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Dita wonders, not for the first time, why the Family Camp exists and why they are still alive. If only she could listen against the walls of the officers’ mess, she would hear Mengele and Schwarzhuber discuss the reason for the existence of the camp. Their conversation, full of condescension and cruelty toward each other, reveals that the camp exists in case the Red Cross inspects Auschwitz. It’s a dummy camp to show the Red Cross that the prison isn’t killing people and treats them well under the circumstances of war.
In his capacity of registrar, Rudi learns that the September transport, which includes his girlfriend, Alice, is due for “special treatment,” which means death. He enlists Alice to find out how many people are in that group. When she tells him, he begins to plan an uprising. Meanwhile, Hirsch tells Dita, who is confused by the sudden movement of people, that not everything in Auschwitz is as it seems, and there will come a time when the truth will be known. He tells her he can’t be there to help her win the game but to never lose hope.
The morning dawns, and the people from the September transport are gathered together. Their “exodus” begins. Dita sees Professor Morgenstern, and they exchange glances. For the first time, as he looks at her and winks, she knows he’s not crazy. She realizes that on the day when he interrupted the officers during the inspection as they came toward her, he had done it deliberately to save her life.
Hirsch realizes that his inner torment and pending death are no reason to lose his dignity. He is proud of what he has achieved. He will not give the Nazis his fear. Dita’s bunk mate, who has never said a word to her, turns around as she leaves the hut with the rest of the September transport and says to Dita, “My name is Lida” (232).
Rudi watches as the 3,800 people from the September Transport begin their movement. Rudi has heard that they are all slated to die the following day, and he tells Alice and her two friends that only a few will be left behind, two doctors, a pharmacist, the mistress of a Kapo, and Mengele’s pickings, which include a set of twins. The rest will go to the gas chamber. Rudi and Alice find themselves alone, and they make love. Then, Rudi is awakened by Schmulewski, a key leader in the resistance, who tells them they are being transferred to the ovens that very day. There will be no selection. All will die. Rudi finds Hirsch and tells him that he must head an uprising. Hirsch nods his head and asks for some time alone to think about it, but a member of the resistance tells Rudi Hirsch is just stalling. He says they will not kill Hirsch because he’s too important to the Germans. Everyone knows they will die. Alice and Rudi sit quietly together and wait.
Rudi grows impatient. He hurries to Hirsch’s separate room and knocks on the door. He finds Hirsch foaming at the mouth and locates two doctors who tell him that Hirsch is dying of an overdose of sedatives. As evening falls, and those from the December transport go back to their sleeping huts, the news of Hirsch’s suicide spreads throughout the camp. The grief is hard, no one from Block 31 has yet died. Dita, who has dreamed of having a bunk to herself, can’t stand it now that her silent bedmate is gone. She rushes to her mother, who is also alone, and lies down beside her.
Early in the morning, the people from the September transport are herded together toward the trucks that will take them to the gas chamber. The mob pushes Rudi, who wants to find Alice. He is barely able to escape with his life as the people from the September transport are herded onto the truck destined for the gas chambers. The others in the sleeping hut hear the mournful cries and shouts of the doomed. When the people are thrown into the trucks and the trucks are sealed, there is silence. Then, all the remaining people in the sleeping hut hear signing. It is coming from the trucks. The Jews from the September transport are singing. From one truck as it passes, the rest of them hear the Czech national anthem, and from another truck, the Jewish anthem, Hatikvah. Other songs include national anthems from the other countries. They are singing on their way to their deaths. That night, 3,792 prisoners from Family Camp BIIb are gassed and then incinerated in Crematorium II at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
The next morning; silence. The remaining prisoners of Block 31, the December transport, awaken to a cold morning. Those mature enough to understand know that they are next and probably have three months left to live. They all quietly walk outside; the children and teachers to the classrooms. As they stand in the quiet, the sky darkens, and suddenly, white ash begins to fall. The children don’t know what is happening. They begin to cry. Marian Edelstein tries to explain: “Don’t be afraid. It’s our friends from the December transport. They’re returning” (254). Dita finds one of Professor Morgenstern’s origami birds. She thinks how her friends from the September transport will now never leave Auschwitz as their ashes fall onto the cold ground.
