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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. Whose advice is Yanek ignoring when he forms a close friendship with Fred?
(a) Uncle Moshe's.
(b) Oskar's.
(c) Uncle Abraham's.
(d) Mina's.

2. The radio tower Yanek sees as he and the other prisoners approach the Sachsenhausen concentration camp is located in what city?
(a) Brussels.
(b) Paris.
(c) Berlin.
(d) Amsterdam.

3. The young Polish boy in Chapter 15 shouts at the passing train passengers that they will soon be turned into what substance?
(a) Vapor.
(b) Soap.
(c) Glue.
(d) Paste.

4. When Yanek makes his way to the front of the line to see Dr. Mengle at Auschwitz, how old does he claim to be?
(a) 16.
(b) 14.
(c) 18.
(d) 21.

5. What item does Yanek lose while providing assistance to another prisoner on the journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen?
(a) A key.
(b) A wooden toy.
(c) A hunk of bread.
(d) A Star of David armband.

Short Answer Questions

1. The night after the man claiming to have the surname of Finkelstein dies, Yanek dreams that statues made of what substance come to life?

2. How old is the younger Polish boy on the train platform who shouts at the passing train passengers that they will be transformed into a particular substance?

3. About how many people are imprisoned within the Auschwitz concentration camp at the time Yanek and the others are moved to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp?

4. What method of transportation do Yanek and the other prisoners use to reach the Sachsenhausen concentration camp?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What distinction does Yanek make between the Trzebinia concentration camp and the other camps in which he has been imprisoned?

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

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 scent does Yanek detect in the air when he is brought to the Birkenau death camp?

5. Discuss an instance when Gratz uses a literary device to indicate the preciousness of food.

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

7. Whose advice must Yanek ignore in order to make friends with Fred?

8. On which two occasions does Yanek vow to take every step he can "never to forget" (161) the atrocities committed during the Holocaust?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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