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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. While party officials publicly extol the virtues of proletariat work, what is going on in secret among government officials?

2. Which army reaches Prague in May 1945?

3. What happens to Kovály's cousin days after she rescues him?

4. To what kind of job does an old friend in the country urge Margolius to turn?

5. On one occasion, Kovály discovers the body of an acquaintance covered with what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Following her meeting with the Party committee in 1963, what does Kovály make efforts to have done?

2. What is life like for Kovály as a slave laborer at Auschwitz?

3. What happens in Prague in October of 1941?

4. What complaint does Marta have about Vlada when Kovály met her?

5. After Margolius' arrest, what contributed to Kovály's bad health?

6. What is the Czechoslovakian economy like around 1950-51?

7. Where does Kovály find work in 1946?

8. What happens to the people who return to Prague from concentration camps after the war?

9. What does an old friend in the country encourage Margolius to do?

10. What happens when Czec soldiers will not let Kovaly leave becuase she does not have the correct paperwork?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the historical relevance of this story? Why is Kovály's story important to read about? What elements of this story are relevant and why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Holocaust. How is it portrayed in "Under A Cruel Star"? What is the Holocaust and why does it occur? What is Hitler's role in this horrific chapter in human history?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Kovály's first husband, Rudolf Margolius. How do they meet? What are Margolius' defining character traits? What is his job? What are his political beliefs? Why is he arrested? Why is Kovály's marriage to Margolius strained? Of What is Margolius accused? How does he die?

(see the answer keys)

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