Daniel's Story

Daniel's Story Summary | Plot Summary

The book takes place in Poland and Germany during Hitler's reign of terror. The timeframe of the story is from March of 1933 through Germany's surrender in May of 1945. The main character of Daniel's Story is Daniel. He is eighteen at the end of the book, but through flashbacks, the author takes the reader all the way back to Daniel's sixth birthday.

The book consists of four chronological sections: Pictures of Frankfurt; Pictures of Lodz; Pictures of Auschwitz; and Pictures of Buchenwald. In each section, Daniel is reviewing pictures that he has either taken or composed in his mind. The pictures all relate to the events and emotions he experiences, as he visits each location.

In Pictures of Frankfurt, Daniel is looking through his photo album, trying to make some sense out of everything. With each picture, he can see how the situation has escalated. The readers get a look into what things were like just before and during the beginning of World War II.

Comparisons of the changes can be made with two photos of Father's shop. The first one taken has the word "Jew" written on the store glass window. The second one taken shows the store glass window broken out, and people looting from the store.

Another comparison can be made between two photos of Daniel at school. The first is at a public German school, and Daniel notices how many of his friends are missing from the picture. The Jewish students have either left voluntarily or been forced out. The second is of the Jewish school. Daniel recalls how angry his mother had become, when he unknowingly allowed the German school to force him out. His view was typical for his young age. He was unhappy at the German school and strongly disliked his teacher. If he were enrolled at the Jewish school, Uncle Peter could be his teacher.

Pictures of Frankfurt also addresses identification cards that Jews had to carry, ration cards for food, the name changes required of all Jewish people, the Jewish boycott, the Nuremburg Laws, and the general segregation of all Jews.

The second section, Pictures of Lodz, is about Daniel's experience in Lodz, Poland. While Daniel thought things were bad in Frankfurt, things are much worse in Lodz. Food is very scarce, and few places have plumbing, heating or running water. Everyone has to work, or they will be deported. When someone is deported, they are never seen or heard from again. Rumor has it that they are taken to Chelmno and killed. Many people die due to the bitter cold and disease. Disease runs rampant, because of the lack of nutrition and squalid conditions.

Also in this section, the author introduces the reader to the selection process in which the Nazis select who will live, and who will die. Somehow, even under such dire circumstances, Daniel manages to meet Rosa and fall in love with her.

In Pictures of Auschwitz, Matas describes how greatly the abominable treatment of Jews has escalated. Upon his arrival, the smell of the smoke coming from the crematoria gags Daniel. The crematoria are not large enough to dispose of all the bodies in a quick manner, so the Nazis use pits for burning. Just tripping or falling down is justification enough for the Nazis to whip or shoot a Jew. Daniel and his father are separated from his sister (Erika) and mother. They are unsure whether or not they are alive, until Daniel sees his sister playing her violin in the orchestra. Mother did not survive. Daniel reaches a point where he contemplates suicide, but Father prevents him from doing so. When Daniel and Father leave Auschwitz, they are no longer certain if Erika is still alive.

In the fourth and final section, Pictures of Buchenwald, the SS men have built themselves a paradise. There is even a zoological garden. Father works, making ornate furniture for the SS men to send home. Daniel works as a photography assistant, taking photographs of the SS men and their families upon request. While there, it becomes obvious how confused the Germans have become with the end of the war quickly approaching. They are building a crematorium, yet disassembling all the machines and shipping them out. Even after liberation, many of the prisoners are too weak to survive. Daniel and Father survive and make their way back to Lodz.

Daniel loses almost all of his family throughout the book. It begins with Uncle Peter and ends with him finding out from Rosa that Erika died. Although there are times in the book that Daniel wishes to just give up, he somehow manages to make it through with his hope intact.