Yanek and his family in Krakow, Poland. But in just a blink of an eye, their city was invaded by 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 av been put in place that persecute Jewish people, taking away any right 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 were relocated to other Jewish ghettos, work camps, concentration camps or were killed on site.

Yaneks Figurative Journey

With the stress of no food, and constant hiding, Yaneks 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 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 look up them but as the war continues Yanek begins to doubt his father 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 trubles. For a little while, at least." (pg. 25) Doughting your partents for the first time is a struggle for Yanek especially war-torn Poland.

It was 1942-1943. Yanek was all alone now. Uncle Moshe had disappeared and Uncle Abraham and Aunt Fela were taken away to then his cousins as well and weeks later his parents was too. Yanek was still working at the tailor shop in Krakow because he was hoping that would save him from the Deportations that were happening in the Ghettos. Yet one day while working Nazis came in and took all the people in the Tailor shop because they needed more workers. After getting to the work camo Yanek learned quickly that he needed to be carful.

Yanek was loaded onto a truck, he was one of 50 people to be on the truck. He was going to Wieliczka, Poland. Soon later the kapo was going to room 47 with everyone else who had been chosen. While walking through they heard water but couldn't see it and after that, they went through the salt cathedral. After a long days of work they went to the place they slept but got woken up to a kapo yelling and soon Yanek saw that the person who used to be one of the Krakow policemen had been killed with salt rubbed into the gashes.

Yanek is standing there angry at the soldiers. He thinks that if all the Jewish people jump the soldiers they'll be free from this nightmare camp. Yet when a Jewish prisoner was being beaten the prisoner rebelled and started to beat the soldier. Yanek was thinking "Yes! Yes... It begins here. Together we can take them all! " (pg. 110) He was excited and wanted to join before it was quickly whipped away when the prisoner got shot Yanek was scared because one of the soldiers started to falsely accuse other Jewish people of trying to escape. Then he finally accepted that if Yanek had to die he wouldn't do it violently and instead go quietly.

Yanek had arrived at Birkenau at night by a cart. They had stopped half kilometer outside the gates and once they had stopped and started to get out the dead person next to Yanek had slumped to the ground. Soon the Jewish prisoners left the train you could see all the dead people. Soon later after roll call they started to head to the shower but Yanek thought it was the gas chamber. After all the Jewish prisoners from the train where in the shower the people started to cry for help "When the door clanked shut, some of the men cried out."(pg.127) Then the water fell on him and yanek was happy that he was alive "Water! Not gas! I was going to live!" (pg.129) After the shower the Nazis lined everyone up then took them to a different room. There where screams of pain and when Yanek saw that the room was a tattooing room. Soon after he had been tattooed as B-3087. Later they went to their rooms.

Yaneks Figurative Journey

After they had gotten off the train Yaneks mind was racing with questions such as "Why were they holding us here? Was this some last torture, one last joke?" (pgs. 124) He was getting more anxious as they waited. Then a prisoner had pointed out the fires in the chimneys and Yanek had dozed again. Later they where marched to what they think is a gas chamber and Yanek started to reality began to skin in that he was gonna die. Then later they almsot in the room and Yanek started to think how he was tired of fighting and how he didn't care anymore and he was tired of being brave. When they where in the room Yanek started to cry and started to think back to happier times in Krakow. After a while of waiting for the gas Yanek "Laughed out loud at that" (Pg. 128) More waiting Yanek started to comply fall apart creaming for the Nazis to kill him and that he have given up buy then the water started to fall and Yanek was crying out of happiness and told himself that he was alive.

He had felt sorry because new prisoners had come into Auschwitz then he had felt maybe a little angry because the new prisoners were trying to get away from the prisoners due to them smelling and looking horrible. He had seen a little girl stick out her tongue and got a snow flack little did she know it was ashes he had felt bad for her. He was trying to tell this family to lie to survive but once they weren't going to he wanted to press on it but left it. When it was his turn he was lying he was trying not to waver under the intense pressure.

In the train Yanek said that the more people die in the train there was way more room to breathe. Once he arrived to Bergan-Belsen he members this was his 7th concentration camp less than three years as he was thinking about that the commandant was yelling at his and the other prisoner guards because they looked like skeletons then the commandant started to to point at some of the prisoners so Yaneks first thought is to look strong so he puffed up his chest and try to look strong as possible yet the commandant looked at Yanek but moved on past Yanek. Yanek started to panic and started to think "No! I had to be strong enough to work! Work was the only way to survive" (pg 197) but his thoughts were interrupted by the commandant having the prisoners he chose to be shot. Yanek was surpised when Yanek heard the commandant say "No work for a week, until they regain their strength" (pg 197) He was surprised and thought this was a complete trick and he saw the other prisoners glancing at one another. They had gotten back to their barracks and they where fed big pieces of bread and Yanek started to become hopeful an thought if he stayed at Bergan-Blesen he could survive there and that's when he met Moonface. When he met him he was beaten all because he looked at Moonface the wrong way and when Yanek was hurt he felt like he couldn't breath. He thought that he had to get out of the camp and so he did by racing other prisoners and he had made it.

