The Herter Home, in Unterboihingen

The Herter/Starzmann house in Unterboihingen is one of the main settings of the novel. This setting plays a role in the tension between safety and resistance. It serves as as symbol of what is most important to Elisabeth and Anton and what they have to risk by participating in the resistance. For the children, though it is their home, it is also the place where they have to learn resilience in war time.

Elisabeth introduces Anton to the house in Chapter 3, and Anton moves in to this setting in Part 2. Elisabeth and her three children rent the old farmhouse from Frau Hertz who lives in the house next to them. Anton describes it as “Age and tradition are evident in its simple utility. A gabled roof, undersized windows, the wood darkened by years, almost to black” (31). An orchard of apple trees surrounds the...