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 ghetto to contain the remaining Jews who have not been taken for resettlement and deportation yet. One by one many Jews were relocated to other Jewish ghettos, work camps, and concentration camps or were killed on sight. 

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 continual 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 his parents for the first time is a struggle for Yanek especially in war-torn Poland.

The work the prisoners had to complete was useless. As they had to move rocks which had taken them hours and they had already been tired, while also being treated brutally by the Nazi soldiers. They were playing mind games, if you were too slow or did not carry a suitable rock for you usually a bigger rock the Nazis would punish you by hitting you with clubs.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

At Trzebini, Yanek and his other inmates were forced into hard and brutal labor, This hit Yanek hard as he was angry at the Nazis. But even more furious at his fellow prisoners as none of them fought back. He thought that if they worked together they could take down the Nazis and possibly escape. He believed that this plan could work until he witnessed a prisoner get in a fight with a Nazi. Yanek thought this was a moment where they could fight back, and maybe escape. Until the man who had decided to fight back was shot in the head. The Nazi soldiers then chose to kill random innocent prisoners. This had Yanek decide it was better to die quietly, instead of other innocent people dying due to his actions.

Yanek was transported from the Krakow ghetto to the Plaszow concentration camp. He was taken away from the pigeon coop he had been hiding in with his parents, and he is now living with other prisoners in crowded and unhygienic bunks.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

Yanek's mindset has changed a lot overtime. He has gone from being a young boy in a rich family where he had caring parents to being a prisoner who is treated like an adult.

Yanek is loaded onto a train and taken to a Wieliczka salt mine. There, he is forced to get tools and work in room 47, where he is forced to mine salt.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

When Yanek is in the salt mine he is heading down on an elevator feeling very nervous for what time comes. He reaches the lowest point in the entire salt mine and is forced to work in room 47. When heading down he saw lots of statues which made him feel very weary. When he is finally done with the elevator ride he is handed a pickaxe and a shovel.

When Yanek gets to Birkenau, he realizes it is a death camp and begins to lose hope. When he is in the gas chamber he begs the Nazis to just kill him already as he thinks gas will come out of the shower heads in the chamber. When he heard something starting to come out of the pipes as they rattled it turned out to just be cold water. This gives him spirit and a will to live again. He then overhears the messenger telling him "Tonight". He then learns that the prisoners were trying to get out, which failed. As he watched his fellow prisoners be shot, realizing again the escape was near impossible.

Yanek is then transported to Auschwitz, before he enters the camp there is a line where people decide if they are sick or healthy. If they happen to be sick they are killed, while in contrast if healthy they are asked questions such as age, trade, etc. Yanek lies his way into the camp by lying about his age and trade, in the camp he meets Fred. Fred is a boy his age to whom he soon gets attached. They become best friends but then Fred gets sick and is hung for not being able to work. Yanek, hiding his sadness makes another vow to never forget Fred.

Yanek's journey to Sachsenhausen was brutal. The Nazis forced him and all the other Jews into Auschwitz as the Allies advanced. This horrific event was known as the "Death March." Yanek was given a piece of bread with the instruction that it was meant to last him for the entire trip. Although he had been starving, he intended to save the bread for when he truly needed it. During the march, Yanek encountered a boy who was sick and struggling, on the verge of becoming a "Musselman"—a term used for those who had lost all hope and will to live. Despite his desperate situation, Yanek decided to help the boy throughout the night. Unfortunately, as Yanek carried the boy, he lost his bread. When they finally reached their destination at dawn, the boy showed no

Yanek is transported to Buchenwald, a concentration camp that feels like a twisted zoo. The prisoners are terrified of the commandant's wife, known as the "Witch," whom Yanek tries to avoid at all costs. The next morning, as Yanek is washing himself, he sees two SS officers tying a deer to a fence. He wants to help the deer but fears being noticed, which causes him great pain as he has to sit back and watch the animal suffer. Eventually, those same two SS officers are punished and have some of their privileges taken, including being banned from visiting the zoo and attending the cinema for three months, as cruelty to the animals was not allowed but cruelty to humans was. Sometime later he was moved to Gross-Rosen, the Nazis had been running out of Jews.

During the transport to Gross-Rosen, bombs dropped from the Allies fell all around, and Yanek prayed for one to land on them. Although the explosions were close, none of the bombs hit him. The next morning, a Kapo noticed that Yanek had lost one of the two buttons on his shirt. As a result, he received 20 lashes for losing the button. He had to count in German to 20, and each time he made a mistake, the Nazis restarted the count. Consequently, he ended up receiving more than 20 lashes. That night, he dreamed of a green meadow, a blue sky, and flowers, but then the scene vanished, and he fell down a hole. When he woke up, he promised to survive until the Allies saved him.

Yanek and the other Jewish prisoners were sent to Dachau near the end of the war. Bombs were dropping nearby, and gunshots could be heard constantly. Yanek, who had once wished for death, was now terrified of it and wanted to live. In the morning, the camp was abandoned—there were no guards, no Nazis, no one. The Americans were approaching on tanks, coming to liberate the camp. Finally, Yanek believed that everything was going to be alright.

After surviving 10 concentration camps over six years, Yanek was finally rescued by the Allies. The Americans provided him with simple items like a toothbrush, a cup, and a washcloth, which he treated as treasures. Although he felt exasperated, he began to adjust to life outside the camps. As he and the other former prisoners cried, laughed, ate, and talked together, Yanek experienced a sense of happiness, yet he couldn't ignore the pain of losing all his family and friends who did not survive. Eventually, Yanek learned that his cousin and some other relatives had made it through, prompting him to plan a new life in America. He decided to leave Europe behind and plan to start a new life.