“‘He wants everybody to vote for him in the elections and then he’s going to stop the Jews,’ said Elsbeth.”

Elsbeth casually refers to Hitler’s plans to “stop the Jews,” invoking the theme of The Threat of Antisemitism. Dramatic irony occurs in that Elsbeth, who is only a nine-year-old child, does not understand the gravity of the situation: Adolf Hitler is about to be elected, and his plan to “stop the Jews” will involve violent antisemitism and genocide.

“She looked at Anna curiously. ‘I thought Jews were supposed to have bent noses, but your nose is quite ordinary. Has your brother got a bent nose?’”

Once again, Elsbeth and Anna cannot adequately contextualize the Nazi party’s ascension to power and The Threat of Antisemitism. They discuss these politically charged topics with only passing interest, but in doing so reveal the political context of Berlin. Antisemitic teachings are alluded to in Elsbeth’s ethnic stereotype about Jewish noses, which she does not understand as insulting and derogatory. Her casual questioning on this point reflects how widespread and normalized antisemitic stereotypes have become in their society.

“Oh, we do need him in these terrible, terrible times!”

The exposition continues to allude to political and social division in Germany leading up to the 1933 election of Hitler. Fraulein Lambeck refers to Anna’s father, whom she considers to be a vital voice in the public