What are the motifs in The Assault by Harry Mulisch?

The cruelties of war are a recurring idea.When the novel begins, World War II is in its final days. The war has hit Holland hard, leaving its people without food, without heat, and without hope. The Steenwijk family manages to remain a close knit family, spending long hours together during that winter of starvation, and finding hope in one another. However, the war goes beyond stealing food and heat from them. The war comes to their front yard.