YEAR 7 ENGLISH STUDY GUIDE

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ONCEBy Morris Gleitzman

Introduction Once is a novel of historical fiction set during World War II (1939-1945). It is 1942 and Felix is in an orphanage where he thinks his parents have placed him until they can sort out their “troubles”. Felix is certain that they will come to get him and then he will return his lovely old life. However, Felix and his family are Jewish and in 1942 Hitler and the Nazis are trying to wipe out the Jewish race in an event now referred to as the Holocaust. The novel follows Felix on his quest to find his parents and his search for understanding as he comes face to face with death and evil. Throughout the novel, Felix’s talents as a story teller highlight the humour, courage and strength this character draws on to help himself and support those around him.

Before reading the book

1. Why might there be a pile of books drawn on the cover?2. Why might the title be 'Once'?3. Why do you think the font changes at the beginning of each chapter for the repeated word,

'Once'?4. What atmosphere do the colours on the cover create? Why do the colours on the back cover

change?5. What do you know about World War II, the Nazis, the Jews and the holocaust?6. Inside the front cover, Morris Gleitzman dedicates the novel to “all the children whose stories

have never been told”. What does this tell you about his motivation for writing the novel?

Figure 1 Some Jewish children who survived the Holocaust

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Chapter Questions

Complete the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES in your work books.

Chapter One (page 1) ‘Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn’t have been and I almost caused a riot.’

1. What is the setting (time and place) of Once?

2. Before World War II started, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union became allies or friends. Why could this be a problem for Poland? (HINT: look at the map)

3. From whose perspective or point of view is the story told?

4. Describe your first impressions of Felix, Mother Minka and one other character introduced in the opening chapter (consider the traits they appear to possess and your response to meeting them).

5. What is the significance of the carrot and what are Felix’s plans for it?

6. What do we learn about Felix’s parents from this chapter?

Figure 2 A Catholic orphanage in Lublin, Poland

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CHILDREN AND THE HOLOCAUST

Read the following article and answer the questions which follow.

By the end of the World War II, the Nazis had taken the lives of six million Jews, over one million of them children and teenaged youths.  Due to the fact that children were considered non-productive and symbolized the continuation of Jewish existence, they were among the first victims who were sent to their deaths in

order to ensure the total destruction of the Jewish people. 

Only recently has the historiography of the Shoah begun to focus on the issue of the fate of Jewish children, raising many important and interesting questions.  What was the Nazi policy toward children?  What was the impact of anti-Jewish legislation on Jewish children?  How did Jewish communities and institutions cope with the effects of Nazi policy on children? How did families rear their children at a time of increasing difficulties and dangers and how did adults view Jewish children during the different

stages of the Nazi anti-Semitic policies? 

From the day the Nazis came to power Jewish children became victims of anti-Semitic legislation, first in Germany and, as time passed, in every other country the Germans conquered or forged an alliance.  The parents and families of these children were unable to grant them the security and protection they needed. Jewish children were separated from their non-Jewish playmates and expelled from state-sponsored schools.  They saw their parents lose the right to support their families, and often witnessed the descent of the family unit into an abyss of despair. 

As the war broke out and anti-Semitic legislation worsened, the suffering of Jewish children increased: many were doomed to the horrific suffering of the ghettos. There, cut off from the world, they lived in the shadow of endless terror and violence. Many children became central for survival, for example as smugglers.

When the deportations to the death camps begun, a chasm opened up in the lives of Jewish

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Figure 3 Jewish Children who had been hidden in a convent in Poland

Figure 4 Jewish Children who had been hidden in a convent in Poland

children. Throughout Nazi Europe they fled and hid, separated from their parents and loved ones. Some of them found refuge in the homes of non-Jews.  Many were hidden in convents, monasteries and boarding schools. Others were forced to roam through forests and villages, hunting for food and relying entirely on their own ingenuity and resourcefulness. Many were forced to live under false identity. Some were so young when separated from their parents that they forgot their real names and identity.  Of course not all Jewish children were able to find a refuge and many were caught and sent to the death camps. Their young age made most the first prey of the Nazi killing machine.

The historical investigation of children during the Shoah is important for it keeps alive the memory of those who died and protects the experiences of those who survived.  It enables us to understand, more fully and more extensively, the impact of the Shoah.

http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/institute/children_and_the_holocaust.asp

QUESTIONS

1. Why were Jewish children among the first victims to be sent to their deaths?2. What happened to Jewish school children under Nazi legislation?3. When the Jews were put in ghettos, why was it that the children became useful as

smugglers?4. Name THREE places where Jewish children were hidden when the Nazis started to send the

Jews to death camps.5. What happened to some of the children who were very young when they were separated

from their parents?6. Why is the historical investigation of children during the Shoah or Holocaust important?

