illustration of main character Hannah opening a door which leads to a barbed wire fence

The Devil's Arithmetic

by Jane Yolen

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Student Question

In The Devil's Arithmetic, where do the Nazis say they are taking the Jewish people?

Expert Answers

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The Nazi soldiers and leadership arrive and speak with the Rabbi while the village waits in anticipation. The Nazis pressure the Rabbi behind closed doors and then use his authority in order to coerce the Jewish people into following their relocation orders. The soldiers tell Rabbi Barouch that the Jewish people are going to be taken to other towns and villages, where they will stay for the duration of the war. The soldiers also inform them that their other relatives have already been relocated.

Hannah repeatedly tries to warn the others that they cannot listen to the soldiers or they will all be put to their deaths. It has taken he a while to figure out what has happened to her, but the moment the Nazi soldiers emerge from the synagogue, Hannah understands perfectly clearly that she has been transported back in time and that she is living in the body of one of her family members during the time leading immediately up to the Holocaust.

Unfortunately, no one listens, because they don't understand that Hannah has traveled in time. Because no one listens to Hannah, the Jewish people all board the trucks meant to relocate them peacefully, just like the soldiers instruct them to do.

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