I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis is part of the popular I Survived series, which introduces young readers to significant historical events through the perspectives of children who lived through them. This installment follows Max, an 11-year-old Jewish boy, and his younger sister Zena, as they flee the horrors of Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. After escaping the ghetto in their hometown, the siblings face constant danger as they struggle for survival amidst the war’s brutality. The story highlights not only the resilience and courage of its young protagonists but also educates readers about the Holocaust.

This study guide refers to the 2014 e-book version of I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 by Scholastic Inc.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contains depictions of the Holocaust and antisemitism. 

Plot Summary

The novel opens on August 10, 1944, in the Loda Forest of eastern Poland, where Max Rosen and his younger sister Zena are caught in a Nazi bombing attack. A powerful explosion sends Max into a ditch, and as he looks up, he sees a flaming tree crashing down.

The narrative then flashes back to three days earlier. Max and Zena are living alone in the Jewish ghetto of Esties, Poland; their mother died years before and the Nazis arrested their father a month ago. Zena points out a robin perched on a fence, calling it a lucky bird. Max spots a raspberry bush beyond the fence and crawls underneath to reach it. As he picks the berries, a Nazi soldier suddenly appears and strikes him with a rifle.

The soldier marches Max toward the police station. As they walk, Max reflects on happier times with their Papa and Aunt Hannah, his 19-year-old sister. The last time he saw her was the night before they were forced into the ghetto, when she left without saying goodbye. Suddenly, Max sees Zena’s head peeking through the bushes. The soldier raises his rifle to aim, but Max throws himself at the soldier and knocks him down. The rifle goes off, and the shot hits the soldier in the leg.

Max and Zena escape into the woods, running until they are too exhausted to continue. Eventually, they hide in a wheat field and fall asleep. They are startled awake by a man telling them to get up. The man is a farmer named Jablonski, who warns them they must move quickly as the Nazis are searching his farm. Jablonski explains that the Nazis are hunting for those responsible for blowing up a Nazi train. He hides Max and Zena in his barn’s hayloft. Once the Nazis have left, Jablonski opens a hidden compartment in the barn, and three people step out. Max realizes these are the people who blew up the Nazi train, and to his surprise, one of them is Aunt Hannah.

Hannah reveals that she has been fighting the Nazis with a group of partisans. There are hundreds of partisan groups hiding in forests across Poland and other countries, resisting the Nazi forces. The two men with her are named Martin, who is around 17, and Lev, the leader of their group. Mr. Jablonski is secretly working as a spy for the partisans.

That night, they begin their journey to the partisans’ camp in Loda Forest, hidden on an island in the middle of a swamp. As they travel, they hear the faint sound of airplanes: the Junkers, the Nazis’ most feared bombers. Suddenly, there are explosions all around them. In the chaos, Max is thrown into a ditch and a flaming tree crashes down on top of him. The narrative now circles back to the opening scene.

The ditch is deep enough to shield Max from being crushed, but he is trapped. Using a rock, Max digs through the dirt until he creates a small opening and crawls out. He looks around, hoping to find Zena, Aunt Hannah, or the others, but he’s alone. In the distance, he hears machine-gun fire and sees two Nazi soldiers ahead, aiming at Martin and Zena. Max throws a rock at one of the soldiers, striking him in the head, and Martin shoots him. The second soldier is barely older than Max and looks terrified. Max wonders if they are truly enemies, but before he can do anything, Martin kills the young soldier. As the soldier falls, his pistol goes off, and a bullet hits Max in the chest.

Five weeks later, Max is still recovering in the partisans’ camp in Loda Forest. Today, Aunt Hannah, Lev, and Martin are expected to return from their first mission since the bombing in the forest. News has spread that the Russians have pushed the Nazis out of eastern Poland. When Aunt Hannah, Martin, and Lev return, they bring an unexpected guest: Max and Zena’s father. He tells them that he escaped from a train transporting Jews and returned to Esties. By then, the Nazis had left, but the entire ghetto was emptied and its residents deported. Papa searched for Max and Zena until he heard about an old farmer, Jablonski, who had saved two children.

The final chapter takes place in January 1947, two and a half years later. Max, Zena, and their father are on a ship bound for New York, ready to begin a new life in America. Aunt Hannah and Lev are now married and living in Palestine, where they, along with Martin, are helping to build a new Jewish nation: Israel. 

Max wants to forget the horrors he witnessed but knows that the Nazis wounded him in more than just physical ways. The scars they left on his heart and mind are deep, but he also remembers the kindness of people like Mr. Jablonski and the bravery of the partisans. As they look into the distance, Max and his family see America’s shore and look forward to a new beginning.