Chapter 33, Disinfectant Summary

At Matzerath's funeral, Oskar was exactly 3 feet tall, the same height as on his third birthday. Today, in the asylum, Oskar has Bruno measure him. He is 4 feet 1 inch tall. Shortly after the funeral, Mr. Fajngold discovers that Kurt has lice. He begins to ceaselessly disinfect himself, Maria, Kurt, Oskar and the imaginary members of his family with carbolic acid, lime and Lysol. Oskar learns that Mr. Fajngold was the disinfector in Treblinka Concentration Camp, cleaning the showers and the cremating furnaces.

Oskar's grandmother visits, bringing news of the family. Hedwig, the widow of Jan Bronski, was almost shot as a traitor for marrying a German. Her daughter Marga narrowly escaped a relocation camp because she belonged to the League of German Girls. Her son Stephen, a German soldier, was killed in the Arctic.

Mr. Fajngold calls to his wife less...