Salt to the Sea

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Pages 1-95

Reading Check

1. What is the physical condition Emilia attempts to hide?

2. Who does Alfred write a letter to, exaggerating his role in the German army?

3. Where does Joana’s group find Florian and Emilia?

4. What ship is Alfred sent to in preparation for refugees?

5. Who did Florian work for while restoring art in a museum?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Joana’s confession to Florian after she removes shrapnel from his arm in the barn?

2. What does the author reveal about Alfred’s character by this point in the novel?

3. Why does Ingrid need to hide her identity from Nazi troops?

Paired Resource

Operation Hannibal

• This article describes Operation Hannibal and the refugees’ attempt to escape the Soviet Union.
• What was the purpose of Operation Hannibal? What challenges faced the refugees in Operation Hannibal? What was the condition of the ships used in Operation Hannibal? What is considered history’s greatest maritime tragedy? How is this article’s content related to the novel’s themes of Reinventing the Familial Unit and the Coming of Age Through Trauma?

Pages 96-186

Reading Check

1. Where does Florian hide after escaping the group he is traveling with?

2. What is Florian’s secret treasure?

3. Who insists on leading the group across the frozen lagoon before being attacked by Russian planes?

4. What port city does Florian arrange for the group to travel to?

5. Where does the group sleep the first night in the port city?

6. What does Alfred steal from the luggage in front of Joana?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do the group of travelers find upon their arrival by boat to the port city?

2. Why is Florian concerned about his papers in the port city?

3. What does Alfred’s mother reveal about Alfred’s relationship with Hannelore?

4. What do Joana and Florian confess to one another in the port city?

5. How does Joana’s group gain passage on the Gustloff?

Paired Resource

Art Theft During WWII

• This 13-minute video describes art looting during World War II.
• When did the Nazis start looting artwork? Why did the Nazis steal artwork, and which types were outlawed? Who owned the largest privately owned art collection during World War II? Have all the art pieces stolen by Hitler been recovered? How is this video related to the novel’s themes of The Movement of Identity in Times of War?

“Nazi Racism”

• This article from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum describes the Nazi perspective on the “master race” and the steps taken to create it.
• How is the “Aryan race” described according to the Nazis? Who was believed to be the biggest threat to the “Aryan race”? Why did scientific research fail to identify a superior race? What was the result of Nazi racism?

Pages 187-280

Reading Check

1. How does Alfred describe Emilia?

2. What does Alfred deliver to Florian?

3. Why is Alfred sent to the infirmary?

4. What ship does Eva board to Germany?

5. Where does Florian hide while on the ship?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the Gustloff named for?

2. What does Florian remember about his father’s views on his artwork, and what does his father mean by it?

3. What truth does Emilia tell as she is in labor?

4. How does Florian get through the luggage inspection while boarding the Gustloff?

Pages 281-378

Reading Check

1. What does Florian tell Joana he took from the mansion?

2. What does Emilia name her baby?

3. How does Joana help disguise Florian?

4. What is the destination of the Wilhelm Gustloff?

5. What does Alfred do when a little girl mimics his vomiting with her stuffed bear?

6. What strikes the ship at 9:15?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Joana furious with Florian?

2. What does Joana reveal to Florian about her past that makes her believe she is a murderer?

3. Why could Alfred never truly love Hannelore?

4. Why does Alfred attack Emilia?

Paired Resource

The Wilhelm Gustloff

• This article from Smithsonian Magazine describes the Wilhelm Gustloff and the circumstances surrounding its departure and subsequent sinking.
• Why did many abandon their homes before boarding the Gustloff? Why were so many people unsympathetic to the lives lost on the Gustloff? What was the Gustloff used as before World War II? How is this article’s content related to the novel’s themes of Coming of Age Through Trauma and The Movement of Identity in Times of War?

Recommended Next Reads 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

• This novel is about two women who become friends and serve as spies during World War II.
• Shared topics include World War II, the role of women in World War II, and friendship.
• Shared themes include Coming of Age Through Trauma and The Movement of Identity in Times of War.
• Code Name Verity on SuperSummary

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

• This novel is about a refugee’s journey to escape war-torn Syria.
• Shared topics include war, family, and survival.
• Shared themes include Coming of Age Through Trauma, The Movement of Identity in Times of War, and Reinventing the Familial Unit.
• A Land of Permanent Goodbyes on SuperSummary