Yanek and his family live in Krakow, Poland but in just a blink of an eye, their city was invaded by the Germans beginning World War II. 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 rides 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. Some, would stay and work in the Krakow Ghetto. Even if you were able to stay in the Ghetto to survive you would leave either way.

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 aspect of the war leaves a feeling of being unsettled. Yanek's 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 to them but as the war continue panic 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 Poland. Also, Yanek attended a boy's Bar Mitzvah in a basement where he turned from a boy into a man. He would read the first pages of the Torah.

Though he is only 13, he lost his entire family and now he is sent to a concentration camp and he is only determined to stay alive for his family to continue the torch. He watched many people get killed, walking the streets and seeing dead people everywhere. He must stay alive. Even though he survives, the guards euphemisms the next camps that he is going to be sent to. The Nazis act like this is all just a fun game but the Jews have no idea what is coming. I can kinda relate to this because every time I see or hear about someone getting attacked by a dog I want to do something but I can't. My neighbor was getting attacked by her dog but I was too young to help her and I was scared.

"There were trolls and serpents and gnomes. There were Polish knights and kings and queens. I wished they could somehow, magically, come to life and free us-save us." (Pg.100) Although it wasn't looking too good in Poland the salt made statues were beautiful. There was knights, kings, gnomes, queens, trolls, and serpents. All made elegantly and perfectly. While Yanek was working with the other prisoners they all figured out that one of the prisoners was a Judenrat and he was later killed by the other prisoners. His head was sliced off with raw salt in his wounds.

"Crack! An SS officer shot the man through the wall of the cattle car, and he no longer had to worry about not being able to breath."(Pg.115) It is a tight, little, no-roomed space and they couldn't even breathe. They were stuck there for half a day! Also, after he got "re-birthed" he realizes that he is alive and he is more determined then ever to stay alive.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

Yanek is worried, and scared to go to this death camp. Everyone in the cart is also scared of this death camp, "But the word spread through the train in scared whispers." (Pg.121) Everyone is scared to go into this Extermination 'Death Camp' and even Yanek is. There is no work here, it is just to be killed. One last dance.

Yanek first enters Auschwitz and instantly makes a new friend named Fred. He remembers not to share his name with anyone but even though Uncle Moshe tells him not to he does. Suddenly his friend gets sick and after he gets hung for not being able to work. The Nazis tell Yanek that the only way he will be leaving Auschwitz was by the chimney and now Yanek is leaving through the front gates and is going to survive this ruthless genocide. Also, the Nazis told the prisoners that they would be killed by crematorium and only would leave from the chimney.

When Yanek first arrived he forgot his name, or who he was. While Yanek was there he realized there was a really big radio tower so he asked another prisoner and they told him that it is the Berlin radio tower. In the book it says, ""That's Berlin," someone had said. "That tower is in Berlin." (Pg.186) Yanek was sent to Sachsenhausen because the allies are on their way. But while they were there the guards wouldn't make them work; they would box for the SS guards., sing when the guards ate, and play games with them. "The night at roll call the Sachsenhausen guards wanted entertainment, so they had boxing tournament. They made some of the prisoners be the boxers and forced the rest of us to watch." (Pg.193) This explains how the guards made them box just for entertainment!

Though this camp wasn't as bad as most of them, people would kill themselves by jumping on electrical fences just to end their suffering. Also, they would kill multiple of the people and they would only leave a little bit of them to survive. For the ones who did survive they wouldn't work for an entire week. On page 197 it says, ""Take the other workers back to the barracks," the commandant said with disgust. "No work for a week, until they regain their strength." This explains how Yanek was sent here and he now thinks it's all good because he now doesn't have to work.

Yanek had to carry the perfect sized rock not to be shot. If they carry a too small rock they will die from laziness, if they carry too big of a rock and they drop it they will be shot. In the text it states, "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 for being lazy." (Pg.204) Also, there was a zoo in the camp and the animals were treated better than every single prisoner there was. In the book it reads, "The bears in the zoo were fed better than the prisoners. At roll call, we'd watch as big bloody steaks were fed to the bears." (Pg.206) This tells you how the bears would eat huge steaks and eat a lot of good food while the prisoners would eat nothing and some would eat little.

Yanek wont give up on his life yet. He is going to make it all the way just to see and welcome the allies. He also would feel the heat and feel the rumble of the bombs the allies are dropping. In the text it states, "The allies were getting closer, and I was going to be there to welcome them when they got here." (Pg.219) This tells you how Yanek wont give up because he has a will to survive. Also, he was lashed for just losing a button. He lost a button on his shirt and had to be beat 20 times! In the book it reads, "How would I ever survive twenty lashes when two hurt worse than anything I ever felt before." (Pg.216) This explains how he is going to be hit twenty times and how it hurts just as bad as death.

Yanek wakes up at Dachau and randomly sees no officers, or Nazis, or any German leader there. Yanek runs outside to see a tank with an American flag on the tank. In the text it states, "The tank had an American flag on it." (Pg.244) The Allies came and liberated them and took them away from the battle to save them. In the front of the gates there is a sign that reads "Arbeit Macht Frei." This means work makes you free. When the Allies took Yanek away he was moved to Munich where he didn't need to share a bed. Right before Yanek arrived at Dachau he saw that the Allies blew up all of their papers so Yanek decides to sew off The Star of David.

Yanek finally arrived at Munich after he was liberated and he is instantly very grateful because of everything he has so many little things to himself. He finally has his own toothbrush, a pillow, a sheet, a blanket, a lot of food, chairs, and a bed. In the book it states, "The soldier gave me a blanket, a pillow, and sheets for the bed. Sheets!" (Pg.249) This tells you how Yanek is so happy and grateful for these little things that the soldiers are giving to him. Yanek soon leaves to america to start a new life and joins the army and lives again.