View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the biggest difference to Lore between her hometown and her hideout?
(a) The new place is much larger in size.
(b) The new place is intact and not bombed out everywhere.
(c) The people at the new place are welcoming compared to the people at home.
(d) The new place seems busier than the old place.

2. What is Helmut's ritual when bombs fall in closely?
(a) Cover his ears, close his eyes, and pray in the dark.
(b) Take cover in the dark room.
(c) Scream at the noise.
(d) Look blankly outside the window for the lights.

3. Who are the people that are leaving the city and where are they going?
(a) Regular German citizens moving to rural areas.
(b) Jewish citizens going to prison camps.
(c) Members of the Nazi party going to Switzerland.
(d) Soldiers going to war and jobs outside the city.

4. How does Helmut consistently obtain food?
(a) He takes photos in exchange for food.
(b) He begs when the bakery truck comes in every day.
(c) He sweeps the train station in exchange for food.
(d) He visits the soup kitchen everyday.

5. What happens when Americans question Lore on the road?
(a) She cannot understand so she ignores them and walks on.
(b) Lore tells them they are with the young man.
(c) Lore tells them she is on the way to Fulda.
(d) The young man shows them papers and tells them they are siblings on their way to Oma's.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the first to indicate Helmut's disability to him?

2. What does a woman offer Lore when Lore sits down very tired?

3. Which of Helmut's family portraits does Papi usually prefer?

4. How do Helmut's parents deny his birth defect?

5. What attracts Lore to a particular tree?

Short Essay Questions

1. Mutti and Papi love their son, but there is a stubborn denial that there is anything wrong with Helmut. What does it finally take them to accept the truth and how do they handle it?

2. As Lore and her siblings walk on, some seem suspicious of their backgrounds but people usually help them anyway. Why do some people look at Lore's family with disdain but eventually help?

3. Other than Lore, what do the children know of the current situation?

4. At night, when the bombs are close, Helmut shouts at the noise. Why does he feel this need? What does it do for him?

5. Gladigau is first Papi's, then Helmut's employer. Gladigau does more than just pay his workers. How is Gladigau an important figure, especially to Helmut?

6. Germany is in the midst of war and has been for several years. The second bombing that Helmut experiences is the worst so far. Describe the new changes and routine to which the inhabitants of Berlin must adapt.

7. What changes does Lore's family go through during the war?

8. Helmut notices the city is emptying. More people are leaving on the trains and less are returning. This is a mystery and Seiffert never explicitly offers an explanation. Why not?

9. Mutti tries to burn the badges but they do not burn all the way. Lore tries to throw them deep into the river, but buries them in the bushes when this does not work. What do the badges and the efforts to rid them symbolize?

10. As part of Papi's pay, Gladigau takes family portraits while Helmut grows up. How do the family portraits play a role in this story and what progression is observed from when Helmut is a newborn to the last individual photo?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,737 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample