The Boy On The Wooden Box

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue-Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. Who is Leon Leyson waiting to meet in Los Angeles?

2. Where did Leon spend his childhood before the war?

3. Where does Moshe move with his job in the glass factory?

4. What was Moshe forced to do during World War I?

5. What country does Hitler invade, causing Moshe and Hershel to leave the family?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What events caused the Jewish community in Poland to worry about German oppression?

2. Why are the Polish Jews justified in their concerns, even though Germany is a different country?

Paired Resources

Forced Labor During World War I

• This article relates the prevalence of forced-labor camps in World War I.
• What demographic was often targeted for forced labor? Why did countries choose to use forced labor? What problem were countries attempting to solve through forced labor? How is this article’s content related to the memoir’s theme of Passive Resistance in the Face of Oppression?

Kristallnacht

• This 4-minute video describes the events of Kristallnacht.
• What did Herschel Gyrnszpan do in response to Jewish oppression? What happened during Kristallnacht? What did the Nazis do to Jews following Kristallnacht? What was the reaction around the world to Kristallnacht? How does the topic of Kristallnacht relate to the memoir’s theme of The Irrational Nature of Antisemitism?

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the Nazi secret police?

2. What must the Jews wear if they are 12 years or older?

3. Who offers Moshe a job as an industrialist?

4. What is the name of the factory Schindler took over from a Jewish businessman?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What changes are made by the Germans after the invasion of Poland?

2. Why did the glass factory fire all the Jewish employees except Moshe?

3. Why is Moshe sent to prison?

Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. Where does Leon begin working while in the ghetto?

2. Where is it rumored those deported from Kraków will be going?

3. What does Mr. Luftig leave behind for Leon?

4. Where is Leon deported to while he is staying with his mother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Leon describe Jewish resistance to Nazi oppression?

2. Why is Leon late for curfew?

3. How does Schindler rescue Jewish workers from deportation?

Paired Resource

“The Krakow Ghetto During the Holocaust”

• This article explains the establishment of the Kraków ghetto.
• What were Jews expected to do in the Kraków ghetto? What was Operation Reinhard? How did SS officers liquidate the Kraków ghetto? How did the revolts in Warsaw, Treblinka, Bialystok, and Sobibor ghettos affect prisoners in the Plaszów forced-labor camp? How is this article’s information related to the memoir’s themes of The Irrational Nature of Antisemitism?

Chapters 7-8

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the commandant who brutally flogs Leon?

2. Where does Schindler rebuild the Emalia factory?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Leon acquire work in the Emalia factory?

2. How does Leon’s attitude change after he begins work in the Emalia factory?

3. What does Leon work on in the Emalia factory?

4. How does Leon build a relationship with Schindler?

5. Why do the Germans decide to close Schindler’s factory?

Chapters 9-10

Reading Check

1. Where were the women who worked for the Emalia factory supposed to be sent before Schindler intervened?

2. What does Schindler give to Leon when Leon visits his office?

3. What change in his work environment does Leon credit with saving his life?

4. What do the Jewish employees give to Schindler?

5. What does Schindler give to his employees prior to fleeing the Soviet army?

6. Where do Leon and his family go after they are liberated from the factory?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Schindler save his Jewish employees before the Soviet army arrives?

2. Why do the Jews feel apprehensive about the arrival of the Soviet army?

Paired Resources

Conditions in Brünnlitz

• This 2-minute video is an interview with a Holocaust survivor explaining the conditions in Brünnlitz.
• What efforts were made by Schindler to help his Jewish employees? How did Schindler help many to survive? How does the content of this interview represent the memoir’s themes of The Importance of Kindness in Dark Times and Passive Resistance in the Face of Oppression?

“Celina Biniaz on the Liberation of Brünnlitz Concentration Camp”

• This 3-minute video is an account of a Holocaust survivor on the liberation of Brünnlitz.
• What did Schindler do for the people in the Jewish factory before the Soviet army arrived? Why were the occupants of the factory afraid to escape Brünnlitz? How is this account related to the memoir’s themes of The Importance of Kindness in Dark Times and Passive Resistance in the Face of Oppression?

Epilogue-Afterword

Reading Check

1. Where does Leon go after the Holocaust?

2. What war is Leon drafted for?

3. What is Leon’s occupation after receiving a master’s degree?

4. Where is Schindler buried after his death?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do the Germans consider Schindler to be a traitor?

2. Why did Leon write his memoir?

Recommended Next Reads

Night by Elie Wiesel

• This memoir is about the author’s experience in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
• Shared topics include the Holocaust, survival, and Jewish oppression.
• Shared themes include The Irrational Nature of Antisemitism and Passive Resistance in the Face of Oppression.
• Night on SuperSummary

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

• This memoir describes the friendship between a German boy and a Jewish boy during World War II around the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• Shared topics include the Holocaust, World War II, and oppression.
• Shared themes include The Importance of Kindness in Dark Times and The Irrational Nature of Antisemitism.
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on SuperSummary