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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 is the name of the salt mine in which Yanek is put to work in 1943?

2. What name do the prisoners at Birkenau bestow upon the camp storehouse that holds items stolen from Jewish prisoners?

3. At the end of Chapter 18, Yanek has a dream that which person is chasing him?

4. The young Polish boy in Chapter 15 shouts at the passing train passengers that they will soon be turned into what substance?

5. What food item do the Nazis provide to each prisoner that they say must last for the entirety of the journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What ominous warning does an SS guard give to Yanek as he enters Auschwitz?

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

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

5. To what location is Yanek sent after he is removed from the Plaszow concentration 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. For what purpose do the Nazis use cattle cars and in what way is their use symbolic?

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

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

10. What happens to Fred when he is unable to work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why Gratz instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Prisoner B-3087.

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Oskar's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Gratz in depicting Oskar and include in your discussion the reasons that Gratz portrays Oskar in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

What messages does Gratz send about courage within the novel and what themes are employed in order to send these messages to the reader?

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