Chapter 21 and Chapter 22 Summary

That spring, the cattle train cars arrive again, but this time, they are carrying German prisoners. Since everyone in town is well aware of the atrocities of the war and concentration camps, the prisoners are not treated well. They are put in the barracks, but disease kills many of them quickly; not that the exiles mind. Every morning and evening, they are marched single file down the center of town and the inhabitants throw garbage and stones at them, screaming that they have killed their fathers and family members. These prisoners are treated very poorly.

On May 8, 1945, there is a formal surrender. The war is over. Only weeks earlier, news of President Roosevelt's death reaches Esther and her family and they wonder what will happen. There is a lot of tumult and anxiety during these weeks.

News comes in...