all his lashing when he gets back to his barrack he passes out .

Dachau, Germany

20019833 — 2024-12-12 16:57:27 UTC

While Yanek was in Dachau him and the other prisoners were treated very badly and even had to watch their family and friends die from the beginning of the war, while they were at Dachau they heard planes and bombs near by and one morning they woke up to the Nazi soilders nowhere to be found and other Jews were going back inside while Yanek and a couple other Jews stay outside where they eventually saw a american soilder who told them they were finally safe , the american soilder moved them out the concentration and fed them goof food and even gave them their own bed with sheets and pillows which they haven't slept on in over 8 years .