Prisoner B-3087: Chapters 13–17

by Alan Gratz
Based on a true story, this novel tells the story of a boy who survived imprisonment in multiple Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–23, Chapters 24–30
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    The place had an industrial look to it; oil-covered motors and generators stood around it like sentinels, and train tracks led into it and out.
  2. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    But I noticed two of the other men who came with me from Plaszów looking at him more intently now.
  3. trance
    a state resembling deep sleep
    My trance was broken. I reached out my hand to touch the wall and tasted my fingers. It was true—the walls were made of salt!
  4. labyrinth
    complex system of paths in which it is easy to get lost
    The elevator car hit bottom, and we were guided through a labyrinth of tunnels and small chambers.
  5. stalagmite
    a cylinder of calcium carbonate projecting from a cave floor
    We marched down salt stairs, we crawled along salt floors, we passed stalagmites formed from salt water dripping off the ceiling.
  6. spartan
    marked by simplicity, frugality, or self-denial
    After so many months and years of dirty streets and peeling paint, of gray uniforms and spartan barracks, it was astounding that there could still be beauty in the world.
  7. lukewarm
    moderately warm
    The morning was cold, with only lukewarm, coffee-flavored water to fight off the chill.
  8. crone
    an ugly, evil-looking old woman
    The low ceiling made us all walk like old crones, and I noticed that even when they could, some of the old-timers never stood up straight anymore.
  9. goad
    provoke as by constant criticism
    It was the voice of one of the kapos. It wasn’t said in the tone the kapos used to taunt us or goad us into working harder.
  10. heft
    lift or elevate
    I hefted another rock and kept working while I tried not to let the Nazis see how afraid I was.
  11. weariness
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    My arms shook as I picked up the same stone that I had just carried across the compound, but not from weariness this time. From fury.
  12. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I fumed as I hefted the stone and trudged back across the muddy compound.
  13. provoke
    annoy continually or chronically
    Like schoolyard bullies, they wanted to provoke us, and then they would beat us as punishment.
  14. meek
    humble in spirit or manner
    How could we take this abuse so quietly, so meekly, with our heads bowed and a quick tip of the cap to our killers?
  15. stammer
    speak haltingly
    “You were a part of this plot to escape!”
    “W-what?” the boy stammered.
  16. gallows
    an instrument from which a person is executed by hanging
    Guards grabbed the boy and dragged him to the front of our lines, where the Nazis had built a gallows for hanging prisoners.
  17. effrontery
    audacious behavior that you have no right to
    He was picking people at random now in his fury, punishing innocent people for the dead man’s effrontery.
  18. quarry
    a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
    My work detail was on its way to the quarry to break more rocks one morning when another kapo came to speak to ours.
  19. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    Soon I understood why the train car had smelled so bad, and would only smell worse before this ordeal was through.
  20. lurch
    move abruptly
    Late in the afternoon the train lurched and we were away.
  21. circumstances
    one's overall condition in life
    Now I was truly leaving home and seeing the outside world for the first time. I had never imagined it would be under these circumstances.
  22. rouse
    cause to become awake or conscious
    The men near me roused from their sleep to grumble at me to be still, and I gave up.
  23. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    “Treblinka,” I called, seeing the placard at last.
  24. hoarse
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness
    “You don’t go to Birkenau to work,” the man said, his voice hoarse and dry.
  25. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    “You want my advice?” the man next to me rasped.
  26. jolt
    move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion
    At last, the train jolted and began to move, and I woke for good to a pale yellow sun rising above the trees in the distance.
  27. endure
    undergo or be subjected to
    I had come so far, endured so much agony and suffering.
  28. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    Maybe the match kept blowing out. Or the kindling wouldn’t catch fire.
  29. reprieve
    the act of postponing or remitting punishment
    We celebrated as we shivered, hugging one another and shaking hands, all of us granted a last-minute reprieve by the Nazis.
  30. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Someone scoffed. “Tomorrow he will be dead. We all will. None of it matters anymore.”
Created on Wed Jan 30 21:06:28 EST 2019 (updated Thu Feb 07 13:06:59 EST 2019)

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