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Mrs. Immerglick
Bread
Bread symbolizes the increasingly desperate conditions Yanek faces as he’s oppressed by the Nazi regime, as well as his unyielding will to survive and retain his humanity. Prior to the Nazi invasion of Kraków, food…
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Yanek’s Number
Yanek’s number, B-3087, represents the erasure of his identity. Yanek receives his number at Birkenau concentration camp (hence the B), and it is tattooed into his skin. From then on, Yanek is identified only…
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Toothbrushes
Toothbrushes symbolize Yanek’s sense of humanity. In the camps, Yanek and the other prisoners do not have toothbrushes or toothpaste. Yanek recognizes that he does not truly need this to survive, but that toothbrushes…
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