Yanek 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-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 Krakow Ghetto to contain the remaining Jews who have not been taken for resettlement or deportation yet. One by one many Jews were relocated to other Jewish ghettos, work camps, and concentration camps or were 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 panic 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 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 Poland.

At the beginning of chapter 9, Yanek is taken from the ghetto in Krakow and is transported to a concentration camp in Plaszow, Poland. For a while now, Yanek has been feeling upset and experiencing grief because the Nazis took his entire extended family. He learns that being in that concentration camp there are lots of procedures and rules he must follow to survive. Uncle Moshe, who he met there coincidentally, states, "Survival at all costs, Yanek. We cannot let these monsters tear us from the pages of the world." (page 70). This quote reminds him that he needs to be confident and strong to stay alive for his family. Uncle Moshe is the only person he can speak to for any emotional advice so Uncle Moshe is just like an emotional support pillar. Realizing the loss of, not only your parents but also your entire extended family, is a hard loss and takes a lot of time to grieve and get over.

Yanek was pulled out of his bed including 49 other men and was transported into a truck. They eventually arrived at a salt mine and had a job to work at. Going down the elevator to get to his workplace, he had a minor panic attack as it reminded him of the loose floorboard, which he called similar to a coffin. Eventually, he arrives, walks through a pathway, and spots statues carved out of salt from other miners. He soon figures out that even though darkness and harm exist, there is always light and beauty in things. This is where Yanek realizes that some beautiful things are still left in the world.

At the very beginning of chapter 14, Yanek feels angry that none of the prisoners are fighting back. He feels fury when he knows that there are way more prisoners than soldiers so why couldn't they fight back? In the middle of the chapter, one of the prisoners got so angry they fought one of the soldiers. Grabbing the gun and beating him with it. Soon the prisoner gets shot and so do six other innocent prisoners who have done nothing. Yanek soon feels fearful about his life and hopes he doesn't get chosen. In the end, Yanek realizes that he cannot fight back because if he does, he's putting everybody else's life at risk. He doesn't want to be a lamb or sheep to slaughter so it is best that he stays low and doesn't make a big scene.

Yanek was pulled from his camp and was marched at gunpoint into these cattle cars. Those cattle cars were not made for humans and were extremely uncomfortable. He was crowded with tons of other prisoners to the point where he couldn't even lift an arm. He states how he was dying of thirst and had to resort to licking the snow off the air vent to survive. He arrived at Birkenau in a few days but had to wait for 1/2 of a day in the cattle car. He was then transported to the camp where he was ordered to remove his clothes. He thought he was going to die in the gas chamber but instead of gas, it rained with water showering him.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

Once Yanek entered the chamber alongside the other prisoners, he had his lowest point. He started yelling at the soldiers controlling the chamber to release the gas to get it over with. To others, he seems almost insane for telling the soldiers to release the gas. Once the soldiers turn it on, Yanek finds out that it is water instead of poisonous gas. "Water rained down on me. Freezing water so cold it made me scream. Water! Not gas! I was going to live!" (pg. 129). Yanek soon regains hope that he will still live and repeats the words "I am alive" to remind himself that he needs to push through everything. Soon, he becomes a bit of a mentor. He recited words to a 13-year-old boy to remind him to stay strong and not let the Nazis tear him from the pages of the Earth. He later becomes strong-willed and isn't so insane anymore.

Once Yanek entered Auschwitz, he noticed a sign that said, "Arbeit Macht Frei". This means that work makes you free. Yanek had never shared his real name with anyone before until he met Fred because of his fear that something would happen in this extermination camp. He shared many similar characteristics with Fred as they had bonded very well over time. They were similar in age, family, and where they lived. Yanek was truly happy when he met Fred and tried to get assigned to the same work every day. Then one day Fred fell ill and over time couldn't even get out of bed. Yanek panicked and didn't want Fred to leave just yet but eventually, Fred was hung for his inability to work. This changed Yanek as he was hurt yet again for losing his loved one. He chose not to bond with another person as he was scared that if he bonded with another person, he would lose another loved one.

In the death march, Yanek was forced to walk a long way to Sachsenhausen with only half a loaf of bread for 14 days. Yanek had to learn to eat his food in portions and to only eat it when he severely needed it. There was no source of water so he had to catch snowflakes and eat snow for a source of water. It was winter so it was extremely cold and Yanek had only his shirt and oversized shorts with wooden shoes. His time walking was extremely miserable and after he helped a boy with walking, Yanek found out his food fell out. With no food, the rest of his days were terrible because he was slowly dying of starvation, and with no energy he was weak. He eventually did survive the death march.

Yanek arrived in Bergen-Belsen and was expecting the Nazis to do something extremely ruthless to them but no, they were not going to work for a week. They were fed delicious soup and warm bread every day. Yanek believed everything was great until Moonface came along. Yanek had to do everything he could to stay away and not get noticed. He learned that he needed to get out of this concentration camp to get away from Moonface so he wouldn't get killed. Yanek had to compete in a race to prove he was strong enough to work. He had to mentally prepare himself despite being barely stable and extremely weak. He eventually was deemed worthy and moved on.

Yanek was transported to Buchenwald where Carl and Ilse Koch greeted him. He noticed how all the prisoners looked different, they were all scared. He didn't know why but he knew he had tough work. He also noticed his camp was different but not because of the prisoners. There was a zoo. He also stated how they were treated better than the prisoners. "At roll call, we'd watch as big bloody steaks were fed to the bears. I was so hungry I would have fought one of the bears for that meat and eaten it raw - steak and bear." (pg. 206). They were being messed with by having to watch the animals eat better than them. The leaders of the camp were noticed by the Nazis and they were eventually executed because of their cruelty. "The Nazis had killed so many of us, they were running out of Jews." (pg. 209). The Nazis were so ruthless to the Jews that they were now running out of people to kill.

Yanek had to travel to Gross-Rosen and was transferred by cattle cart. He was yet again, squished in between two prisoners as was everybody else. He tried to fall asleep as that was his only way to escape this horrible place. He had seen death so many times that he had gotten used to it. "I had been surrounded by death for so long, seen so many men die before my eyes, lived with so many dead bodies piled and stacked and strewn about like so much human firewood, that I almost couldn't care anymore. Almost." This shows that Yanek was surrounded by places where men died all the time, he got used to it and expected nothing less causing him to almost feel careless. He eventually survived and was then beaten by a Nazi for losing a button.

Yanek reached Dachau Concentration Camp. It was a chaotic camp but there was no work. Yanek was thinking about what would happen if the Allies came by and were able to bring down the Nazis. He also thought about the Anti Semitism the Nazis had for the Jews and the reason why. He wondered what he would do once he was free from these concentration camps. Where would he go? How would he get food? Who would take care of him? These were some questions Yanek wondered what would happen after the liberation and if the Allies would come to his camp. This made Yanek question the future and if he would survive.

This is the first time Yanek has ever finally had hope he would survive this after all. The Allies came and picked up the Jews from Dachau Concentration Camp. Yanek reached the rooms and believed he would share with others but it was for himself. Once he had reached the dining room, he saw lots of food including fresh bread. He thought back to his past about his time in the Krakow Ghetto, trying to get away from the Judenrat, reading from the Torah for his Bar Mitzvah in a basement, seeing those crematoriums in Birkenau, witnessing deportations, entering Auschwitz, an extermination camp. These thoughts made Yanek realize how much he has gone through to get here today. Yanek witnessed and dealt with lots of persecution. He is a strong man for being able to endure the memories left from his time in the Holocaust. He is now a free man and will live to share his story with the world.