Josef Landau

Josef Landau is one of the three main protagonists in the novel, and the novel begins with his perspective in Berlin, 1938. Josef is a 12-year-old Jewish boy on the cusp of his bar mitzvah. He is the older brother of Ruthie, and the son of Aaron and Rachel Landau. Josef has “straight brown hair slicked back from his pale white forehead, brown eyes behind wire-frame glasses that sat on a short nose, ears that suck out maybe a little too far” (21). Josef is primarily concerned with what it means to become a man, and the safety of his family. Josef is the only main character who does not survive.

Josef’s story begins in Berlin Germany, during the night of Kristallnacht - a true event in history. His father is arrested and taken to Dachau, a concentration camp. After 6 months he is released but only on the...