Resistance

“[…] I owed something to Yitzchak and Sara, and to my parents, who might eventually be forced into the death camps too. I wanted revenge for every single Jew who had already fallen, and a chance to save the life of every Jew still standing”

Chaya joins the resistance shortly after she receives news of her siblings’ fates. Rather than let grief overwhelm her, Chaya channels it into anger and a desire to avenge them, as well as to help the remaining Jews who are still suffering. This is characteristic of Chaya’s response to tragedy, and it is the opposite of how her parents react to the same situation.

“Esther was petite, with a shy voice, an uncertain smile, and every possible look and mannerism to radiate her Jewishness. None of us were perfect, but we all brought something of value to our jobs. I saw nothing in Esther that would help our cause, and plenty that endangered both her and us.”

Chaya is quick to judge Esther not only because Esther is inexperienced, but because she is so temperamentally different from bold, confident Chaya. Over the course of the book, Esther evolves into a strong companion and ally to Chaya, and Chaya in turn learns to open her mind to different ways of working and being than her own.

“I tried telling myself that Jakub would be dead, that all of us would be dead if I hadn’t fired. Besides, it was nothing compared to what the Germans were doing to my people. When none of that worked, I silently repeated the goals of the resistance, to do whatever was necessary to disrupt the German occupation of Poland. So I had.”

The first time Chaya fires a shot, it deeply unsettles her even though she seemingly had no other option to save her own life and everyone else’s; the episode illustrates the problem of Reconciling Faith and Morality in the Context of Violence. However, in a few months, this internal conflict seems to abate, as Chaya actively participates in the attack on Cyganeria Café with a growing conviction that retaliatory violence against the Nazis is both necessary and justified.

“We will not win, we will not get glory, not in this life, anyway. We are fighting for our three lines of history just so that it will not be said that our youth went like sheep to the slaughter.”

Dolek talks to Akiva members about the point of the resistance, which is not to defeat the Nazis but to dictate the terms of how and when they die. Akiva resists as a matter of principle rather than in hope of a specific outcome, and in this itself lies the victory (this is the concluding message of the book as well). Dolek is a historical figure who was an actual member of Akiva: Aharon “Dolek” Liebeskind, who organized the group’s couriers and eventually died during a shootout at the Akiva bunker following the Cyganeria Café attack. The motto of “three lines in history” is credited to him.

“I didn’t like me this way, cold and harsh. Before the war, I would’ve taken her hand and told her it doesn’t matter if she makes mistakes—we all do, and it can’t be all that bad. But this was wartime, and everything mattered. Even small mistakes could be catastrophic.”

Chaya recognizes that she is being harsh with Esther; however, the circumstances present higher stakes to everyone, with mistakes making the difference between life and death. Chaya’s reflection highlights not just the danger of the times but also her innate drive to survive. She responds to challenges with a “fight” response and sees anything that threatens her survival as a liability.

“He is the enemy, Chaya! The war will end one day and the Germans will go back to their own land. But here we must live alongside thousands of people like that man. If we can’t stop his hatred, this will happen again and again and again!”

Esther points out to Chaya that the Nazis are their immediate opponents but not the root of the ongoing crisis. Esther suggests that attitudes and beliefs need to change for the cycle of violence to end; fighting alone will not solve the problem. This passage also highlights Esther’s introspective nature and her ability to pause, reflect, and question.

“Beside us on the road, the Poles walked by as if they were unaware of it all. How was that possible? Didn’t they care what was happening on the other side of that fence? Couldn’t they see it? Or were they afraid to look, terrified that if they stared, someone might wonder if they belonged there too?”

Chaya wonders how so many Polish citizens can stand by and do nothing as they witness the atrocities the Nazis are committing against the Jews. Chaya’s reflection points to the theme of Varying Responses to Oppression—specifically, why and how it is that people turn a blind eye to suffering to assuage their own consciences or ensure their own survival.

