The Boy On The Wooden Box

In the spring of 1938, when Leon is eight years old, he goes with his mother and siblings to live with his father in Kraków. Moshe has been away since Leon was three years old, so Leon is very happy to see him and excited about the new life in the big city—especially since he has never traveled before. The family settles in a two-room apartment near the father’s factory that, while spartan, is more advanced than their home in Narewka. Since he has been away, Hershel has matured in his behavior and outlook and now has a girlfriend. Leon makes several new friends, and together they enjoy pulling mischievous pranks such as getting free rides on streetcars. All in all, the family becomes well integrated into the life of the city.

However, there are ominous signs of unrest. The newspapers are full of accounts of the antisemitic measures taken by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, including the expulsion of thousands of Polish Jews from Germany and the harrowing events of Kristallnacht. There is growing alarm that Germany and Poland will go to war. Some families in Leon’s neighborhood stock up extra food and prepare bomb shelters. Some Jews flee eastward, wanting to get as far away from Germany as possible.