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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. How does the reader know the woman who helps Lore is also in bad shape?

2. Who provides food rations throughout the German area that Lore and her siblings are traveling through?

3. When does Helmut begin to take pictures of Berlin again?

4. What is Lore's reaction to the twin's sprawl on the ground?

5. Who are the people that are leaving the city and where are they going?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the Americans question Lore, Tomas shows up with papers and tells them they are a family. What do the papers show and why does Seiffert mention a tattoo on Tomas' arm?

2. During one of Helmut's walks around the city, he encounters the SS collecting and trucking the gypsies away. What is Helmut's reaction to this event?

3. At the beginning of the war efforts, Helmut is intent on joining the army. Despite his arm, he is adamant about joining. Why is the army so vital in Helmut's life?

4. Why is Lore's family moving around and hiding in the farm valley? From whom are they hiding?

5. Helmut catalogues Berlin through his snapshots. For months, Helmut sees the emptying of the city. When Gladigau interprets the pictures, he sees Berlin as the home it always is. What does Helmut learn about photography from this experience?

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

7. 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?

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. The Third Reich is at its height when Helmut is a teenager. How does this age and Helmut's life affect his acceptance and loyalty to the Third Reich?

10. 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.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Helmut listens to the radio for Germany's progress. At the same time, he notices an emptying of Berlin. The two are correlated, but it is a mystery to Helmut. What is the correlation and what makes it difficult for Helmut to see how the victories abroad are tied to the city's emptiness?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the posted pictures of the Holocaust. Why are they posted? How do the Germans receive them? What issues come up concerning the pictures?

Essay Topic 3

Seiffert gives a unique perspective of WWII. The thought that goes through a soldier's mind, like Jozef, is different from those who experience the consequence from home, like Helmut. Interview a veteran who fought in combat. If an interview is not possible, find a first person account. What is the veteran's psyche during the war? How does the war change the veteran's ability to live amongst civilians? Now interview a civilian who survived a war. What is their psyche like during the war? After the war? Compare and contrast the psyches of the veteran and the civilian.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,585 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample