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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 opportunity does Gladigau give Helmut?

2. What is Lore's role in the family?

3. How is Papi best described?

4. Who does Juri offer his bread to despite his own hunger?

5. Why is Mutti embarrassed of Helmut?

Short Essay Questions

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

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. 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?

4. Tomas helps Lore and her family out of trouble and follows them. Why? What does he gain from the situation? Is he just being nice?

5. When Juri is injured, Lore is the first to carry him on her back. What does this indicate about Lore and her responsibilities?

6. Germany attacks its neighbors and gains more lands that are prosperous. Neither Helmut nor anyone in his neighborhood seems to argue the Third Reich's actions. In fact, many boys are signing up to fight the war. Why would some Germans welcome the war and the push into other countries?

7. Helmut has the opportunity to work as a soldier five years into the war. What are Helmut's thoughts and feelings towards being a soldier?

8. When Lore is sure Tomas is asleep, she buries the last remaining keepsakes of Vati. Why does she do this when they seemed safe in her apron?

9. When Lore offers to buy food from the woman who gives her bread and milk, she asks if Lore has anything other than money. Why does the woman not prefer money?

10. Helmut loses his parents and Gladigau is away. Helmut is often cold, hungry, and completely alone. How does he feel about the war at this stage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

The truth can be an ugly thing. Whether the truth is fresh or many years past, some will deny it and some will accept it. Write about how the characters either search for the truth or deny it. What are the consequences of each?

Essay Topic 3

Helmut is a photographer's assistant, Lore looks at her family photo, and Micha compares his Opa's pictures to Hitler and Jozef's. Explain the significance of pictures in Seiffert's novel. Without going into too much detail of each picture, write about how pictures in general tell a person's truth and lies.

(see the answer keys)

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