Part 1: Chapters 3 and 4 Summary and Analysis

In mid-October, a note comes in the mail that all men between sixteen and fifty must register. They will be sent to the inner part of Poland to repair damage done by the war. Arthur and David already knew they would have to go. The two young men choose to ignore rumors that some of the boys were immediately slaughtered in the woods. Arthur gives Gerda a piece of glass to remind her to stay strong. She later loses it in Czechoslovakia but always remembers the message. Arthur wakes early the day he must leave. Gerda is sent out to buy rolls for what would be his last meal with his family. She reacts in anger when the baker tells her she will never see her brother again. The breakfast is especially difficult on Gerda's father. As...