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Vladek Spiegelman was born
Vladek was born in Częstochowa, Poland.
Vladek is smart and witty even though he struggles a lot because he knows many different tasks that help him survive in the concentration camp. -
Vladek Spiegelman gets favored by a SS guard.
Shortly after arriving in Auschwitz, an SS guard likes Vladek because he knows how to speak English. The guard gives him a nice-fitting pair of clothes along with nice shoes. He helps his friend Mandelbaum get shoes, spoon, and a leather belt.
This is a positive turning point for Vladek since he realizes that since he knows how to speak English, he can get food and other things.
This relates to the theme statement because it shows how Vladek is a smart guy because he is bilingual. -
Vladek gets sent to Auschwitz
Vladek gets sent to Auschwitz. They took the Jews' papers, clothes, hair. They threw random clothes. It smelled like rubber burning, fat, and more.
This had a huge impact on Vladek because he doesn't know what will happen next and he got dehumanized in Auschwitz.
This relates to the theme because Vladek suffered a lot in Auschwitz and he became a much wiser person in Auschwitz too. -
Vladek became a shoemaker
Vladek knows how to mend shoes from watching his cousin. He became a shoemaker and got to work in the warm room to sit.
This is also a positive turning point for Vladek because his working conditions are much better than other people. He even got a whole sausage from a guard in return for mending his shoes nicely.
This relates to the theme because it shows how Vladek is smart and can mend shoes. Even a small task of knowing how to mend shoes can make a huge difference in the concentration camp. -
Vladek makes another friend
Again, Vladek's ability to speak more than one language helps him. He makes friends with a Polish guy who gives him sardines, biscuits, and chocolate his family sends him.
This has a positive impact on Vladek and causes him to survive because they didn't give him enough food.
This relates to the theme because Vladek knows who to make friends with and gets more food this way. -
Vladek gets typhus
Vladek couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't walk, and had a very hot fever.
This had a negative impact on him because he suffered but he survived long enough to go to the infirmary. He couldn't even scream for help so he had to bang his shoe against the bed.
This relates to the theme because this was the closest to death Vladek went through. He was still smart even though he was suffering so much. He got help from other people because he knew how to attract them (banging his shoe on the bed). -
He gets on a train to switzerland
Vladek still has typhus and his legs barely carry him, but a real train for people (not for cattle) comes to pick up the Jews. It took them to Switzerland.
This was a turning point for Vladek because the train was leading to his liberation. -
The war was over
The Jews got boxes from the red cross filled with sardines, biscuits, and chocolate. They marched and stopped for hours. Then someone shouted, "the war is over!" and everyone celebrated.
This is a major turning point for him because he survived the war. -
Vladek Spiegelman dies
He dies because of congestive heart disease.
