Yanek and his family happily lived in Poland until Germany invaded them. Their town was turned into a jewish ghetto. They were trapped inside of their town where people were moved in and out.

Yanek's Figurative Journey

At the beginning of the war he was a helpless and scared boy but now he is a brave and independent young man

Yanek is taken from his home to the concentration camp. He is forced into a truck and taken there against his own will.

Yaneks Figurative Journey

Yanek has changed a lot since the beginning of the war. He went from scared to a little more independent and brave.

Yanek is taken from the Plaszow Concentration Camp to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. As he is touring the place he thinks ¨After so many months and years of dirty streets and peeling paint, of gray uniforms and spartan barracks, it was astounding that there could still be beauty in the world. Especially here, a mile underground,¨. (Page 100)

Yanek worked all day long and got a little watery soup to feed him. They dug 6ft holes just to fill them back up again, they moved piled and piled rocks just to move them back to where they put them. It was a lot on everyone's mental and physical health. Yanek was mad at everyone for not fighting back and for just giving in to them. But when someone finally stood up and didn't go down without a fight, he was shot before he got his revenge, then innocent people were also killed for simply being there and being accused. That changed Yanek's mind about fighting back because it would bring other people down with you.

Yanek has come a long way from where he was at the beginning of the war. At the beginning of the war, he was a little boy and now he is an older man. He has gone through a lot so his mental state is not good.

Yanek, along with many other Jewish people were put in a cattle car, crushing each other, Yanek couldn't even reach out his arm, there was no room to breathe, at least Yanek was put near a vent when they stopped for a moment, kids through snowballs at the cart and screaming at the Jewish people that they are going to "be made into soap". A mother and her daughter just turned the other way. Even if they tried to escape, no one would be willing to help them. Yanek scooped off the snow and ate it to just get some water and survive. Someone died right next to him, right on him. They were taken and the Nazis marked them by tattooing them with a number and a "B" for Birkenau. They had people outside the bathroom to deliver message, one night there was a message "Tonight" was what Yanek heard. That night a group of Jewish people escaped, not for long. The Nazis found them and beat them brutally, then the person that was in charge started shooting them and everyone that was in there work or section or something, then he just started shooting people in the croud untill he ran out of bullets. That night someone turned 13, he volunteered to be one of the 10 men. Then more men started to apeer, he gave the boy the wooden horse he found, and reminded him that the are still alive, no matter what, they are still surviving.

Yanek was taken from Auschwitz, Poland to a death march. They had no food, and they were so cold that most people were dying from exposure. Yanek his a little bit of bread in his pants, when they went to sleep a guy's ear froze to the ground when they woke up. They walked and walked untill some physically couldn't anymore, the only thing that kept them going was the gunshots behind them becuase they were shooting the people behind them who couldn't keep up with the rest of the line. They heard bombs being dropped by Allied planes. They walked for days and days only stopping to sleep and dead bodies were just left behind on the pavement or anywhere they were killed.

Yanek had a little bit of bread that he saved for the walk, people were dying left and right behind him, they were being shot if they could not keep up with the line, and then Yanek saw this boy struggling, he told him to keep going, then he eventually let they person lean on him and carry him the rest of the way, and it was really hard for Yanek but he made it the most of the way, then an old man helped him the rest of the way, then he really wanted his bread but he lost it on the way, and first blamed it on the boy, but he knew it was his fault, then he found bread in the buys pocket, he figured he was going to be dead anyway, but he was the boy breathing, he couldn't do that when there is a chance that person could live too, so he waited to the mourning to see if he was still alive, he was, and Yanek was a bit mad about it, he tried to get the boys bread anyway but the boy woke up and was cold to him. The boy didn't even say thank you. He would've died if it weren't for Yanek.

Yanek was one of the "healthier" ones on the train so he got to live. He went to the camp and he got fed good soup and bigger pieces of bread and got to rest for a week. But this Kapo man was nicknamed Moonface because of his scares and acne was always beating him up, just becuase he could. So Yanek decided he needed to get out, but he needed to play the Nazi's games if he needs to get out to "never" to Moonface again.

Yanek had this dream, he was on a tree that symbolized being just fine and getting through life, but then, a gush of wind, which symbolizes the Nazis, pushes him into a hole which symbolizes death, but he woke up before he reached the end of the hole which symbolizes that he isn't going to let the Nazis kill him, he is going to live, that could change his mindset for the rest of the book.

Yanek had this dream, he was on a tree that symbolized being just fine and getting through life, but then, a gush of wind, which symbolizes the Nazis, pushes him into a hole which symbolizes death, but he woke up before he reached the end of the hole which symbolizes that he isn't going to let the Nazis kill him, he is going to live, that could change his mindset for the rest of the book.