“We all sat by the radio around the big table in the dining room”

Literal Journey

The Nazis Scapegoat for WW1 was the Jewish people, which is why he had to wear a Star of David to make him an easy target for persicution. At first, he didn't go anywhere when the ghetto was formed because their flat was in the ghetto, and then they moved to the old pigeon coop on the top of their building.

Figurative Journey

He secretly had his Bar Mitzva where he read from the torah in the Krakow Ghetto. When Germany first invades Poland, Yanek's uncle thinks the war will be long, while his father says it will be short. Because of this, Yanek is confused and doesn't know who to listen to.

“I panicked, looking for a way out, out of the truck, out of Plaszow, out of this nightmare that had already swallowed my parents up.”

Literal Journey

He was taken because of his job as a tailor because the Nazis wanted him to work in a camp instead, but he dint go far to get to his first camp because Plaszow is inside of Krakow, Poland.

Figurative Journey

His first experience of mass Anti Semitism. He wished that his family wasn't all gone and he also finally felt like he was a real prisoner. He also feared the camp commandant. 

“Here there was no lake, but something even more amazing: statues!”

Literal Journey

He felt a little more human after seeing something impressive even though he was still a prisoner. And just that little bit of reality made him feel better. He also recognized one of the jewdenrat from Krakow before the mass deportations. 2 of the other prisoners killed him because to them he was a perpetrator.

“I blinked stupidly, not understanding at first.”

Figurative Journey

When he got to Trzbinia his job was to move rocks, but when they got done moving the rocks, the head SS officer told them to move the rocks back to the other side of the yard. This made him very confused and angry. but no one would resist them or they would get beaten and probably killed.

“My thin fingers were so cold they were blue,”

Literal Journey

He had eaten so little food that his fingers were almost just bone and were completely frozen. Berkinau was also famous for being a notorious Death Camp that used mass euthanization and crematoriums.

“He lifted a spoonful of the tepid, flavorless broth,”

Literal Journey

The soup was so terrible that prisoners were dying from lack of nutrition.

“They forced him to squat in what they called the Sachsenhausen Salute,”

Figurative Journey

This made all the other prisoners including Yanek fear the Kapos and SS officers because of the harsh punishments in Sachsenhausen.

“No work for a weak, until they regain their strength,”

Literal Journey

Yanek and the other prisoners began to gain weight because they were finally getting the real food they needed.

“The Jews were chained to carts like draught horses,”

Figurative Journey

After seeing the terrible sights in Buchenwald Yanek was very demoralized and was in a lot of pain from hauling all the rocks around on his back.

“I was going to be flogged for the crime of losing a button.”

Figurative journey

He was whipped 100s of times because he lost a button and he didn't know how to count in German. But the officers made him restart every time he got one wrong.

“The man in the bunk next to me got camp fever.”

Literal Journey

Everyone was getting sick and no one was eating good food so they could easily spread the disease. 

“How many people do I have to share it with?”

Figurative Journey

Yanek was so used to sharing a bed with multiple other people that he automatically asked if he needed to share with someone, but he was super happy when he was told he didn’t have to share a bed.