Clara's War
By Clara Kramer
Development
Theme advances the plot of the story because the author, Clara Kramer added photos of the underground shelter and images of the actual events inside the book to show how the book is a real memoir, not a fictional story. For example, "Writing this book was like walking out of my kitchen door in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and straight into my home in Zolkiew. Although the events in this book happened over 60 years ago, they have never left me. As with many survivors, I relive them in the present." This reminds readers that this is a memoir. One of the important themes in Clara's War is the evil of the Nazis and the SS. For example, "It's the 20th century. It's unbelievable. They pulled trucks below a window and threw people and children into the trucks. Some of the Gestapo were using axes." This shows the evil of the Nazis and what they did to the Jews. Another example, "On the assigned day, as the remaining Jews assembled in the front of the store on Sobieski Street, where the food was to be delivered, there was no bread. There were only the killing squads from Lvov." This also shows the important theme of the evil of the Nazis.
Character Anaysis
In the story, the main character, Clara, is also very caring. For example, "Whatever would be pleaded, begged, or argued on the children's behalf would be pleaded, begged, or argued by me. I crawled up into the bedroom and he slammed the hatch door down after me. He wouldn't look at me, perhaps to avoid seeing the pleading look in my eyes." This shows how Clara cares so much for the children, and how she doesn't want them to be kicked out of the house and die. Another example is, "Zygush was old enough to be counted on to be quiet. But of course we couldn't condemn Zosia to her death and take Zygush without his sister. How I hated the Nazis for making even think such a grotesque thought." This proves how Clara cares for both of the children and wants them to stay.