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Chapter Two (page 9) ‘Once I stayed awake all night, waiting for Mum and Dad to arrive.’

1. What memories and physical evidence does Felix have of his parents? What beliefs does Felix hold about what will happen?

2. Explain the importance of Felix’s notebook. Identify 4 things this notebook symbolizes.

3. For how long has Felix been in the orphanage?

4. What did Felix “think” the men in armbands were doing? What were they actually doing and why?

5. German writer Henrich Heine wrote, "Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings." What do you think he meant? Why has this quotation become so well-known?

Figure 6 Members of the Nazi Youth participate in burning books, Buecherverbrennung, in Salzburg, Austria, on April 30, 1938. The public burning of books that were condemned as un-German, or Jewish-Marxist was a common activity in Nazi Germany.

Chapter Three (page 17)

‘Once I saw a customer, years ago, damaging books in Mum and Dad’s shop. Tearing pages out. Screwing them up. Shouting things I couldn’t understand.’

1. Identify 2 things that unsettle Felix and explain how his thinking starts to change. 2. Felix has plans to help his Mum and Dad. What are they and what motivates him to take action? 3. Why has Felix always loved the William stories by Richmal Crompton?4. Who tries to stop Felix? Why

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Figure 5 Scene during the book burning in Berlin's Opera Square.

5. Script the conversation Mother Minka had with Jankiel about what the Nazis had been doing.

Reflection: On the “truth”. How might knowing the truth (about what could have happened to his parents) have made a difference to Felix at this point? Recall some moments when the truth begins to dawn on him or he suspects his impressions may be false. At the end of the novel, what do you imagine he thinks the truth really is?

Chapter Four (page 27) ‘Once I escaped from an orphanage in the mountains and I didn’t have to do any of the things you do in escape stories.’

1. List some of the reasons Felix considers himself ‘lucky’ (p.30)? List things you think he could complain about.

2. What indications are there – recognized or missed by Felix - that something is terribly wrong? What explanations does Felix come up with to make sense of things?

Reflection: Making sense of the inexplicable. Why would the “truth” be the furthest thing from Felix’s mind given what he is witnessing? Is it a blessing or a curse for him to be able to explain everything or reason an acceptable outcome?

Chapter Five (page 38) ‘Once I walked all night and all the next day except for a short sleep in a forest and all night again and then I was home.’

1. Contrast Felix’s dreams with the reality of what he discovers when he makes it home. If you like you could do this in the form of a table using point form.

Felix’s Dreams The Reality---

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2. Describe the range of emotions he experiences. Analyse emotions he observes in other people encountered at this point in the story. How would you classify them? (e.g.: negative, strong, fleeting...)

Reflection: Help in unexpected places. Why are Mr.Kopek’s actions meaningful? Why do you think he chose to do what he did and how did it help Felix? What other unexpected sources of assistance did Felix encounter on his journey?

Chapter Six (page 49) ‘Once I walked as fast as I could towards the city to find Mum and Dad and I didn’t let anything stop me. Not until the fire.’

1. What changes have taken place in Felix (e.g.: more cautious, fearful of Nazis) and how do they influence his actions?

2. How does Felix control his anxiety and make use of his story telling ability?

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Reflection: Felix’s choices. Do you think Felix did the right thing by a) taking Zelda and b) not telling her the truth about her parents at that point? What other choices did he make for Zelda’s benefit?

Chapter Seven (page 57) ‘Once I woke up and I was at home in bed. Dad was reading me a story about a boy who got left in an orphanage. Mum came in with some carrot soup. They both promised they’d never leave me anywhere. We hugged and hugged.’

1. What is the significance of the following: the armbands? Felix’s predictions about the future?

2. How does Felix answer his own question – ‘Why would the Nazis make people suffer like this just for the sake of some books?’ (p.64) Why is this a turning point?

Reflection: Displacement. Think about the many things the people forced to travel on the road had to abandon. Apart from material possessions, what else would they have had to leave behind? (e.g.: other people, businesses, family heirlooms, pets, freedom, wealth etc…) What could they bring with them? (e.g.: spiritual beliefs, knowledge, loved ones etc…)

Chapter Eight. p.66 ‘Once I spent about 6 hours telling stories to Zelda, to keep her spirits up, to keep my spirits up, to keep our legs moving as we trudge through the rain towards the city.’

