Page "Europa Europa" Paragraph 2

Solek ( a nickname for Solomon, also called " Solly ") and his family live in Nazi Germany.

On the eve of Solek's bar mitzvah, Kristallnacht occurs, and his sister is killed by Nazis.

The Perel family ( Solek, his parents, and his two brothers, David and Isaak ) moves to Łódź, Poland, where they will be safe-for the moment.

But less than a year later, World War II begins when Germany invades Poland.

Isaak and Solek flee toward eastern Poland, which has been invaded by the Soviet Union.

( In an ironic scene, as Solek and other Jewish refugees cross a river in a small boat, a boat carrying Polish refugees fleeing the Soviets passes in the opposite direction.

) The brothers are separated, and Solek is placed in a Soviet orphanage in Grodno with other Polish refugee children.