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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 did the people of Warsaw gather in the streets to see after Poland surrendered?

2. What was explorer Ernst Schafer sent to locate?

3. What was Lutz Heck's profession before the war?

4. What did Jan and Antonina do with the dead antelopes, deer, and horses after the initial attack on Warsaw?

5. What was Magdalena's profession?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Antonina shocked by what Lutz Heck said about Germany’s chances of the war?

2. How did Dr. Muller help Jan return to Warsaw?

3. Why were Jan and Antonina so frightened when they witnessed a trolley being bombed?

4. What was Lutz Heck’s real plan in taking animals from the Warsaw Zoo?

5. Why did Jan feel such a strong connection with the Jews?

6. Why was Antonina glad Rys was not with her when she travelled back to the country home after visiting Jan in Warsaw?

7. Why did Antonina compare herself to a lioness when she was staying with her sister-in-law?

8. Why did the Germans take children with Aryan features to be raised in Germany?

9. Why did the Zabinskis frequently invite non-Jewish visitors to the villa?

10. Why did Lutz Heck want to re-create the aurochs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Heck’s re-creation of extinct animal species is controversial because of his ties to the Nazis and because some people argue that the animals are merely mixes of breeds and, therefore, not a species themselves. Write a persuasive essay that takes a side in the argument. Use examples from the text and from research to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing how Rys changed from before the war until the time when they return to Warsaw after the Uprising. How did the war affect his relationships with other people? Did the war have lasting effects on Rys?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the animals that shared the Zabinskis’ home. Why does Ackerman write about them? What was their importance to the people at the villa? How does Ackerman use their stories to explain or mirror things that are going on in the human world?

(see the answer keys)

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