Summary

Chapter 7 takes us back in time to the Spring of 1935, a decade before. Six-year-old Gerta and her Papa are living in Köln, Germany, where he plays the viola professionally and she learns to sing. In Chapter 8, Gerta is now 12 years old and they live in Würzburg. Her stepmother Maria notices Gerta’s musical talent and grooms her to be an opera singer. In Chapter 9, 14-year-old Gerta’s voice changes. She also gets her period for the first time and Maria welcomes her to womanhood.

In Chapter 10, Maria gives Gerta a beautiful dress for her opera debut and embraces her goodnight. In Chapter 11, Gerta observes how these days, everyone is obsessed with blood and ancestry. Many people wear yellow stars, but they don’t, because they are German. Her Papa comes into her room in the middle of the...