At the start of this Chapter Irene is forced to work hard in an ammunition factory. The only positive thing about her job is that she still is in her hometown of Radom. One day as the head of the factory is walking past, Irene faints. When she wakes up she is in his office. When the head of the factory finds out Irene can speak German he offers her a job in a restaurant nearby. Irene is also allowed to go home to her sister and aunt. The first day Irene shows up to the restaurant she is nervous, but it turns out the head chef is kind. He offers her food everyday and even lets her bring the remainders back to her sister and aunt. Irene is almost happy again. That is until one day Irene looks out the window. She sees into the place where all the Jews are being kept in and witnesses a horrible killing of some of the Jews. Irene screams, but the head chef finds her and tells her to be quiet. He tells her bad things happen to those who support Jews. Irene is astonished... She can't believe what just happened.
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In the beginning of this Chapter Irene learns how everything in "Poland" has changed. She learns how unfairly the Polish people are being treated and how may rules they have to follow. Many of them have been killed and taken away, but her family is lucky. Irene also finds out that all the Jews have been taken into one fenced in part of town. No one why they are there and what is going on in there. Although, Irene's reunion with her family doesn't last long. Soon, her father is taken away by the Germans to help them in war because he is an engineer. Irene and her family are devastated and her mother decides they need to visit him. Irene wants to go, but her mother tells her only her three youngest sisters can go because the older two look German, which could get her mother in trouble. Irene and her other sister Janina are upset, but they know it is for the best. For the next month her and her sister are constantly worrying and looking for places to get food. One day at Church, when Irene is alone, soldiers burst in and force Irene and the other people in the Church into the town square. There, they select people to get on their trucks and be taken to work for them. Unfortunately, Irene is one of those people. At the end of this Chapter Irene looks back at her home as the truck is pulling away and wonders if this is the last time she will see it and her sister again.
In the beginning of this Chapter Irene is taken into a jail and accused of being a spy. The Russian soldiers that have captured her keep questioning her. Irene is tired and worn-out and the soldiers begin to realize it. They ask her if she would like to spend the night somewhere else other than the jail. Irene knows this is an opportunity to escape. She lies and pretends a house close to the train station is her aunt's. As soon as the solider pulls away she runs to the train station and gets a ride on the next train leaving in the morning. Irene is joyful that she is on the train, but soon feels as if something is wrong. Irene realizes that this train has taken her to a quarantine camp. At the camp she is forced to work all day. She is miserable and curious about where all the Jews sent to the camp are disappearing to. That is until she gets sick.... She is sent to the infirmary and not long after, sent away from the prison camp. After being left alone she realizes that she is lost. Luckily, a kind man offers her a ride. Irene is overjoyed and explains to him the directions toward her aunt's house. To Irene's surprise, when she arrives at her aunt's house her whole family is there. Everyone celebrates and rejoices that Irene is finally back home after two full years.
In this Chapter Irene makes it to registration, but finds out there is a very long line that could take days to wait in. Irene is once again discouraged, but moments later she finds a shorter line that is for German citizens or Polish people of German descent. Irene knows she could pass herself as a person of German descent. When it is her turn in line she speaks German to the guard and passes through the gate easily. Irene is then given a train ticket to her home for 8pm. Irene realizes she has time to kill because her ticket is late so she wanderers around town. Everything is going well until two soldiers from the hospital stop her. They take her by the arms and Irene knows they have found her out.
In his Chapter Irene escapes successfully to Svetlana. There she meets a kind woman named Miriam who helps her. She and Miriam come up with a plan to pretend she is her cousin named Rachel Meyer. The plan goes well and Irene lives with Miriam for a year in the small countryside of Svetlana. Life is going better for Irene, but she still misses her family. Although, one day she gets a letter from Dr. Olga saying it was now legal for the Polish to be reunited with their families. Irene is overjoyed, but Miriam is hesitant to let her go see her family because she is wanted for leaving the hospital. Irene disagrees with her and says she must got see her family. Irene knows it will be dangerous, but she is ready.
In this Chapter Irene reveals that the soldiers that she was running from did not actually shoot her, but instead they beat her until she was unconscious. Irene wakes up from this incident in a hospital. They explain to her she is a prisoner at the hospital and will be forced to work there. They show her her two roommates who will teach her how to speak Russian, Galla and Maruszka. Irene struggles at the hospital because of the administrator Dr. Ksydzdof. He has a hatred for her because she was assisting the Polish army. One night he tries to attack her in her bed. Luckily, Irene smashes a teacup over his head and he goes unconscious. Irene now knows she needs to escape this guarded hospital so she goes to kind Dr. Olga. He helps her find a place to stay if she escapes. This Chapter ends with Dr. Olga wishing Irene good luck during her plan. I think this Chapter is very important because it shows how even if you were not Jewish during World War II the war still had effects on everyone. Irene really gives you an insight on what it is like for someone that you wouldn't necessalry think would be effected as much by this war.
In Chapter 4 a terrible announcement is made. This announcement is Poland has been taken over and it is no longer a country. Irene finds this out when she is on the train with the soldiers. Immediately after this Irene and the other soldiers are forced to camp out in the woods because they have no where else to go. Irene and the soldiers are confused and devastated. Irene and the soldiers are forced to camp out in the woods for almost a year trying to head to a city that is over 500 miles away. Everyone is tired, freezing, and upset. Irene hasn't contacted her family for the entire war. This chapter ends with Irene being picked to go on a special mission. While hiding from the German soldiers she is spotted.... Irene tries to run, but it is too late.
In Chapter 3 Irene explains how the war started and progressed in her eyes. Irene recalled walking across an empty parking lot by her nursing school when she saw planes overhead. Minutes later she felt the explosions.... This was the start of the war. Shortly after the first bombing she found out Germany and the Soviet Union were attacking Poland. Irene rushed to help at the hospital. She stayed there for four days helping the wounded until she volunteered to help a group of soldiers who were fighting the Germans. She nursed all the wounded soldiers as she watched what was happening to her country in awe. The chapter ended by Irene helping a wounded solider in a train headed toward Russia. She is still completely dazed and wonders what will happen to her family and country. I think this chapter is important because it sets the pace of the story. The readers can now tell what Irene is going to be dealing with for the next few years of the war.
In Chapter 2 the book begins explaining how Hitler has began to take power. It also describes how the main character Irene goes to nursing school because she always felt as if she wanted to do something important with her life. Although, the highlight of this chapter combines these two main topics: What Irene's town was like before and after nursing school because of Hitler. Irene explains that while at nursing school she finds out that Hitler wants to take over Poland and make it part of his own country, Germany. When she leaves nursing school she find out that Hitler has already made such a huge influence on her town that is only a few miles away from Germany. She explains that people are now only speaking German and there are even signs in stores that discriminate Jewish families. Irene hopes this will all blow over, but se soon realizing that things will only get worse.
In this chapter the main character Irene describes her life in the early 1930's in Poland. This chapter begins with Irene describing how her father and mother met. She also introduces us to her 5 sisters and pet dog. She describes how her family cares for many animals if they are hurt or sick. She finishes the chapter by mentioning their religion and how the are going to Church on Christmas Eve. I think that their religion will have a big impact on the story because at the time of the Holocaust many people that were put in danger were Jewish people. It will be interesting to see how people of other religions acted in this time period.
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September 2016
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