Dita thinks about Hirsch’s suicide. There is something about his death that she believes isn’t quite right. Why would he kill himself? Others have their own explanations. One person says, “Children suffering is what he couldn’t bear” (255). None of it makes sense to Dita, and she vows to find out the truth.
Meanwhile, Lichtenstern is the new leader of the school, and everyone knows he lacks the charisma and authority of Hirsch. The children are terrified and upset, even if they don’t know why. Lichtenstern tries to calm everyone, but Dita notices he is ineffective. She picks up her favorite book and begins reading out loud about Švejk’s travails and the parody of war. Soon, all the children, then the teachers, begin to listen. It is only then, as the children begin to laugh at the silly antics of Švejk, that the teachers see this so-called scandalous book is really an anti-war novel. One that “ridicules war, any war” (260).
Mengele is lauded for one of his talented solutions to the lice problem. He sent 600 lice-infested women to the gas chambers one day. Mengele has also been trying a handy method to end typhus by injecting it into an entire population of gypsies to see what happens. Now Mengele, who is known to whistle classical music as he wanders around terrifying people, enters the family camp. A senior officer brings him the twins he has been working with. They say hello to him, calling him “Uncle Pepi.”
Dita begins her interrogation of the people she thinks might know why Hirsch killed himself. She hears all kinds of reasons: It was an act of resistance: “He killed himself so the Nazis couldn’t do it” (265). Some posit it was Nazi black magic or Hirsch was a coward, but nothing satisfies Dita.
Dita and Miriam Edelstein work with the children. Miriam must hide her grief from the children. Hirsch’s death has greatly disturbed her. What she doesn’t know is that Eichmann lied to her about her husband. He has, in fact, been gruesomely tortured and is slated for execution against the execution wall. There have been so many executions that a red line of the victim’s blood runs across the wall, “marking the average height of the victims” (267).
Meanwhile, Viktor Pestek has fallen in love so deeply with Renee that he has a proposal: He will help her escape. He says he will get her a uniform and walk out with her. She says she will never leave her mother. So, Viktor says he will come up with a different plan to help them escape. As Viktor and Renee are meeting, Dita sits down with one of the quietest teachers. She is from Paris. Dita encourages her to be a living book for the children. The teacher is shy, but Dita manages to pry the story of the Count of Monte Cristo from her, which the teacher later tells the children.
Two Russian prisoners have built a small fort that is partway underground and invisible. They plan to hide in it and stay inside for the three days the Germans will hunt for them. Then, they will run. They don’t make it, and the Nazis capture them in the forest. They arrive back at the courtyard, faces and eyes swollen from beatings. All prisoners are forced to watch the spectacle of their execution. They first get 50 lashes, then one by one, they are hanged as a warning to everyone else.
Many people try to escape despite knowing what happens to those who are caught. Either way, life is unbearable. In some ways, they all reason that death is also a form of liberation and some of them would rather die trying to escape than remain in the camp. Rudi has seen this public display of punitive executions, but nevertheless, he catches “escape fever.” He can’t stand being in the camp anymore, and if he dies trying, it’s better than living without Alice. He meets with a member of the resistance because he wants some help with his escape, but when he walks into the tent, there is a uniformed SS. Rudi panics, but is told not to worry, they are among friends. It’s Viktor Pestek. He tells Rudi about his plan to escape and wants Rudi to join. Rudi will be dressed up in an SS uniform, and they will simply walk out. They will go to Prague, procure papers for Renee and her mother, and return to Auschwitz to bring the two women out. For Rudi, it’s too insane, and he declines. Pestek finds another person, Siegfried Lederer. Viktor races to Renee with his plan, and she wishes him luck.
Dita speaks with Miriam Edelstein. She is looking for answers. She tells Miriam she has heard that the camp is a decoy camp for Red Cross inspectors. Miriam says she knows. Dita has been speaking to a man in the resistance about Hirsch and his explanation regarding Hirsch is that he got cold feet about heading an uprising. When Dita asks Miriam what she thinks, Miriam shakes her head as if she doesn’t know: “We don’t always have an answer for everything” (291). Dita is not satisfied.