“‘You are the most determined child I’ve ever seen,’ my mother used to say, out of exasperation or admiration, I was never sure. If only determination had been enough to heal her pain. I missed her, more than she would ever know.”

The irony in this memory is that following the death of her youngest child, Chaya’s mother seems to lack the very determination to survive that she praises in Chaya. This passage also highlights the pain and loneliness Chaya feels without her parents to lean on, and it explains the strong affiliation she feels to Akiva and the resistance movement, which have taken the place of her family.

“‘As much as the Nazis want to take our lives, they want to take our faith too. We fight for one, Avraham’s friends fight for the other.’

‘What good is faith if you’re dead?’

‘What good is life without faith?'”

Esther points out to Chaya that Avraham, Sara, and Henryk are also resisting the Nazis; their method is different, but it is as valid and brave as actively fighting. This passage indicates that different responses to oppression may be necessary in order to preserve one’s values and beliefs. It also shows how personally important religion is to Esther, as well as the fact that she can see nuance. Unlike Chaya, Esther does not see the world in black and white.

“Passive resistance wasn’t enough anymore. It wouldn’t stop the ghetto liquidations, the deportations to death camps. It wouldn’t shut down the showers at Auschwitz-Birkenau that rained down poison and genocide. If I was going to make a difference, then I needed to fight.”

Chaya’s belief in retaliatory violence solidifies over the course of the book. This shows her character arc; having once experienced great inner turmoil over a shot fired in self-defense, she has now developed the conviction that actively fighting the Nazis is the only way to make a difference.

“They didn’t help us, but they believed that at least ignoring our situation caused no harm. They were wrong. If there was any difference between causing a man to drown and failing to throw him a rope, it certainly didn’t matter to the man in the water.”

Chaya reflects on those Polish citizens who remain passive in the face of ongoing Nazi violence, refusing to harm or help the Jews. Highlighting themes of varying responses to oppression as well as faith and morality, Chaya’s reflection brings up the question of bystanders’ responsibility when witnessing someone else’s suffering.

“[…] the guilt returned, this time like a lead weight inside my stomach. I hadn’t needed that piece, I’d only wanted it, and I wasn’t out here to satisfy my wants. I had responsibilities to literally thousands of people who would trade a limb from their bodies for that bite of food.”

Chaya feels guilty about eating a bite of chocolate that she finds among supplies inside an abandoned German tank. Her condemnation of personal indulgence recalls her initial harshness with Esther. It is a reminder that Chaya’s response to Esther was not a personal attack but a product of the circumstances; she is equally harsh with herself, indicating that she is a fair person at heart.

“I never let myself believe in a future where evil wins. Because if I do, then everything I’ve done, everything you and I are still doing, is for nothing. We need to believe in a future where love is stronger than hate. Where peace is normal. Where this […] is just a page from the history books.”

Chaya tells Esther the belief that allows her to carry on. This unflagging optimism is characteristic of Chaya and contributes to her resilience and perseverance. The end of the book sees her joining the partisans in the hope of continuing to fight even after having suffered so many tragic losses—not only of her parents but also of Esther, who had come to be Chaya’s cherished companion.

“The Nazis murder us many times over. They take our ability to worship properly—a spiritual death. They separate our families—another death there. They kill our dignity, our will to live, and finally they take our lives.”

Esther evades a question about her parents’ fate by describing the many “deaths” the Nazis inflict on the Jews. Esther’s response hints at the truth about her family—that while physically alive, they have killed their values and beliefs, with her father joining the Judenrat. It also highlights the theme of faith and morality.

“Due to its central placement in Europe, Warsaw had been erased from the map many times over in its history, each time returning stronger and more beautiful than before. […] The city looked as if it was on the brink of being erased from the map yet again.”

Chaya reflects on Warsaw’s resilience as a city even as she recognizes that it looks to be on the brink of defeat. The fate of the city parallels the experience of the Jewish community throughout history, targeted as they have been by antisemitic hate and violence for centuries before WWII.

