Yanek Gruener: A Very Brief Summary

Yanek Gruener is a ten year old boy living in Krakow, Poland in 1939. He is also a jew, a very dangerous thing to be at the time. In his spare time he dreams of going to America and becoming a movie star. The start of the war Krakow was invaded. Germans flooded the streets and a wall was built around his jewish neighborhood, now called the ghetto. They had to work without pay and the Germans robbed them of their valuables, but that is nothing of what's to come. After a work detail Yanek comes home to see that his family is gone. He goes to the streets looking for them but is kidnaped himself and taken to a train. He later arrives at his first concentration camp.

Krakow, Poland - Was where this story starts off and where the main characters home is. This is where the Germans invade first and were the ghetto is built. This is also were Yannek parents are taken away.
Plaszow Concentration Camp - This is Yannek's first concentration camp he is held at. This is also where he meets Uncle Moshe learning that they are the only family left. This is also where he meets Amon Geoth who kills Uncle Moshe, making Yanek the last of his family.
Trzebinia Camp - After coming from Wieliczka Salt Mine, a labor intensive camp, he came to one of the worst ones, Trzebinia Camp. The camps purpose was to tourer the jews, lucky the allies capture it

If you have personvice you can survive anything. The explanation for this is simple Yanek survives six years of torture and ten extermination camps. He worked hard and persevered to stay alive.“If I had known what the next six years of my life were going to be like, I would have eaten more. I wouldn't have complained about brushing my teeth, or taking a bath, or going to bed at eight o'clock every night. I would have played more. Laughed more. I would have hugged my parents and told them I loved them. But I was ten years old, and I had no idea of the nightmare that was to come. None of us