Prisoner B-3087: Chapter 24 Summary & Analysis

Soon after, Yanek is shipped by cattle car to Bergen-Belsen. When he and the other prisoners arrive, the commandant is disappointed by how weak they all look, and he starts to point at prisoners to separate them. Yanek is devastated not to be picked, until he watches as the ones who have been chosen are gunned down. He realizes that the prisoners who had been chosen were the weakest, not the strongest—Yanek just can’t tell the difference. The commandant then says that they will not work for a week so that they can get their strength back.

At first Yanek thinks this is a trick, but to his relief, the commandant is telling the truth. They are fed fresh bread and the thickest soup Yanek had eaten in six years. Slowly, Yanek begins to get stronger. He also notes that there is no gas chamber or chimneys burning bodies, and he thinks that Bergen-Belsen may be better than the other camps. A week later, he is put back to work chopping wood, breaking rocks, and building new camp buildings.

One day, Yanek is working when a kapo calls him over. The kapo, who has a large, round face covered in acne scars, punches Yanek in the face for no reason. The man explains that Yanek looked at him funny. Yanek’s nose gushes blood. Another prisoner tells him that the kapo’s name is Moonface—and that people say he killed three men before the war.

Yanek tries to avoid Moonface after that, though he can tell that Moonface is watching him. Moonface kicks and beats Yanek whenever he has the chance. Yanek realizes he has to get away, even though Bergen-Belsen is a better camp. When the Nazis round up prisoners to be sent to another camp, they hold a race to determine which of the prisoners is fit enough to be transferred. Yanek runs for his life across the barracks. The guards say that he can work, so they transfer him to another camp.