The Storyteller

Josef begins narrating his own story. He will not answer to the name of Reiner Hartmann anymore. He says that “inside of each of us is a monster; inside of each of us is a saint” (110) and it only matters which one a person nurtures more. Josef (Reiner) and his younger brother Franz grew up during the Weimar Republic in Germany, and their early childhoods were dominated by the hyperinflation of the Deutsche Mark, which left many formerly middle-class families struggling to get by. Hitler and the National Socialist party peddled hope to the downtrodden Germans by uniting them against a common enemy: the Jewish people. As a boy, Franz excelled in school while Josef struggled. In 1934, Josef and a reluctant Franz joined the Hitler youth. Josef was praised for his enthusiasm and athletic ability. Even though he knew what he was doing was wrong, he delighted in the feeling of finally being admired.

Ania narrates the next section of her story, describing her first week working with Aleks. She learns about his life—he too is an orphan and he moves towns often because Casimir makes people uneasy. They discuss the recent attacks. Some have speculated that the killings are the work of a monster, but Ania says that “the only monsters [she has] ever known were men” (122).