Yabek and his family live in Krakow, Poland. But in just a blink of an eye, their city was invaded by the Germans beginning WWII. For now, Yanek and his family remain in Krakow. For a little while they stay in their flat with several other families. Anti-Swmitic 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 not been taken for resettlement or deportation yet. One-by-one many Jews where relocated to other Jewist ghettos, work camps, Concentration camps or where killed on site.

Yanek's figurative Journey

With the stress of no food and constant hiding, Yanek is living in fear of being caught by the Nazis. His emotional state is one of constant terror and panics at what awaits him at every turn. The unknown aspects of the war leave a feeling of being unsettled. Yanek's early life as a 10-year-old boy before the war was very normal he attended school, played with friends, and went to the synagogue with his family. He loves his Mom and Dad and looks up to them but as the war continues Yanek begins to doubt his father's 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) Doubting your parents for the first time is a struggle for Yanek especially in war-torn

When Yanek got deported from his home he was sent to a work camp called Plaszow. Going into this camp Yanek has lost all of his family except for his younger cousin Sala. Yanek is trying to stay strong and survive for his family but at times he feels like he can't do it. When Yanek gets to the camp he sees his uncle and gets very excited and yells out to him then the kapo yells out and punishes someone who didn't do anything. After that Yanek is in a state of fear. Later on Yanek and Uncle Mose meet in private in their own time Uncle Mose then tells Yanek "Survive at all costs, Yanek. We cannot let these monsters tear us from the pages of the world" (p.g 70) after this Yaenk is very sad now knowing that all of his family is dead and starts balling his eye's out.

Yanek was sent out of Plazow to this salt mine from roll call with 50 other men. The owner of plaszow Anom Goeth sent them to the salt mine. Going to the salt mine Yanek saw a tower that he thought looked like church. when they all got out of all the busses Yanek saw a Familar face and he dident know where he remembered it from. Yanek and the other men that where with him went down into the salt mine but Yaenk didn't know that is was a salt mine to Yanek was having a panic attack. The next day Yaenk went to work he remberd that the face he saw was a juderant. Latter in the work day Yanek and the others heard a screen and they saw the Juderant dead on the floor.

Yanek gets sent to Trezedinia from the salt mine. When he first gets their the Nazis have Yanek and his other camp members move rocks to one place to another place. Yanek is stuguling to move the rocks because he is afraid that if the Nazis see him slacking he would be killed. When all the rocks where moved the Nazis had them move the rocks back to the place they where before when this was going Yanek thought about how unfair this is and he out of breath. Yanek then thinks about how he woudend go down without a fight. Latter at rolecall Yanek witnessed another person had teh same idea and fought back. the person got hung and three others went with him. "I will fight back. I will kik the basis in the shins I will run. I won't go like a sheep to slaughter"(pg.109).

Yanek is sent to Auschwitz the workcamp where new people from trains with all of their belongs. At the camp Yanek meets Fred, the day they meet Yanek and free ar in the same baraks and the person in between them ar dead and Fread tells Yanek to cheek the pockets for food, they found food so Yanek disobeys the "rule" that uncle mose told Yanek. Yanek and Fred made such good of friends because they where both alive and around the same age, they where both from Krakow, and they all of they familey where dead or presumed dead. It was a good thing for Yanek because he had someone to talk to, also he had a companion. Yanek and Fred talked about food a lot because it helped I think that it helps them not be so hungry. It was a bad thing because one day Fred woke up very sick and couldn't get out of bed and an ss officer beat Fred and Yanke tried to help Fred by telling the ss officer that he was just sick but it didn't help. That day at role call Fred came very late and got hung. Yanek was so sad at this moment that Yanek was holding in tears, Yanek knew that if he cryed he would be killed so he had to hold it in for the whole day.

Yanek gets marched out of Trezebinia, into a cattle car. Yanek was in the cattle car for many days. During this ddayYanek and the other prisoners were at a loss of water, one man cocouldrbreakelled, and then got killed. Yanek was lucky enough to be put under a cent to get fresh air. When Yanek was in the cattle car it snowed, At a place in Poland they talked to the other prisoners in other trainsthrought the holes in the cattle cars. That's howYankekek knew that he was on the train going to Birkenau.

Yaneks Figurative journey

Yanek was at his lowest point in the cattle cars and the shower (Gas chamber). In the Gas shower, Yanek was losing his mind, Yanek says "What are you waiting for? I cried. Kill me! I give up! yYouwin" (pg.129)" Yanek was at his lowest point in the Gas shower, but after the cold water came out of the gas shower. After that YAnek truly thought that he could truly survive the genocide of Birkenow.

