Prisoner B-3087 by Ruth Gruener and Alan Gratz Journal Prompts and Discussion {AppleNotes}
Before Reading Look at the cover. What do you predict this book is about? Why? Open to the first page. What do you think is going to happen in Krakow, Poland? What do the dates and place tell you? The book is dedicated To Jack, who survived Who do you think Jack is? 1 Who is Hitler? Where do Yanek and his family live? Who invades the town? Why? Yanek says that he would have done more if he had known what the next 6 years would be. What are some of the things you re grateful for in your own life? Who do you think us means in the last word of the chapter? 2 What type of laws are set for the Jews? What is the punishment for breaking the laws? 3 In your opinion, what type of people are the Nazis? When and why does Yanek begin to doubt his father? How would you handle the changes being made for Jews in Krakow? Which character in the book are you able to relate to most? 4 Where do Yanek and his father go in the middle of the night? Why would the risk their lives for this? Why must Aunt Fela and Uncle Abraham burn wet wood while the bake? Why do you think this is important? Why do Fela and Abraham charge so much money for a loaf of bread? What is zloty? 5 Why do you think Yanek s mother froze when the Judenrat and the Nazis came? Why do you think the Nazis let Yanek s family stay? 6 How does Yanek celebrate his 13 th birthday? Yanek s dad states, Life is but a river. It has no beginning, no middle, no end. All we are, all we are worth, is what we do while we float upon it. How we treat our fellow man. What is the purpose for sharing this quote with him? 2
7 The Nazis carry sick and older people out of the hospital and kill them in the streets. What do you think they hope to gain from this move? Who do you think tried to come up to the family s rooftop while they were in the chicken coop? 7,000 Jews are taken away. How many students attend your school? How many schools would you have to have in order to get 7,000 students? 8 How does Yanek s decision to go to his friend s house after work change the way his story is written? What do you think has happened to Yanek s family? Why does Yanek decide to survive on his own? 9 Yanek says: Now I am officially a prisoner, I thought. I almost laughed- in truth I had been a prisoner since the Nazis walled off the Krakow ghetto, but now I finally looked the part. When do you think Yanek really becomes a prisoner? What do you infer could happen to Yanek if he is not quiet in the concentration camp? What is Uncle Moshe s advice to Yanek? 10 What type of man is Amon Goeth? Yanek finds his family s personal items left behind. How do you think this makes him feel? Why? 11 What is a Muselmann? How can the extra money Yanek found save his life? What is the significance of Yanek s loss? 12 Do you think hiding under the floor boards was the right thing for Yanek to do? Why? Why do you think Yanek shares his secret of the space under the floorboards? What do you believe made Amon Goeth spare Yanek, Isaac, and Thomas life? 13 Why is Yanek surprised to see beauty in the salt mine? Who do you infer killed Holtzman? Why would the killers rub salt in his wounds? 3
14 What did the Nazis hope to achieve by making their prisoners carry rocks back and forth across the field? How does Yanek s thinking change during the chapter? 15 Why does Yanek worry when something different happens? Do you think non Jewish people would have supported Jews who escaped from a concentration camp? Why? Yanek is thrilled to eat the dirty snow that lands along the grate of the train. Along with this, what types of things has Yanek done that has kept him alive and healthier than other Jews? Why do you think the Nazis transport their prisoners like livestock? Where do Yanek and the other people in his cattle car believe they are going? What is this place known for? 16 What different reactions do people have about going into the locked room? How would you handle a situation like this? Why does Yanek laugh in the face of death? 17 How does Yanek change after being in the gas chamber? Why is it so important to have a good pair of shoes? When do you feel like Yanek really became a man in this story? 18 Why does Yanek bathe every morning? How do the prisoners communicate with one another? What is the consequence for the two men trying to escape the camp? Why does this infuriate the guards? What do you believe is the meaning behind Yanek s dream? 19 What is the difference between the new prisoners and the prisoners who are already at the concentration camp? Above the gates to Auschwitz and other concentration camps, is written Arbeit Macht Frei which means Work makes you free. Do you think the Nazis really believe this? Why? 20 Is it a good idea for Yanek to make friends with Fred? What do the drones of airplanes mean to the prisoners? 4
21 For the first time, the Nazis show a small amount of compassion towards Yanek and other prisoners. Why do you think this happens? Why do you think the Nazis let their prisoners sing? 22 What do you think of Yanek s decision to help the boy? How has Yanek changed since the beginning of the book? 23 How does Sachsenhausen compare to the other concentration camps Yanek has been in? Why do you think a prisoner threw themselves on the electrical fence? Why do the Nazis think it s okay to use their prisoners for their entertainment- singing and boxing? 24 How is Bergen-Belsen different than other concentration camps? How is it the same? What do you think Moonface has against Yanek? Why was it important for Yanek to get away from him? 25 Like Yanek wonders, when German children visited the zoo and saw the prisoners inside Buchenwald, do you think they saw animals or people? Why do you think it is okay for Nazis to be cruel to their prisoners but not to animals? 26 What does it mean when Yanek says he worked to live? How is Yanek punished for losing a button? How do you think he is able to count to twenty in a foreign language? How do you think the prisoners are able to sleep while bombs fall all around them? 27 How was marching through Czechoslovakia different than marching through Germany? Why was it the same? How do the Czechs show compassion to the prisoners? Was this a brave or foolish thing for them to do? What did you think would happen to Yanek when he asked for the bread from Moonface? 5
28 Why can Yanek afford to try and trick the Nazis when they get off the trains? Why do you think the man told on Yanek for trying to switch groups? 29 Why does Yanek not believe that all the guards have left? What emotions must be going through the prisoner s mind when they realize the guards have left? Soldiers are coming? The American soldiers have arrived? 30 Yanek is shocked to find out that he has his own bed! What do you think would be most surprising about being freed from 6 years of imprisonment? When Yanek runs into Mrs. Immerglick, how has she changed since the beginning of the book? How do you think Yanek feels to learn about his cousin, Youzek? What do you predict Yanek does when he gets to the United States? Afterward What is the genre of this book? Why did Alan Gratz change some parts of the story? After What did you learn from this book? How do you think it was possible for Hitler to create the Holocaust? Why did the author choose the title of this book? What are some other titles the author could have chosen? What do you believe is the theme of this book? Have you read any books similar to this story? Which books are they and why are they similar? Gratz, Alan. Prisoner B-3087. New York: Scholastic, 2013. Print. 6
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