The Hitler Times
By Jane Ogden
The Escape
“Now she had to leave. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had a feeling it was going to be her turn to hide behind someone else’s bedroom wall.” -Behind the Bedroom Wall
Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura E. Williams takes place in 1942 in Germany, the time of Hitler. At this time the Jews are the enemy.. The main character in the story is a thirteen-year-old Korinna who is a loyal German. In the story are two imortant Jewish people Sophie who is the mother of Rachel.
Every day Korinna goes to her Nazi youth group. She says she is having some trouble falling because of mice behind her wall. After some time, her parents tell her that behind her dresser there is a hideout in the wall. They open it up and Korinna’s parents show her the two Jews who are living there. Korinna doesn’t know if she should turn her parents in or not. They would probably be shot.
What would you do if you had to make this decition? She chooses not to tell anyone and soons becomes friends with the little Jewish girl. Soon Nazi soldiers get suspicious. They search Korinna’s house determined to find the Jews. Eventuelly, Korinna’s parents figure out a way to sneak the jews out of their house to the next house they will be staying at. Although the Jews are gone, Korinna’s parents feel the need to escape. In the middle of the night they pack up their most precious items and escape using their hidden bikes.Rita the Rascal
Rita is one of Korinna’s best friends. Rita’s brother is a Gestapo (a nazi soldier). Rita says she will even turn in her own cousin. After Korinna found out about the Jews behind her wall she writes “my parents are the enemy” in a notebook she has. Rita came to her house after school one day and found that page. Korinna lied and said she was just mad at her parents for something, but Rita was still suspicious. Rita told her to rip it out before anyone saw it and thought it meant her parents were the enemy to Hitler.
The only person who knew about the notebook was Rita which means she gave it to her brother.In the story Rita shows betrayal. Rita shows this trait on page 155 when she “turns in” her best friend, Korinna. “She watched as he extracted a notebook from his jacket pocket. Her black book. Only one person could have gotten that book and given it to Hans-her best friend” This quote explains how Korinna felt as she saw her book and realized what RIta had done to her.
This Time Period
On page 18 Korinna’s best friend Rita says how she is going to turn her own cousin in to the Gestapo. “‘Elsa Demmer says its a sin what’s happening to the Jews. When she sees me she looks guilty and doesn’t say anything more for the rest of the night.’ Rita says. ‘But Rita! Elsa is your cousin! You’re going to turn in your own cousin?’ Korinna exclaims. Rita nodded.” This shows what people really did for their country.
On page 19 Korinna’s teacher is missing. Korinna soon learns that she got taken away by the Gestapo and got brought to a camp where she would probably get shot dead. This shows how severe the punishments were.
On page 82 Korinna attended her nazi youth group meeting after not going for a while. Kids in Germany at this time had to go to these every day. “ Korinna felt a flash of heat sting her face as the leader slapped her across the cheek.”
3 Important Times
The first main turning point is when Korinna finds Sophie and Rachel (the Jews) behind her bedroom wall. This is important because it shows that Korinna’s parents are the enemy . Korinna is faced with the conflict if she should turn her parents in or not.
The second turning point is when Ruth dies. Ruth is the sister of Rachel and the daughter of Sophie. Ruth and her father were hiding inside someone’s barn and Ruth got pneumonia She unfortunately passed away. Rachel was very sad, but when she drew a picture of ruth for Korinna it looked just like Korinna. Korinna then realized that Rachel had forgotten what her own sister looked like.
The third turning point is when Korinna and her family have to escape. They use their secret bikes and leave in the middle of the night.
Story's Place in Time
June 14th, 1956 - The Flag of the United States Army is formally dedicated.
April, 1970 - Paul McCartney leaves the Beatles.
Febuary 8th, 1984 - The 14th Winter Olympic games opens in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
April 22nd, 1998 - The Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World opens to the public for the first time.
November 6th, 2012 - Barrack Obama gets relected as President of the United States of America.