Part II, Chapter 6, Light Work Summary and Analysis

In Part II, Chapter 6, Ginzburg meets a doctor from her town, Maria Nimtsevitskaya, who gives Ginzburg a wool jacket. The hut's team leader, Verka, takes the coat for herself and gives Ginzburg light work duty at the guesthouse. There, freed prisoners await the spring thawing of ice to return home. At the guesthouse, Ginzburg and the other prisoners assigned to duty there clean and tend to things like laundry. Doing laundry, Ginzburg is delighted that she will earn money for her work.

She is propositioned by one of the waiting prisoners at the guesthouse one day, and a man named Rudolf Krumisch comes to her rescue. In exchange for mending his things, Rudolf gives Ginzburg candy and whatever else he can manage. Ginzburg's work in the guesthouse lasts for only a month. But...