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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Yanek helps a fellow prisoner to continue on with the journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen, what body part of the prisoner's does Yanek prop up onto his own body?
(a) Elbow.
(b) Back.
(c) Shoulder.
(d) Head.

2. In what season of the year are Yanek and the other prisoners at Auschwitz moved to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp?
(a) Summer.
(b) Winter.
(c) Spring.
(d) Autumn.

3. How old is Yanek when he reaches the Sachsenhausen concentration camp after being moved from Auschwitz?
(a) 15.
(b) 16.
(c) 13.
(d) 14.

4. How many barrels for collecting human waste are allocated to 500 prisoners at Birkenau?
(a) 10.
(b) 12.
(c) 2.
(d) 24.

5. After standing in a minyan for a fellow prisoner's bar mitzvah, Yanek tells the young man that which fact is "all that matters" (134)?
(a) They love God.
(b) They are alive.
(c) The Nazis are evil incarnate.
(d) The Allies are on their way.

Short Answer Questions

1. What method do the Nazis use to murder Fred once he becomes ill?

2. When Yanek arrives at the Birkenau concentration camp, he cries for the first time since the occurrence of which event?

3. Yanek is able to obtain what item of clothing at Birkenau that he considers crucial for his survival?

4. What is NOT a physical characteristic of the prisoner who steps in to help Yanek support the weight of his fellow prisoner on the trip from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen?

5. When Yanek reaches the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, he must sleep in a single bunk with how many other men?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which objects in the salt mine does Yanek consider aesthetically beautiful?

2. What is the source of the strange sound Yanek hears during his first night at Auschwitz?

3. At what point do Yanek and the other new arrivals to the Birkenau death camp realize that they have been spared for the moment?

4. What happens to the men and boys accused of plotting escape from the Trzebinia and what proof does Yanek have of their innocence?

5. What morning routine does Yanek develop during his time imprisoned in Birkenau and why does he consider the routine important?

6. What small moment of triumph does Yanek experience during the transition from Auschwitz to another concentration camp?

7. What happens to the prisoner who is recognized by the others at the salt mine as a former member of the Judenrat?

8. How does the theme of collectivism arise within Yanek's arrival at Auschwitz?

9. What is the significance of the novel's title?

10. Discuss an instance in the novel when Yanek's determination to survive is apparent.

(see the answer keys)

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