brave and stay quiet about what she knows, thus allowing the other prisoners to remain hopeful.

Along with the rest of the new prisoners, Hannah has her head shaved, and she suddenly finds that she cannot recall anything of the past, neither her own life in New York nor the World War II history she learned in school. As Hannah puts it, she is “shorn of memory” along with her hair. Next, the new prisoners all have a row of numbers tattooed on her arms. Hannah tells the man who tattoos her that she cannot remember anything; he tells her that she must try, for life cannot exist without memory.

At the concentration camp, Hannah stays close to her aunt Gitl and other members of her village. She also meets and befriends Rivka, a girl her own age who gives her advice on how to survive in the camp. Rivka tells Hannah that her own family members have all died except for her brother, whom she considers as good as dead because his job is to lead other Jews to the gas chambers. Despite her great loss—or perhaps because of it—Rivka is determined to fight; she is constantly “organizing,” as she puts it, by gathering food, clothing, and other items for the other prisoners.

As time passes, Hannah settles into a routine at the camp. Her waking hours are divided between meager meals and work—practical work to keep the camp running—as well as work sorting through possessions stolen from prisoners, dividing them into piles to send back to Germany. Inspired by Rivka, Hannah tries to help others, slipping some of her bread to the younger children. Even in the horrific environment of the camp, Hannah develops close, caring relationships with Rivka and her aunt Gitl. However, Hannah also experiences moments of almost unbearable pain, as when Reuven, a child to whom she has grown close, is sent to the gas chamber.

After a failed escape plot, several members of Hannah’s village are executed, including her uncle Shmuel. Following this latest tragedy, Hannah suddenly remembers her life in America. She tells Rivka and two other girls that although six million Jews will die in the camps, the Jewish people will live on. She tells them about Israel, with a Jewish president and a Jewish senate, and Jewish movie stars in America.

Unfortunately, while the girls are talking, they are neglecting their work. A guard notices, and he happens to need three more people to make up a full load for the gas chambers. The guard chooses to spare Hannah and take Rivka, but Hannah pushes Rivka away, tells her to run, and follows the guard instead. As Hannah walks toward the gas chamber, she tells the two girls beside her a story, a story about a girl named Hannah who lives in New Rochelle. Her last words are “Ready or not, here we come. . . .” And then the girls walk through the door to the gas chamber, into the darkness.

Suddenly Hannah finds herself looking across an apartment doorway; she turns behind her and sees her family again, still celebrating the Seder. Her grandfather asks if the prophet Elijah is coming as if no time has passed at all, and Hannah returns to the table.

As the Seder continues, Hannah recognizes the tattoo on her aunt Eva’s arm and realizes Eva is Rivka. She asks Eva about it, and Eva explains that they all changed their names when they came to America, because remembering the truth was too painful. Later that evening, Aunt Eva tells Hannah that Gitl survived the Holocaust and immigrated to Israel, where she started a rescue mission for young survivors. Gitl named the organization after her young niece, who had sacrificed herself for Rivka and died a hero in the camps—her niece named Chaya. Thus, as the story ends, Hannah finally understands the true meaning of her Hebrew name. She has now learned why remembering the Holocaust is so important for her grandparents, for Aunt Eva, and now for Hannah herself.