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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. 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?
(a) He wears eyeglasses.
(b) He has a grizzled beard.
(c) He has deep cracks in his face.
(d) He has sunken and bloodshot eyes.

2. What is NOT something Yanek associates with his formerly safe and happy self?
(a) American movies.
(b) Books.
(c) Science.
(d) Bicycle rides.

3. The man who claims to have the last name of Finkelstein turns out to have inhabited which position in the past?
(a) A kapo.
(b) A Judenrat police officer.
(c) A tailor.
(d) An SS guard.

4. In what year is Yanek moved to the Trzebinia concentration camp?
(a) 1939.
(b) 1942.
(c) 1947.
(d) 1944.

5. The "Sachsenhausen salute" involves torturing a prisoner by forcing him to remain in what type of position for hours at a time without moving?
(a) A seated position.
(b) A standing position.
(c) A kneeling position.
(d) A squatting position.

Short Answer Questions

1. What substance is found to have been placed within the wounds of the man claiming to have the last name of Finkelstein?

2. What name do the prisoners at Birkenau bestow upon the new addition to camp that is officially called "new camp B III" (136)?

3. Upon arriving at the Trzebinia concentration camp, Yanek vows that he will not be killed without first taking what action?

4. The radio tower Yanek sees as he and the other prisoners approach the Sachsenhausen concentration camp is located in what city?

5. Once Yanek finds out where his train is headed in Chapter 15, a man nearby gives Yanek advice about what topic?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what purpose do the Nazis use cattle cars and in what way is their use symbolic?

2. How does Yanek find out that the train's destination is Birkenau before the train arrives there?

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

4. What is different about Yanek's experience at Bergen-Belsen, in relation to his previous experiences with concentration camps?

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

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

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

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

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

10. To what location is Yanek sent after he is removed from the Plaszow concentration camp?

(see the answer keys)

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