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Hungarian military police raids
From October 1943 through May 1944, the Hungarian Military Police "raid" Elli's home. They accuse her father of commiting crimes and he ius subjected to interrogation.
"They always come unexpectedly in the middle of the night, the Hungarian military police. They stage raids, razzias, in the middle of the night, looking for concealed weapons." (Jackson 17) -
Schools are closed
All schools are closed without explanation. Elli never sees her teacher again.
"Class, the Royal Hungarian Ministry of Education...to safeguard our best interests...has terminated in all the nation's schools. Effective immediately." (Jackson 22) -
The "Jew badge"
The Jewish people of Elli's town are ordered to wear a yellow star on their chests at all times. They are also told to paint a six pointed yellow star on their homes.
"...All Jews must wear a yellow star on the left side of the chest... Likewise, a canary-yellow, six-pointed star of one meter in diameter shall be painted on the exterior wall to the left of the main entrance of every Jewish residence." (Jackson 30) -
The ghetto
All Jews in Elli's hometown are deported to a ghetto in Nagymagyar. They are expecting the worst.
"All Jews of Somorja are to be removed from the town and concentrated in a ghetto in another town - Nagymagyar, fourteen kilometers from here." (Jackson 37) -
Elli's father is taken away
While still in the ghetto, Elli's father is taken to a forced labor camp. They will never see him again.
"Carriages are clattering in the distance. The last carriage is barely visible now, but I can see Daddy's erect figure sitting among several men." (Jackson 54) -
Arrival in Auschwitz
After being put on trains for several days with no food or water, they arrive in Auschwitz. Aunt Serena is seperated from Elli and is taken to the gas chamber.
"Sometime during the fourth night, the train comes to a halt. We are awakened by the awful clatter if sliding doors being thrown open... A huge sign catches my eye: AUSCHWITZ." -
Elli defies the guards
The guards seperate the women into two groups, one for a different work camp and the other destined for death. Although she is put in the group for the chamber, Elli escapes and joins her mother in the other group of women.
"Like lightning I climb over the chest-high, brick partition, and duck for a moment. In a flash I yank off the dress, and dash to the end of the dwindling line." (Jackson 138) -
Arrival in Augsburg
The group Elli and her mother are in are taken to a much less cruel labor camp in Augsburg. They are so emaciated that the guards there think they're men.
"Are any of you German? ...We expected a transport of women from Auschwitz. Are you from Auschwitz? Were you sent instead of the women?" (Jackson 146) -
They are accidentally released from the trains
They are put on trains again, and later mistakenly released. After being driven back into the train, the US Air Force shoots into the cars and injures many people, killing a few.
"There is a burst of machine-gun fire. A sudden impact hurls Bubi backward against Mommy and both fall to the floor." (Jackson 186) -
Liberation!
Liberation at last! The US Army assures them that the war is over and they are free.
"Freedom, at last. Why don't I feel it? Why don't I feel it?" (Jackson 199)
