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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. What name was given to the barrack's "cages" into which the prisoners were divided?

2. What ingredient in the bread irritated the prisoners' gums?

3. Why did Tadek, the blue-eyed man, stop bringing gifts for Olga?

4. How many internees were in Olga's camp?

5. How many languages did the Auschwitz-Birkenau commandant's interpreter speak?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Olga's life in the infirmary compare to the life she was previously leading in the camp?

2. How did the conditions in the "koias" affect the prisoners?

3. How were the people on the train cars affected by the trip and the inhumane conditions?

4. How did Olga and her husband react to meeting each other within the camp?

5. What were the conditions like in Olga's barracks?

6. In what ways was Birkenau different from Auschwitz?

7. How did the German soldiers react to the passengers on the train cars?

8. Why did Olga run from the washroom when Tadek entered?

9. What struck Olga about the treatment of the young girls in the camp?

10. Why did the German guards intentionally assign prisoners to work for which they were unsuited?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the examples of strength among the prisoners with the examples of weakness. How did these examples inspire or repel the other prisoners? How could each have become a source of inspiration?

Essay Topic 2

Why did some prisoners survive while others did not? What qualities seemed to enable some prisoners to survive? To what extremes did some inmates resort, and how did these actions affect them?

Essay Topic 3

In spite of the horrible treatment that the prisoners received at the hands of the Nazis and the misdeeds toward one another, Olga describes some true kindnesses among the prisoners. Describe the kind acts that she experienced and observed, and analyze the value of these acts for those involved.

(see the answer keys)

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