When Yanek arrives at Sachsenhausen affter a long death march. When they got to Sachsenhausen the gards sent them to their baracks and fees them soup. The soup was as Yanek stars" Nothing better than flaverd water, but it was warm." (pg. 187) they also got bread but Yanek dident eat the bread yet, he held onto the bread to he could eat it latter. Affter they eat their soup they where sent to bed Yanek said they their where so many people that they coudent sleep on their backs but yanek didn't care all he cared about was sleep and being out of the cold. Yanek was so happy that he was out of the cold so the second he fell aslepp he was wokenup by the kappoo and was put to work. TheNazis had lined them up by the gated that had the same words on them on Auschwits Work sets you free.

When Yanek gets sent to Bergen-Belsen the guards separate the prisoners into two groups. Yanek thinks that he is in the wrong group so he starts to panic. When the guards are picking the groups, Yanek decides to puff up his chess so he looks strong. Yanek ends up in the right group. One of the main guards says "No work for a week, until they regain their strength."(pg. 167) One of the other guards takes them to theibarrackssks, where they get real soup not warm water like the soup at the other camps, and bread. When they wake up many of the prisoners including Yanek get a bad stomach ache. The next time they got their food he decided to trade his soup for another piece of bread that he then threw up to try and get rid of his stomach ache. After a week of rest, and eating good food they got sent back to work. Yanek got sent to work with a kappa that the prisoners call Moonface because he has scars back. Yanek got punched in the face by Moonface just because he "looked at him wrong". Yanek thought that this was the place to be for survival until he kept getting put on work detail with Moonface. Yanek now really wants to get out of the place to get away from Moonface they have to do a race. Yane tries hard to get out of that camp, but asinine ethe nd, Yanek ends up getting picked to move out of the camp.

Bunchwnwald was "crueler" than most of the other camps. At Buchenwald there were two sides of Buchenwald one was the camp and the other was a Zoo for the families of the nazis that ran the camp. At Buchenwald Stone Quarry where people would carry rocks up a mountain but if you carried one that was too small you would get shot, but if you had a rock too big for you then you would fall and get shot. Yanek saw this as unfair. One day when Yanek was washing he saw two S.S officers lure a deer into the fence of their enclosure in the zoo, they had the deer tied up to the fence stuck and the camp leader had heard this so their zoo privileges were taken away and they couldn't watch films in the Camp movie theater for three months. Yanek saw this unfairness because the S.S. officers were able to shoot the Jews for no reason but the second they to something cruel to an animal they got in trouble.

Yanek is taken to Gross-Rosen by train. When Yanekgets off the train he notices that their where already so many dead people in and around the cattle car. When they got off the train they were taken to their barracks to sleep immediately. The next day Yanek went to work and made barracks. When Yanek was working an S.S. guard noticedYanekk missing a button, the S.S. toled Yanek that his punishment was 20 lashes. That day at the role call Yanek called out and got lashed, Yanek was told to count the lashes so he counted in Poland. The S.S. officer yells at him to do it in German, Yanek has to get all of the numbers in German so Yanek probably ended up getting more than 20 lashes because he couldn't get them all in German.

On the barrack, someone next to him got a camp fever, and Yanek was really worried that he would get sick. One night Yanek and his other bunk mates heard bombs go off. At this moment Yanek prayed that the bomb would not land on his back and kill him, even though so many times before he wanted a bomb to drop on him putting him out of his misery, now he was so close to the end that he wanted to survive, he needed to survive. The next morning Yanek and the others woke up bythemsefs their were no S.S. officers, and they realized the the Germans had fleed in the night. Yanek went outside along with some of the other prisoners, and then they saw soldiers coming, some of the Jews went to hide in the barracks and some like Yanek started in the yard. Soon Yanek realized that they weren't S.S. officers, he then realized that the Allies where here. One of the American soldiers came up to Yanek and asked him what his name was, he told them that his name was Yanek. Yanek then was crying because he realized that he was free, he was so happy he was crying. The American soldiers gave Yanek half a loaf of bread for the short ride to Munch

The Americans brought everyone to Munich, Germany where Yanek had his room. They gave everyone a toothbrush, their washcloth, and everything they could need. Yanek went for a walk outside one day and saw his old naborImerglick who was mean to him when he was a child. Yanek called out Mrs.Imerglick and they saw each other and started to cry and hug each other. Mrs. Imerglick told Yanek about his cousins who had survived and wrote down their addresses on a piece of paper for Yanek. After dinner Yanek went straight there, and met up with them again Yanek cried so hard. Yanek went there every day until he went to America with 3 year caterer they were their two. Yanek was very happy to see how some of his family members had survived and not only him. Yanek was so happy to be out of the camps to munch that he cried.