Later, Dita meets up with Margit, who is worried about her sister, Helga. Margit and Dita try to cheer Helga up by asking her about which boys she thinks are cute. Helga is embarrassed but, after a while, she starts to smile. Margit throws the question to Dita. Are there any boys she likes? Dita denies the existence of any boys of interest to her, until she is teased into confessing that she is intrigued by the serious teacher named Ota Keller. Margit teases Dita about her choice of boys. She asks her if Ota is “one of those boring types” (294). Dita tells Margit that it’s his ability to tell stories that’s attractive to her.
That night, Viktor Pestek and Siegfried Lederer, who is dressed in an officer’s uniform, near the guard station that exits the concentration camp. Viktor has told Siegfried not to speak, just to act official, so Siegfried simply walks out. When the guard asks what they are doing, Viktor says the officer is new to Auschwitz, and he’s bringing him to the whorehouse. The guards, thinking Siegfried is an officer, don’t interfere. The two men walk right out, and Siegfried is free.
Passover is approaching. Lichtenstein asks for permission to celebrate, and it is granted, but the SS are furious. Lederer’s escape, they learn, was aided by an SS guard. As another train stops at Auschwitz, thousands of Jews disembark, and piles of food are pushed off to the side. The children and adults of Block 31 look hungrily at the food as they watch Mengele perform his selection, sending most of the Jews to the gas chamber.
On the first night of Passover, the dinner is improvised—beat juice in water to stand in for wine, pancakes made over a fire for the unleavened bread. They manage to find an egg and a radish. The children listen as the story of Passover is told. After the small feast, the children’s choir sings Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and the voices float through Block 31, bringing the prisoners to tears as they join in: “The power of the music passes through the walls and filters through the barbed wire fences” (302). A new voice rises above the rest. It is Mengele. The adults stop singing. It is blasphemy, but the children continue. When it is over, everyone claps.
After the music has ended, the escape siren sounds. Another prisoner has attempted an escape in the space of 24 hours. After hours of a head count (a daily morning ritual and one that lasts longer if someone has escaped), Rudi Rosenberg and his comrade, Fred Wetzler, are missing. No one knows that they had discovered the Russians’ fort and are now hiding in it. Hunkered down in the small, dark fort, they hear the SS fan out around them. They hold their breaths.
Back at the hut, the women gather around. They discuss the escape. Some are happy, but others think it’s selfish. Sometimes, in retaliation, the Germans haul people to the gas chambers. Other times, prisoners are beaten and punished. Dita’s mom, Liesl, argues for the escape. They distract the soldiers who are taken away from the front lines to capture the escapees, she says: “Does it serve any purpose for us to stay here obeying whatever the SS tell us to do until they decide to kill us?” (307). Dita is amazed, then filled with joy. All along her mother has just kept a mask of neutrality on her face and done what she is told to do. Dita is overjoyed to see that her mother has some fight left in her as she stands up and contradicts the women who complain about the escape.
In the hidden fort, Rudi and Fred remain unmoving, barely breathing. They here the SS running by. There is a tiny slit in the fort, barely enough for light. They hear two men removing the boards on top of them. They grip each other’s hand, knowing it is over for them. Rudi is certain they will be found. “He even closes his eyes to avoid the explosion of light” (311) that will come once they lift the last piece of wood. Miraculously, the SS move on. Rudi allows himself a sigh of relief.
In the dark night, Rudi and Fred crawl out of the hidden fort and head into the woods, aware that everywhere they turn there are traps. In the deep forest, they climb a tree and try to rest. But in the morning, they are awakened by hordes of Hitler youth on their way somewhere through the forest. Rudi and Fred remain paralyzed with fear. After the children are gone, they leave the forest and run into an area of thick growth. But in the morning, they find they have landed in a public park. When a girl finds them, she calls her father over. Rudi and Fred clutch each other, and when the father finds them, he is disgusted by the homosexuals he sees embracing and kicks them out of the park. Starving and lost, they greet a woman and ask for help. She tells them to wait. Hours go by, and they give up hope that she will help them. A Polish man comes by, and he escorts them to a hut where there are mattresses. They eat, grateful that it is more than beet soup and a stale crust of bread. They grow tired and drowsy: “For the first time in ages, Fred and Rudi sleep peacefully.” (322).
