Brother

The narrator's younger brother does not play much of a role in the story but is part of her memories of a happy childhood before the war and Germany's defeat.

Grandfather

The narrator's grandfather is also with the narrator and her family. In the absence of the narrator's father, who, if the family represented in the story is indeed drawn from Wolf s own life, is in a Russian prisoner of war camp, the grandfather becomes the man responsible for providing food and shelter and safety for the family.

Grandmother

The narrator's grandmother accompanies the narrator and her mother and brother. It's the grandmother's inappropriate shoes that the narrator remembers, but she also wonders why she'd recall her grandmother so vividly since "during her lifetime she was never pushy."

Kalle

Kalle is a peasant who works for Herr Volk and who directs the narrator's family to a place...