Prisoner B-3087 facts for kids
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| Author | Alan Gratz |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Scholastic Inc. |
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Publication date
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March 1, 2013 |
| ISBN | 9780545459013 |
Prisoner B-3087 is a powerful young adult historical fiction novel written by Alan Gratz. It tells the true story of Jack Gruener, a young boy who survived the Holocaust. The book shows his incredible strength and hope during a very dark time in history. Scholastic Inc published Prisoner B-3087 in 2013.
Contents
The Story of Yanek's Survival
The story begins in 1939 in Kraków, Poland. Yanek Gruener is a ten-year-old boy when Adolf Hitler's army invades. The Nazi Party takes control, and Yanek's Jewish family is forced into the Krakow Ghetto. They live in small, crowded apartments with many other families. For three years, Yanek sees many loved ones taken away, knowing they will not return.
Life in the Camps
When Yanek is thirteen, he and his uncle are sent to the Plaszow Concentration Camp. They work in tailor shops, making uniforms for soldiers and other prisoners. Yanek learns to hide to survive, believing it saved him from the cruel camp commander, Amon Goeth. After his uncle dies, Yanek works in an enamelware factory run by Oskar Schindler. Sadly, Yanek is moved before Schindler can save him.
After a year in Plaszow, Yanek is moved to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. He works there briefly before being sent to Trzebinia Concentration Camp. Here, he digs graves for those who do not survive. After less than a year, Yanek and other prisoners are packed into cattle cars. They are transported to Birkenau Concentration Camp.
Surviving Auschwitz
At Birkenau, Yanek and the others are led to showers. Fearing the worst, they are surprised to find water instead. They receive new clothes, and Yanek gets his prisoner number, B-3087, tattooed on his arm. While there, he helps a 13-year-old boy celebrate his bar mitzvah. Yanek is then moved to Auschwitz, Birkenau's sister camp.
Yanek and his fellow prisoners are forced to walk to Auschwitz. They stop along the way to gather more Jewish prisoners. At Auschwitz, Dr. Mengele separates the men, sending Yanek to the right. After surviving Auschwitz, Yanek endures a two-week "death march" to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
More Camps and Freedom
Soon after arriving at Sachsenhausen, Yanek is put back into a cattle car. He is sent to Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. Here, prisoners are given a week to rest and regain strength due to their poor health. After this, he is again forced into a cattle car and sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Buchenwald is unusual because it has a zoo, run by Karl Koch and his wife, nicknamed "the witch of Buchenwald."
After surviving Buchenwald, Yanek is sent to Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp. Here, he receives many lashes for losing a button. He is then forced on his second death march to Dachau Concentration Camp. This is his tenth and final camp. At Dachau, Yanek is finally saved by American soldiers, ending his long imprisonment.
Important Lessons
This book teaches us about the strength of the human spirit. Yanek's journey through ten different camps shows his incredible will to live. It also helps readers understand the terrible events of the Holocaust and the importance of remembering history.
Places Yanek Was Held
Yanek spent time in many different concentration camps during World War II:
- Plaszow Concentration Camp
- Wieliczka Salt Mine
- Trzebinia Concentration Camp
- Birkenau Concentration Camp
- Auschwitz Concentration Camp
- Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
- Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp
- Buchenwald Concentration Camp
- Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp
- Dachau Concentration Camp