The next day, the partisan takes them to the border. They enter Slovakia, and they are free. They meet with Dr. Oscar Neumann, and they tell the Jewish council everything. Rudi tells them about the slave labor and about how the Germans extract gold and silver from the teeth of dead Jews and make them into coins, and how they make lamps out of Jewish skin and hair. They discuss the gas chambers, how pregnant women holding the hands of their children are gassed and later burned in the crematorium. They talk about the endless ditch-digging work that kills people, the frigid cold, and being dressed only in a thin layer of clothing. Rudi, who would know, estimates that almost 2 million Jews have been killed in Auschwitz.
The word is spread to the Jewish Council in Hungary, but they do nothing. They prefer to believe the promises the Nazis have made and continue to send Jews to Auschwitz on the transports. Rudi is devastated. Eventually, the two men evacuate to England, where they tell their story again. There is nothing the British can do, except continue to fight and beat the Germans.
As the book moves forward in time, the incidents of violence, death and torture grow increasingly worse. This literary strategy allows the reader to experience the Nazi death camp as the Jews did, slowly over time. For the Jews, this has been their lives for years as they have watched their rights erode and then find themselves standing at the precipice of their deaths.
The questions that Dita considers after Hirsch’s death bring to the fore, once again, the theme about the ambiguity and obscurity of reason in the Nazi death camps. Dita is determined to find out why her hero would kill himself, but every time she comes upon someone who might be able to tell her, she is told that in times of war, under the shadow of the Nazi atrocities, the truth will never be discovered. Dita, however, true to her character, won’t give up. She presses on. Her stubbornness is her strength.
The author’s narrative style is to cluster plot points together in different sections of the narrative. So, in the previous eight chapters, readers were alerted to all the variations of love; love between two Jews, love between a prisoner and a guard, and love between two men. In this section, we learn of Dita’s attraction to Ota Keller. She explains her reason for liking him. He’s a good storyteller. This reason is so true to her character and speaks to the author’s intention of creating a character in Dita, whose entire life centers around literature and story.
In these eight chapters, aside from Dita’s declaration about Ota, love is not the center point. Now, the author’s main intention is to cluster the plot point of escape and freedom into a large section of narrative. Two attempts are successful, but the two Russians are captured. In this version of the “escape narrative,” the author uses the failure of the Russians to show the absolute ruthlessness of the Nazis, forcing the Jewish prisoners to watch their brutal execution.
Readers are also introduced to instances of prisoners claiming their names, their identities, and their voices. When Dita’s always silent bunkmate shouts out her name—Lida—before she leaves for the gas chamber, the author attempts to show the power of a name, and the importance, even at the brink of death, of asserting identity. For Lida, it is her way to assert the only power she has left before she dies; perhaps Lida thinks that if Dita knows her name, she’ll live on in Dita’s thoughts at least. Liesl, Dita’s mother, is a normally compliant woman who wears a mask of neutrality, but in this section, she finds her voice and speaks her mind. It is a moment for Liesl to stand up against what she has kept silent about for years. It’s poignant that these two women find their voices as death approaches for thousands of Jews. Rather than giving up, these women find their strength.
In keeping with his main theme about the power of books to save lives and bring a sense of meaning to people even in the darkest of times, books are read and shared and stories are told. In this section, the prisoners sing. Song becomes yet another way of telling stories about their cultural identity and their love of life, as the Jews transported to the gas chamber sing their national anthems. Like Lida and Liesel, these people are showing their passive resistance; they refuse to be quiet any longer.
The tragic and poignant ending for the lives of nearly 3,000 people in the September transport is bookended by the narrative of their lives, their affiliations, their love for life; all in the form of musical storytelling. The author uses political and cultural anthems to evoke their citizenry and reveal the evil of the Nazis who have stripped them of life, national citizenship, and identity because of their hatred of Jews.