This chapter was suspenseful, but it ended with a sigh of relief. By this point the Blumenthals must have been emotionally drained, but they must have been overwhelmed with feelings of demise...not knowing where you are being hauled off to, thinking you might be killed at any moment, being surrounded by death, and seeing the devastating effects of war on your country. It is appalling the prisoners were forced to clean the boxcars of the dead and bury them themselves. They were literally made to clean up the Nazis mess.
For students, I think having a timeline made that was hung in the classroom would be helpful for them to understand how long six and half years actually is, especially when you are living through such horrific circumstances. I am compelled by the optimism that the Blumenthlas kept throughout their experience. Still in this chapter, they show optimism by saying "one good thing about the evacuation was that we were allowed to be reunited with our family." It shows what was important to them. I can tell Albert was a very generous and caring person, as he always had extra food to share, and last chapter when he was given an apple he shared it with his family.
Tricky words from this chapter were: shunted, liberated, toten raus, louse, scourges, dysentery, pleurisy, tuberculosis, strafing, throes, bartered, delousing
The pictures at the end of this chapter were heartwarming. Starting with the cruelties of the Holocaust and ending with family pictures, and seeing the life that they were able to lead after is nice. I can guess from the pictures that the Dad Walter dies, and that is so sad since he made it through these rough times. I want to read on to find out exactly when and how he dies, but I guess that he held out through the tough times to be with his family, and when he knew they were safe and well, he passed on.
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