Chapter 17 Summary

Uncle Henrik was right. The war ends two years later when Annemarie is twelve. All of Denmark celebrates in the streets, at least those citizens who are still there. Many apartments in Annemarie's neighborhood are empty because their Jewish occupants have long since fled. The remaining citizens of Denmark had tended to the abandoned homes for two years, dusting the furniture and watering the plants, as Mama had done for the Rosens. Now these same neighbors enter the empty apartments to hang symbols of freedom in the windows.

The joy of this day is tempered with some painful memories, however. Peter is dead. He was captured and executed by the Germans. The night before he was shot, he had written a letter to the Johansens, telling them of his love for them, and that he was not afraid to die. Peter had written...