Hana's Suitcase

As the book moves toward a climax and resolution, Levine makes more explicit the possibility of Hana’s death. The scenes from Theresienstadt where Hana and George care for their fatally ill grandmother foreshadow more death coming. Grandmother is painted specifically as a previously proud and put-together woman; in her illness, she is reduced to a horrifying condition, and even young Hana recognizes that Grandmother is close to death. The skeletal prisoners at Auschwitz, too, serve as a symbolic reminder that death is nearby. These anecdotes are bookended by Fumiko’s discovery of the list of names with checkmarks next to them. The list has Hana and George’s names on it, but Hana’s has a check next to it, implying that she was among the many people who died at Auschwitz. Until this point, the reader may have hoped for Hana’s survival, and Levine’s choice to reveal Hana’s death grounds the climax and resolution of the text in a somber reality. Simultaneously, Fumiko’s realization that George is still alive pushes the mystery forward, and there is a small sense of hope that Hana’s story can still be uncovered.

Throughout Hana’s Suitcase, primary source photographs and documents are included in parallel with the text to illustrate the story and provide concrete evidence of Hana’s story. On Page 73, Levine includes one of the more sinister of these, which is the list of names that contains both Hana and George Brady as well as the identifying checkmark that implies Hana’s death. Nazis were well-known for their meticulous documentation, which is a fact referenced throughout the book. When Nazi power ended at the conclusion of World War II, they destroyed many of these records, so surviving documents are precious, like the drawings from Theresienstadt and the list with Hana’s name on it. Levine’s choice to solidify these documents’ existence in her text brings Hana’s story to life and counters attempts to destroy evidence that the Holocaust happened; they are part of the Reckoning With the Past. The credibility of the text is heightened and creates a clear, historical narrative with supporting documents.