Yanek saw that everyone was scared and wide eye and its not just at roll call anymore or if a guard or a kapo walked near them it was all the time and Yanek felt the same thing. He was assigned to the stone quarry and he hadn't broke rocks but instead he had been told to carry them up a hill. He said "if you took a stone too large, you would drop it and the Nazis would shoot you. If you took a stone too small, the Nazis would shoot you fo being lazy." (pg 204) He had learned that the reason why the camp was next to the zoo is because it was the idea of the camp's commandant (Koch and his wife) for entertain their families. He had felt angry because the prisoners were starving. Then while the commands family came the kids stared at the animals and then the prisnors. Yanek started to wonder what the kids were thinking about them. Yanek had saw a bear eat a large and juicy steak and Yanek thought that fought one of the bears for the meat. He had always tried to stay away from both Herr and Frau Koch because he was scared for both of them due to the stuff they did to other prisoners.

They had taken Yanek and the other prisoners by train. Everyone had been packed in super tightly where they just had to stand. More and more people died around Yanek in the train due to the lack of air. Yanek had fallen asleep on the train so he could try and forget his hunger. Once they had arrived they were assigned everyone their barracks and put them right to bed with no food to eat and once Yanek got into bed he fell right asleep. After a long time of Yanek staying low and keeping his head down he had been called over by a Kapo. The reason why is because Yanek's button to his pajamas where missing and at roll call Yanek was pulled out and he was brought over to a "wooden horse- a polished, barkless log with four wooden feet and laid over it with my bare back facing up"(pg 216) He had been whipped more than 20 times and on top of that Yanek had to count to 20 in German. After Yanek was "punished" he was dragged back to the barracks and dumped onto one of the many shelves where Yanek fell asleep fast.

The day after Yanek got to Dacahu the man next to Yanek had gotten something that's called "Camp fever" but it's actually typhus. The camp fever had spread like wildfire in the camp due to the close proximity. After three days Yanek didn't see the man that slept next to him. Yanek thought he should try to stay away from the sick but it was very hard due to more than 1,500 prisoners were crammed into the barracks. Yanek was grateful that the Nazis didn't make the prisoners work and sometimes they didn't have to go to roll call. Yanek knew that the war was gonna end soon. One night it was about the early spring and he woke up to a pound-exploded and Yanek was a little scared because there was nowhere to hide, no place to run because the Allies were at Dachu and Yanek also thought they were they were going to die soon because of that. Now Yanek members how many times he just wanted a bomb to fall on him but now he didn't want that he prayed that no bomb would hit him. Now its morning yet Yanek felt something was different. No kapo had come to wake him or any prisoners then he watched as a man went to go check Yanek was relieved as there were no guards but he started to worry because he didn't know where to go due to all the Ant Semitism. Then Yanek saw soldiers he got scared then he saw it was the Americans Yanek cried and felt something so close to joy and he went onto the ground crying out of joy. Then an American solider comes up to him asking if Yanek is alright and what his name is and Yanek response with "Yanek I told him. My name is Yanek." (pg 245) The American had told Yanek that everything is going to be okay "and for the first time in 6 years, I believed the was right." (pg 245)

Yanek was reluctant to go because they had to go on so many trains, walk, and been to so many horrible places. Soon Yanek had agreed to join because the Americans assured Yanek and so many other prisoners. Yanek was brought to a room filled wit bunk beds and Yanek started to think about how many people he had to share with so he asked and the American told him "Nobody" (pg 249) Yanek was so happy that he had a bed to himself. Soon he got sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. He remembers how long he didn't get to sleep on this stuff. After he put everything on his bed he thought sleeping on bed with everything a bed is supposed to have was a luxury because he didn't have this for 6 years. He had a toothbrush with some other stuff. He was so glad that he cried while holding it, remembering that time when he had to wash his teeth with only water and his finger. After that, he sat at a table with chairs. Yanek saw a Jewish man crying an laughing because they didn't have this at the camps and Yanek understood and remembered that before the war started he and his family sitting at the table and eating. After a few days he went on a walk and saw his old neighbor he yelled out to her and ran across the street and hugged her tightly. Soon she said that he still had family and after getting the address he went there. After crying and telling each other how they survived he got into a program to immigrate to America he was very grateful and had signed up to immigrate there. After a very long time, Yanek got to go to America but he was reluctant but he remembered its time to live.

Yanek walked through barely knowing who or where he was. Through the past 3 days, all he could remember is the enormous radio tower that was in the distance. He was tired and very hungry so much so that he didn't care if he lived or died he was slowly becoming a muselman but lucky he was fed bread and soup. The next day he woke early as always does, as he walks out he saw lots of bodies making him a little worried yet he went to the pump and uses his figure to wash his teeth he felt sorrow because he remembered when he got that blue toothbrush from his mom... it was his first toothbrush and how he wish he could have that toothbrush again.