Is Prisoner B-3087 a true story?
Prisoner B-3087 Summary. Prisoner B-3087 is based on the true story of Yanek Gruener, a young Jewish boy who is 10 years old when the Nazis invade his home city of Kraków, Poland in September 1939. Yanek, his parents Oskar and Mina, and the rest of his family, who are all Jewish, are immediately subjected to restrictions on their freedoms.
What happens to Yanek in Prisoner B-3087?
And then Yanek himself is taken prisoner -- his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087. He is forced from one nightmarish concentration camp to another, as World War II rages all around him. He encounters evil he could have never imagined, but also sees surprising glimpses of hope amid the horror.
Why do the prisoners at Gross-Rosen continue to move?
The prisoners in Gross-Rosen are then sent on a death march to Dachau without any food—Yanek believes they are continuing to move because the Allies are getting closer and closer to liberating them.
Is the book Prisoner B-3087 about the Holocaust?
Prisoner B-3087, by Alan Gratz, is based on the true story of Yanek Gruener, a Holocaust survivor. Starting in the Jewish ghetto in Kraków, Poland, the novel recounts his experiences in ten concentration camps over the course of World War II.
What does the number B-3087 stand for?
Toothbrushes. Yanek's number, B-3087, represents the erasure of his identity. Yanek receives his number at Birkenau concentration camp (hence the B), and it is tattooed into his skin. From then on, Yanek is identified only by this number.
Did Yanek go to Auschwitz?
After a few months at Birkenau, Yanek is transferred to Auschwitz because they need more workers.
How many concentration camps did Yanek go to in Prisoner B-3087?
10 different concentration campsYanek is a Jewish boy from Poland who, against all odds, survives the Kraków ghetto and 10 different concentration camps during the Holocaust between 1939 and 1945.
How many camps did Yanek go to?
In conclusion, Yanek has lost his freedom when the Nazis took over Krakow. He went to 10 different concentration camps starting with Plaszow Concentration Camp and ending with Dachau Concentration Camp.
How old is Yanek at the start of the book?
Yanek Gruener is a ten-year-old boy living in Krakow, Poland in 1939.
What is written above the gates of Auschwitz?
ARBEIT MACHT FREIA cynical lie: the inscription above the main gate to Auschwitz 1 that reads “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” (work sets you free). When the SS ordered them to make this sign, the prisoners placed their hidden message in the word “ARBEIT”: they turned the letter “B” upside down.
Who was Jack Gruener?
Jack Gruener is a Polish World War II Nazi Prisoner Survivor. He survived 10 concentration camps, one ghetto, and two Death Marches. Born in Krakow, Poland in 1927, he was only child when the war started and always relied on his parents.
Who is Yanek?
Yanek is the protagonist of Prisoner B-3087. Yanek's story is based on the real Yanek (Jack) Gruener's experiences during World War II. When the story begins in 1939, Yanek is living with his parents Oskar and Mina in Kraków, Poland when the Nazis invade.
Who was moonface in PRISONER B-3087?
Moonface is a kapo (a prisoner in charge of other prisoners) at Bergen-Belsen whose nickname refers to his round face plagued by acne pits and scars. Moonface targets Yanek specifically, beating him whenever he gets the chance.
Where was Plaszow concentration camp located?
KrakówPlaszow, Polish Płaszów, Nazi German concentration camp near Kraków, in German-occupied Poland, used chiefly as a forced-labour centre. Opened in June 1942, the camp was the main forced-labour camp for Jews rounded up from the general region of Kraków and, later, for Jews from Hungary.
Why does Yanek help support the boy beside him on the death march to Sachsenhausen?
Yanek meets this unnamed boy, who's around his age, on his first death march from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen. The boy is weak and slowly starts to lag on their march. Yanek helps the boy by supporting some of his weight, thinking that he could easily be in the boy's position.
Where do Yanek and his father go in the middle of the night?
Where was Yanek's father going the night Yanek found him sneaking out of their apartment and asked to go with him? They moved to the roof of their building in an old pigeon coop.
What happens at the end of Prisoner B-3087?
Yanek thinks about fighting back, but when one prisoner resists during roll call at Trzebinia, he is immediately shot—and seven other innocent prisoners, including a young boy, are hanged in front of the rest.
Why is Yanek's father unable to help put out the fire in the synagogue?
Why is Yanek's father unable to help put out the fire in the syngague? He doesn't have the right supplies.
What advice did Uncle Moshe give Yanek?
Moshe teaches Yanek to remain anonymous, to blend in, and to not care about anything or anyone else—a person could be targeted for the smallest things.
Why does Goeth murder Moshe?
Soon after Yanek acquires this extra money, however, Goeth murders Moshe because Moshe was assigned the leader of a group breaking rocks, and Goeth wasn’t been satisfied with their work. Yanek is devastated, thinking that he is alone once again.
Why does Moshe get Yanek a job?
Moshe gets him Yanek a job cleaning the Kraków ghettos so that he can stay out of the camp as much as possible. This proves doubly lucky, as Yanek cleans out his family’s old apartment and finds the money that his mother had sewn into their family’s jackets. Yanek brings this money back to the camp, where Moshe is able to trade it for extra bread. Moshe tells him not to share it with anyone, though Yanek feels guilty about not sharing it with prisoners who have become “ Muselmanners ”—so skinny and dejected that they are essentially dead. Soon after Yanek acquires this extra money, however, Goeth murders Moshe because Moshe was assigned the leader of a group breaking rocks, and Goeth wasn’t been satisfied with their work. Yanek is devastated, thinking that he is alone once again.
Why does Yanek believe they are moving?
The prisoners in Gross-Rosen are then sent on a death march to Dachau without any food—Yanek believes they are continuing to move because the Allies are getting closer and closer to liberating them.
Why does Yanek wash his clothes every day?
Meanwhile, during his time at Birkenau, Yanek washes every day to remind himself of his humanity. He also learns how to gain some strength by holding back in line for soup, so that he’s served the thicker part at the bottom. One day, prisoners try to break out, but they are caught and killed.
What is the prisoner B-3087 about?
Prisoner B-3087 is based on the true story of Yanek Gruener, a young Jewish boy who is 10 years old when the Nazis invade his home city of Kraków, Poland in September 1939. Yanek, his parents Oskar and Mina, and the rest of his family, who are all Jewish, are immediately subjected to restrictions on their freedoms.
Why does Yanek insist that they have to survive at all costs?
He insists that they have to survive at all costs, because they cannot let the Nazis erase them from history. Yanek soon gets an introduction to the Nazis’ cruelty at his first roll call: the commandant at the camp, Amon Goeth, sics his dogs on the prisoner next to Yanek for no reason.
Where did Yanek go to work?
As the years go on, Yanek is transferred wherever work is needed: first, to the Wieliczka salt mine, and then to Trzebinia concentration camp. At each of these places, the work is grueling and death is commonplace—the Nazis treat the Jewish prisoners worse than animals.
