Garmisch

Garmisch is a town in Germany not far from Dachau which serves as the main setting for the novel. Garmisch is a major center for Nazi power and control, as it appears to be a headquarters for Nazi activity by way of the SS and the Gestapo, both of which Josef serves. It is in Garmisch that Elsie and her family live and work in their bakery, and it is in Garmisch that Elsie comes to hide Tobias.

Garmisch is hit hard by the war through the late winter and very early spring of 1945 as Nazi Germany collapses under the American and Allied advance. Families are without adequate food, and the SS turn on their own, such as when Kremer rapes Elsie. When the Americans arrive, residents are at first worried about reprisals. Through the kindness and moral example of the Americans, they relax and follow suit. Indeed...