An image that strikes me is when Yanek is finally freed from the camp and the Americans had sent them to live in Munich for a while. After he reached the place where the prisoners and some American soldiers would be staying, an American showed Yanek where his bed would be. The prisoners received fresh sheets, blankets, and pillows. Everyone in that room had forgotten what it was like to have those, they didn’t know what to do with them. This was probably when it first started to feel like they were actually freed. They were out of those inhumane awful conditions. On top of that, the prisoners were given a cup, a washcloth, and a toothbrush. Although these items are thought of as abundant, they were so special to all the prisoners, especially Yanek. He had been trying to keep his dignity, his last piece of being human. He had tried since the very early years in those camps. Yanek had woken up early and washed himself, and he tried to clean his teeth. He wanted to remember how to be a regular person, and now that he finally got such a gadget that would be unthinkable if he were still held prisoner. This image striked me because it was so important to Yanek. It meant that he was not only getting his freedom back, but he now knew he was a person. He had been doing without a toothbrush or other hygienic equipment, and now he finally has it. The toothbrush symbolizes his new life. He could be clean, healthy, and happy in the future. Yanek was being treated as a person, not a slave to the Nazis. Yanek could take his life back. He wasn’t just surviving and putting all of his thoughts into working and not being killed, but rather he could grow and start a new life. Now he was a free man.

Moonface is a kapo who terrorizes Yanek and all of the other prisoners. He is huge, strong, angry, and a murderer. Moonface had killed 3 men before the war had started. Yanek got picked on by him a lot. He would get beaten up very badly. The Bergen-Belsen camp would’ve been the best place for Yanek to keep on working out, it was a little more manageable there. Though, Moonface was too much to bear. Yanek left that camp just to be away from this cruel kapo, but they met up again. The character’s significance is one of the many oppressors of Yanek and other prisoners. Some of the Kapo’s anger was taken out on the innocent prisoners for just doing what they were told, and Moonface was one of the worst Yanek had met. Moonface gives another dangerous obstacle Yanek has to read and decide what to do about it. When Yanek was in his weakest state, he knew he had to get some food and fast or else he’d starve to death on a Death March. He saw that a kapo had 4 loaves of bread that was taken from the Czech houses that the prisoners were passing by. After he knew that it was Moonface, he was doubtful but he still needed to do something. Yanek knew that the chances were low, and he thought that Moonface would just beat him up again or kill him. All of the surrounding prisoners were shocked by what was going on. How could this random prisoner boy be doing this? Was he looking for a death wish? Yet Yanek knew he was going to die either way so he might as well try. Even though Moonface is inhumane and brutal, for an unknown reason he shares some of his huge stash of bread with Yanek. It could be that Yanek was one of the very few people who was able to not back down to him, who actually dared to go against him. This shows that even the worst people have some light within them. 

“No. You won’t survive. None of us will. But if you stand under the exhaust vents, you won’t suffer as long before you die.” (page 122)

The significance of this quote is to express the fact that everyone on that train seems to be heading towards their death. That there is no longer any hope for survival, no chance to escape. As soon as their Yanek was told that the destination the train was heading to was a death camp, it terrified everyone into a broken state. Yanek had worked so hard to stay alive, to live for his family and friends, but now all of his efforts will have gone to waste. This quote stands out because before this, Yanek was trying his hardest doing everything he could to stay alive. He ignored others, hid inside the floor, kept up with the work, put in even more effort, lied to SS officers, and all of it didn’t matter. He could’ve done nothing and receive the same fate, death. This was his breaking point. These words just destroyed his small will to live. It got rid of his meaning. This quote foreshadows that the new camp that the train is heading to is going to be filled with more death and suffering. This time, he won’t just experience seeing people die from fear, starvation, or overwork in front of him, but rather something even more horrid. These words connect to the thematic idea that hope can keep people even in the worst conditions alive. After he found out his sentence, the hope and desire to live was now meaningless. He had been struggling on for so long, with the aspiration to just keep on going. Yanek had done that. He had done everything possible to stay alive. He had watched his mother and father being taken away in the ghetto, had his only family member die, his two friends die, and he still kept on going. Just with his hope that things will get better, that this will be over soon. The harsh truth hit him in this moment, and all hope was lost. 

              In the book Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, the main character, Yanek, is faced with a lot of heart-wrenching situations. He and his immediate family live in Krakow, Poland along with his extended family. As the Nazis take over their city, Yanek’s father is adamant on staying where they are no matter what he is told, even after his family and all the Jews were put into the ghetto and had to squish fourteen people in a flat meant for three. Of the many emotional passages in the book, one describes Yanek’s reaction to his parents being taken away: “I fell to my knees and sobbed. Sala put her hand on my shoulder, but I could barely feel it. Mama. Papa. They were gone. My family was gone.” (pg. 59) This section really stood out because it was one of the first times Yanek had shown his vulnerability. Leading up to this quote Yanek was just either watching his family react or trying to find something to help. There was no way to help this situation, and Yanek knew that. For the first time, Yanek had no reason to try. Before he was doing everything for his family, but after this moment he seemed lost. This section of the book really pulls at the reader’s heartstrings. To see Yanek break down after doing so much and going through what he did just for it to be taken away in an instant is horrible. This part of the book might be one of the many low points for Yanek. It seems like something he can never really recover from. This text expresses his grief so vividly that the reader can start to feel a fraction of what he is feeling. A new perspective of Yanek’s experience is shown to the audience. He has to pick himself up and live for not only himself, but also his parents.