1. Why does Felix go from 6 hours of storytelling to keeping Zelda’s spirits up, to the point where he suddenly hasn’t ‘got any more stories’ (p73)?

2. Describe the toll such a journey takes on Felix and Zelda – physically and emotionally. How is it they manage to survive? You could complete this in a table in point form:

Physical Toll of the Journey Emotional Toll of the Journey---

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Reflection: On what existed before. Felix refers to ‘Dad’s big book about two thousand years of Jewish history’ (p.71). Share what you know or find out more about the rich history and culture of the Jewish community before the events of this novel.

Chapter Nine (page 74) ‘Once I lay in the street in tears because the Nazis are everywhere and no grown-ups can protect kids from them, not Mum and Dad, not Mother Minka, not Father Ludwik, not God, not Jesus, not the Virgin Mary, not the Pope, not Adolf Hitler.’

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Figure 7 Poland, man with armband with Jewish star, Warsaw ghetto 1943

Figure 8 Figure 6 Jews rounded up in Hungary

1. In one paragraph, summarise the events of pages 74 to 752. Explain what Barney is doing. What sort of a person do you think he is? What does he represent? 3. What are Felix’s initial feelings towards Barney?4. What impact does the realization that no-one can protect the children have on Felix? How does this

affect his belief in the power of stories? Reflection: Heroism. Barney became something of a hero for Felix and the other children. Think about Barney’s actions and words through the course of the novel. Identify what was “heroic” about his behaviour and the “goodness” of human beings it reflects. * You could further this discussion by researching stories of “heroism” in the time of the Holocaust – not just that of the very well-known figures, but also of quiet survivors & other children like Felix who maintained their hope in the face of utter desolation.

Chapter Ten. p.83 ‘Once I was living in a cellar in a Nazi city with seven other kids when I shouldn’t have been.’

1. Use an example of Felix’s behaviour or “self-talk” to illustrate his unusual degree of maturity and self-awareness. Explain your reasoning.

2. What story “saved his life” and what connections has he finally made? 3. Finding his parents is a driving force for Felix. What do the other children wish for in this chapter?

Why do you think these things are so important to them?

Chapter Eleven. p.90 ‘Once I escaped from an underground hiding place by telling a story. It was a bit exaggerated. It was a bit fanciful. It was my imagination getting a bit carried away.’

1. How does Felix try to convince Barney to let him leave the cellar? How does Barney handle it? 2. Define the terms “curfew” and “ghetto” in the context of this chapter.3. What does Felix discover about Barney and how does Barney enlist Felix’s help?

Reflection: On the Nazi dental patient (p.100). Review p.102 -103, and p.137 – 139. Felix is able to hand over the promised story. What do his actions in the surgery and at this later stage say about Felix’s “faith” in people? Why does he hope for in spite of all he has seen of the Nazi soldiers?

Chapter Twelve (page 102) ‘Once a dentist stopped me from asking a Nazi officer about my parents and I was really mad at him.’

1. Why did Barney stop Felix from asking about his parents? Why do he and Felix decide Zelda needs to know the truth?

2. Describe the range of reactions the children are showing a result of the traumas each has suffered. How do you feel about the stories shared by the children?

Theme: Relationships – consider the factors which create and nurture bonds between people in the context of this novel, e.g.: dependence, common experience, adversity, frailty, leadership.

Chapter Thirteen (page 111) ‘Once I told Zelda a story that made her cry, so I lay on her sack with her for hours and hours until she fell asleep.’

1. “I got you the boots because everybody deserves to have something good in their life at least once.” What does Barney mean by what he says (p.112) to Felix? What other “good things” does Felix seem to think he’s got and what can you see (e.g.: his hope and optimism etc) in him that is good?

2. Where does the Nazi tell the Jews they are going and for what purpose? 3. What horrible discovery does Felix make in this chapter? What awful truths is Barney forced to tell

him about what is going on. What is Felix torn between as he tries to take it all in?

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Chapter Fourteen (page 121) ‘Once I loved stories and now I hate them.’

1. Describe Felix’s state of mind as this chapter opens. Describe your own feelings as you read about his close shaves and what he discovers upon returning to his hideout.

2. The importance of books is emphasized again in this chapter. Felix’s favourite gets him into terrible danger but other books “save” him. What do books symbolize and mean for Felix?

3. What revelation or discovery does Felix make towards the end of the chapter? Does this change his attitude towards Zelda? Explain.

