Summary

As Chapter 7 (“My Liberator, My Assailant”) opens Part II, the first person, present tense narration continues. After liberation, “Dicuka” (Dr. Eger/the author) and Magda are taken to a small village in Germany. The war is not entirely over, and the two girls and the other survivors are looked at with suspicion and resentment, particularly by children. “Dicuka” and Magda are taken to a home in which they share a bedroom, “Dicuka” sleeping in a child’s crib because she is so small. Over the long weeks of their initial freedom and recovery, both “Dicuka” and Magda slowly regain strength, Magda more quickly. “Dicuka’s” vulnerability and weakness do not keep her from being seen as a potential sexual object by one of the American soldiers, and one night when he is drunk...