“Esther faced steadfastly forward as we walked. She was different from the girl I first met last fall. Somewhere amid her fears, a new confidence had emerged, a determination to finish what the Nazis had started.”

Chaya notices Esther displaying newfound confidence; she is drastically different from the girl Chaya knew before. The weight of her secret lifted and her hour of reckoning near, Esther seems to draw on all her reserves of inner strength as she emerges a determined hero; her experiences along the way have prepared her to meet this end.

“The word passing through the bunkers was that our leaders expected face-to-face fighting with the Nazis. A sharpened stick wouldn’t stop a bullet, but it was better than nothing, and we had plenty of nothing here already.”

Chaya, Esther, and the rest of the ZOB prepare whatever weapons they can in anticipation of the upcoming conflict with the Nazis. The fact that they are reduced to sharpening sticks in the face of the Germans’ far superior weaponry indicates how outmatched the ZOB will be; the fact that they continue to sharpen the sticks anyway indicates their determination to fight until the very end.

“‘So you sing because—’

‘It’s proof of my humanity. It allows me, just for the length of that song, to remember who I really am, no matter what surrounds me.’”

Yitzchak explains to Chaya the importance of music and culture even in these desperate times. He asserts that creating art is what distinguishes men from animals and that continuing to do so serves as a reminder of who he truly is, especially in the face of the Nazis’ constant dehumanization of the Jews.

“‘German blood. At long last, the blood spilled in the ghettos is not from the Jews.'

She was right, but I couldn’t cheer for that either. I wanted a world in which no blood must be spilled. A world free of hatred that made a fight such as this necessary.”

Chaya’s response to the woman celebrating the spilling of German blood indicates how much she has grown as a character. Where initially she viewed the Germans as the enemy and was determined to fight as many as she could, she now understands, as Esther once pointed out to her, that the true issue lies deeper. Inter-religious and ethnic hatred is what needs to be eradicated—not the Germans—to prevent such a situation from recurring.

“We’ve never been more free. Don’t you see? They don’t control us anymore. Since we already know how this will end, they can’t even use the fear of death against us. There is nothing more they can take from us, but today, we have taken their superiority, and their belief in our submissiveness. No matter how this ends, history will recognize today for its greatness.”

Esther celebrates at the end of the first day of fighting, describing how she truly feels free. Despite what the outcome of the battle may be, Esther sees a victory in the fact that the Germans can no longer control or intimidate the Jews into obeying them: Once the fighters have accepted their likely deaths, the Germans have no leverage over them. This underlines the final message of the book: that a righteous resistance is a victory unto itself.

“We knew this was how it would end, didn’t we? I knew it, and I didn’t. I had never expected the scent of death to be so raw, the very air around us as brittle as ice. I never expected to be one of the fighters still on my feet when so many others, far more experienced than I, had fallen."

Chaya reflects that while she knew this was how things would end, she was not prepared for the raw brutality of war and death. This is what spurs her to return to courier work in the final hours of the battle rather than continue fighting and contributing to further bloodshed.

“The fight here had nothing to do with heroism. It was about taking a final stand, defending our dignity and honor, and drawing the world’s attention to us, even if only for a brief moment.”

Upon hearing the Allies call the Warsaw Ghetto fighters “heroes,” Chaya reflects that there is nothing heroic about having to fight for one’s life and dignity. Accordingly, Chaya views Mr. Pilzer’s sacrifice as true heroism; he has a chance to survive but willingly gives up his life for the sake of others.

“There will come a time of reckoning for our spilled, innocent blood. Send help to those who, in the last hour, may elude the enemy—in order that the fight may continue.”

Mordecai Anielewicz’s message, as passed on to Chaya in the note that Esther gives her, calls on those still standing to keep the fight going. In this spirit, Chaya and Yitzchak decide to join the partisans upon escaping the Warsaw Ghetto, fighting for the resistance however they can.