Chapter Fifteen (page 132) ‘Once the Nazis found our cellar. They dragged us all out and made us walk through the ghetto while they pointed guns at us.’

1. Barney and Zelda wouldn’t go. Why not? Think of 3 or more reasons. 2. What is important to Felix as they head to the Railway station? What is important to the others as

they are tossed aboard the train? 3. (a) What can we infer about the Nazi soldier with toothache from the two points we meet him?

(p93–96, p127–130). Copy this table into your book to complete this question.

From the description of the Nazi soldier in the first section (102-103)we can infer he is:

From the description of the Nazi soldier in the second section (137-139)we can infer he is:

Quotation to support: Quotation to support:

(b) Write a summary of the kind of person he is. You will gain marks for referring to the text, using andexplaining the quotations.

Figure 9 Hungarian Jews arriving by train at Auschwitz Death Camp

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Reflection: Resilience – ‘You know how when things are really bad and you feel like curling up and hiding but instead you take deep breaths and the air reaches your brain and helps you think better?’ (p.134). There are many examples of the strategies Felix uses to keep focusing on what is good or hopeful. Find further evidence of Felix’s resilience and discuss its impact on the situation and the people around him. Why is it so valuable?

Chapter Sixteen (page 141) ‘Once I went on my first train journey, but I wouldn’t call it exciting, I’d call it painful and miserable.’

1. Once again, a book becomes a “saviour” of sorts. Explain how. What is the significance of the fact that Felix is willing to use - and virtually lose -his notebook?

2. What choice and possible outcomes does the hole in the carriage create for the people inside?

Theme: Sacrifice Reflection: An incredible bond. ‘And Barney. Now I’ve got my arms around him, I don’t ever want to let go’ (p.147). Reflect on what Barney and Felix have been through together. How did they become friends, how was the relationship tested and why did it endure? How do you feel as you share the intensity of this poignant farewell?

Chapter Seventeen (page 149) ‘Once I lay in a field somewhere in Poland, not sure if I am alive or dead.’

1. Felix feels fortunate – ‘However my story turns out, I’ll never forget how lucky I am’ (p.150). What is your explanation of this?

2. Knowing Felix as you do by the end of the novel, make a prediction about how you think his story might continue to unfold or end.

Reflection: Your thoughts. Can you articulate your thoughts and feelings about the story’s ending? Explain what struck you the most in the character of Felix? What is the dominant emotion you feel at the conclusion of the novel? (You may wish to write a private response or share your views to find out others’ perspectives.)

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TO THE LITTLE POLISH BOYSTANDING WITH HIS ARMS UP

By: Peter L. FischlI would like to be an artistSo I could make a Painting of youLittle Polish Boy

Standing with your Little haton your headThe Star of Davidon your coatStanding in the ghettowith your arms upas many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

I would make a monument of you and the world who said nothing

I would like to be a composerso I could write a concerto of you Little Polish Boy

Standing with your Little haton your headThe Star of Davidon your coatStanding in the ghettowith your arms upas many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

I would write a concerto of you and the world who said nothing

I am not an artistBut my mind had painteda painting of you

Ten Million Miles High is the Paintingso the whole universe can see you NowLittle Polish Boy

Standing with your Little haton your headThe Star of Davidon your coatStanding in the ghettowith your arms upas many Nazi machine gunspointing at you

And the World who said nothing

I'll make this painting so brightthat it will blind the eyesof the world who saw nothing

Ten billion miles high will be the monumentso the whole universe can remember of youLittle Polish Boy

Standing with your Little haton your headThe Star of Davidon your coat

Standing in the ghettowith your arms upas many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

And the monument will tremble so the blind worldNowwill knowWhat fear is in the darkness

The worldWho said nothing

I am not a composerbut I will write a compositionfor five trillion trumpetsso it will blast the ear drumsof this world

The world'sWho heard nothing

IamSorrythatIt was youandNot me

QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think the poet chose the little boy to write a poem about? 2. What do you think is happening to the boy?

3. Contrast (show the difference between) the little boy and the men holding the rifles. In your answer try to use accurate adjectives such as “innocent”, “harmless” etc.

4. Describe how the others are shown in the photography.5. What experiences and emotions would make you want to paint a portrait of someone or

write a concerto about him or her? 6. Why would the concerto include both the little boy and the world who said nothing?

Wouldn't it be sufficient to write a concerto exclusively about the little boy?

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7. Why would the author make a painting ten million miles high?

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