Friedrich

In Chapter 26, the rabbi and Herr Schneider sew the infamous yellow stars on their clothes, marking them as Jews in public. The requirement began on September 1, 1941: All Jews over the age of six within Germany, Alsace-Lorraine, and Poland had to wear the stars. It was a way for the Nazis to further humiliate and separate the Jewish population from the other citizens. It made it easier for the authorities to identify and track them, which inevitably also made it easier to deport them. As discussed in the Symbols & Motifs section, the stars were not a new concept but one dating back to the Middle Ages.

Most importantly in this chapter is the allegorical tale of Solomon. Just as the figure in the story’s name parallels Friedrich’s Hebrew name, his story parallels Friedrich’s story. In essence, the story is an attempt to simplify the reasons for Jewish persecution, which is to steal their things to enrich the persecutor. This message serves to address a specific aspect of Nazi persecution which only surfaces briefly in Chapter 28. The Nazis not only forced Jews to give up parts of their finances and possessions, but also, after they were deported, the authorities took whatever else they wanted. In some of the death camps, even gold fillings were removed from the teeth of the dead. In the rabbi’s story, Gittel’s and Schloime’s deaths are meant to parallel and signify the Schneiders’ deaths.

The events predicted in the allegory come to fruition in Chapter 27. The police, most likely the Gestapo, pay a visit. Gestapo is an acronym for Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police), and part of their job was to protect the Reich from its political, racial, and other interior enemies. Herr Resch enters the scene for the first time since the attack on the Schneider’s. While Jews had been steadily deported prior to 1941, it wasn’t until October of that year that the general deportation of Jews began in earnest. The events in this chapter take place in 1941, so Herr Resch did not wait too long to report the Schneiders’ whereabouts as soon as he could be assured of removing them. He tried twice before, unsuccessfully, but the Nazis ensured that his third attempt worked once and for all.

In Chapter 28, the thievery predicted in the rabbi’s allegory comes true when Friedrich finds Herr Resch stealing all the belongings that were left in their apartment. When Friedrich spits on Herr Resch, it marks a change in Friedrich’s character. Up until that point, Friedrich appeared to accept his circumstances stoically, even passively. The fact that he spits on Herr Resch marks his willingness to outwardly display his anger and frustration, and in a way, fight back against those who are destroying him, his family, and his friends. The violence against him and the other Jews has reached a tipping point and so has Friedrich’s anger.

Chapter 30 reveals the significance and importance of the fountain pen that Teacher Neudorf gave Friedrich in Chapter 18. The pen, as his only remaining possession, suggests that the “friends” with whom Friedrich has been staying since Chapter 26 is most likely Teacher Neudorf. Additionally, the photo that the narrator’s mother finds and gives to Friedrich is the one taken long ago in Chapter 4 at the amusement park. The photo emphasizes the contrast between Friedrich’s well-to-do family of before and its broken, destitute state now.

Aside from marking the importance of these objects, the chapter also depicts the plight of the Jews hiding from the authorities and the German citizens waiting to endure Allied bombing raids. Friedrich, ironically, dies at the hands of the Allied forces.

The final chapter, “The End,” brings Friedrich’s story to its conclusion. He dies in a way that parallels how Polycarp loses the tip of his cap; from a piece of shrapnel. Polycarp not only provides a non-violent description for Friedrich’s demise, but he also helps to illustrate Herr Resch’s inhumanity by showing how he cared more for a piece of porcelain rather than a young human boy. The chapter’s title, “The End,” signifies more than just the end of Friedrich’s life. The narrator’s life has paralleled Friedrich’s life since they were born. The fact that the narrator ends his story when Friedrich’s story ends could signify that a piece of the narrator’s life—along with his youth and the country he knew—has died with his friend. The author, Richter, also used his own personal timeline for Friedrich and the narrator’s story, so it can be assumed that in 1942, the year when the final chapter occurs, the narrator leaves for military duty. When the narrator grabs the rose bush, one more symbol is brought to fruition. The rose bush, with its inherent symbolism of love and death, was used to signify the love Friedrich and the narrator held for one another, and now ultimately Friedrich’s death. The symbolism also comes full circle because Friedrich trampled Herr Resch’s roses in Chapter 3, which subsequently earned Herr Resch’s ire and alerted the reader to Herr Resch’s antisemitism.

The end of the novel emphasizes the book’s purpose: to illustrate and facilitate discussion regarding Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. An important aspect thereof is addressed through Herr Resch’s final words: “His luck that he died this way” (138). The line suggests Herr Resch’s foreknowledge of Jewish deaths in concentration camps. How much the average German citizen knew about these atrocities was, and still is, a major point of debate and contention.