
Day 8 describes the chaos in a concentration camp as rumors spread about the approaching Red Army. Hopes of liberation fade when prisoners are forced on a brutal march into Germany. Exhaustion, death, and the fear of being shot haunt the journey. The narrator and his father rely on each other to survive, even as they endure freezing temperatures and collapsing bodies. A brief rest in an abandoned factory offers little relief. Meanwhile, those left in the infirmary are liberated, contrasting sharply with the suffering of those who were forced to march. The passage highlights the prisoners' physical and emotional devastation.