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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What job does Helmuth do for his church in 1940?

2. When Helmuth was found guilty, when was it said that his execution would take place?

3. When Helmuth first starts preparing leaflets, how often does he prepare them?

4. What does Helmuth do on New Year's Eve in 1941?

5. In 1940 after Paris falls to the Germans, where does Hitler send the Luftwaffe to bomb?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Gerhard go for his mandatory Reich Labor Service and what does he do?

2. As 1940 ends, how is the war proceeding and what rumors are heard?

3. Why does Helmuth sometimes hate Gerhard?

4. How does Helmuth feel as 1940 ends?

5. Where do prisoners wait for their interrogations at Gestapo headquarters and how do they wait?

6. How does Helmuth feel after he betrays Karl and Rudi and why does he decide that he must live?

7. What does Herr Meins say about Helmuth's essay and the topic?

8. After German troops march into France, what is done in Hamburg to prepare for war?

9. What is the concentration camp like where Helmuth is taken after his first interrogation?

10. How do Helmuth, Rudi, and Brother Worbs spend New Year's Eve in 1940?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A song that Helmuth sings and a prayer that Worbs prays in 1940 are considered subversive. What are some things that Hitler declared to be subversive? Why does he ban those things? How and why does Hitler use censorship to ban things that he considers to be subversive?

Essay Topic 2

Helmuth begins to realize that Hitler and the Nazis are lying. What are the circumstances and people who influence Helmuth? How do those circumstance and people influence Helmuth and lead him to want to tell the truth?

Essay Topic 3

The novel takes place in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power and World War II. Does the setting serve as a backdrop or does it almost take on the role of a character? How does the setting evoke feelings and set the tone in the novel?

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This section contains 813 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample