Relationships
When this person came to take Fritz to the military, what was his job title, what did Mama make for him, and what did she offer him as a bribe for his silence?
Viktor
Stasi officer
Tea
Oma Gertrude's car
Innocence
Gerta believed that this person was digging toward her tunnel. This is how she knew.
Gerta said, "Come with us" to this person.
Gerta will be receiving this food after they rest in the West.
Papa sang a song that he sang to her before bedtime.
Anna.
A banana.
"The splinters from the other end of the handle stuck out of the earth like a porcupine's quills."
Simile
Why did Fritz yell, "No!" after he jumped on the shovel handle?
The shovel broke.
How did Fritz stop the pipe from leaking?
He wrapped a bicycle tube around the pipe.
Authors use similes in their writing for this purpose.
Authors use similes
1) to create a picture in the reader's mind,
2) to make the story more interesting, and
3) to help the reader better understand what is being described.
BETRAYAL
What did the Stasi offer Anna's family if Anna's family provided information about anti-Communist activity?
Who gave Officer Mueller the information about Gerta and Fritz's odd behavior and the Stasi information about Herr Krause. What effect did this have on Herr Krause and the woman from the alley?
The Warner files would be erased.
Frau Eberhart gave all the information. Her actions caused Mueller to investigate Gerta and Fritz, resulting in the discovery of the tunnel. Her actions also caused Herr Krause's death and the woman's arrest.
Fritz did "spring into action" when Gerta told him about the dark patch she saw from Anna's bedroom window. What is the significance of this dark patch, and what does it mean to "spring into action"?
The dark spot was the shadowed sinkhole beginning to form from where Fritz and Gerta had dug the tunnel and burst the water pipe.
To "spring into action" means to move quickly as a response to a situation.
While escaping through the tunnel, this character was shot in the leg.
While escaping through the tunnel, this character was shot and died protecting Gerta.
Fritz
Officer Mueller
Mama prepares sausage, potatoes, and biscuits for dinner as the first meal back at the house. Where did Mama get this food?
Oma Gertrude
This man was in the tunnel before Gerta and Mama, saved Gerta, and told her to do something for him. Who was this man, how did he save Gerta, and what did he tell her to do for him?
Officer Mueller
He stepped between Grenzer's gun and Gerta.
He told her, '"Get my wife to freedom', he mumbled. 'My son'"
BRIBERY
Who, how, and why was Fritz going to signal a finished tunnel?
Gerta and Mama left the apartment without being seen. How?
Fritz would place a shovel in the dirt outside the Welcome Building to tell Officer Mueller it was time to leave. Officer Mueller caught them digging the tunnel under the Death Strip.
They used the back exit and the fire escape to exit after Viktor told the hidden microphones that he was going to check the back rooms for a sound.
Mama insisted that the family (Fritz, Gerta, and Mama) do this before they left East Berlin forever.
Why?
Mama insisted that the family clean the house before leaving East Berlin to live in West Berlin.
She didn't want to give the Stasi the opportunity to say that her family were pigs.
Why did Gerta volunteer to get the door, and why wouldn't the door move when Gerta pulled it?
Gerta was smaller, so she could hide in the shadows easier. She also knew the exact location of the door.
A beam fell on the door, pushing it to the ground.
These people arrived at the Welcome Building after Mama and Gerta got there.
Herr Warner, Frau Warner, and Anna
Why was Gerta inside Anna's apartment? What did she ask Anna to get for her, so she could accomplish her reason for entering Anna's room? Why did Gerta leave before taking what Anna offered? What did Gerta realize about her friend?
Gerta was trying to determine how far they had dug by looking at the Death Strip.
Gerta asked Anna to get her a sandwich.
Gerta found Anna's black boots had fresh dirt on them.
Gerta realized that Anna was a spy for the Stasi.
FAMILY
Fritz believed that Gerta could do something hard and said "You can do this", allowing him to leave the tunnel in the emergency.
Fritz and Gerta walked with Mama after her return from Oma Gertrude's to give her this news.
Mama had this purpose for returning to Oma Gertrude one last time.
* Gerta could hold the pipe tightly, keeping the water from flooding the tunnel.
* Fritz and Gerta used the walk to tell Mama about the tunnel outside of the apartment and away from the planted bugs.
* She was saying goodbye.
The Communist art on the sides of the buildings promoted strength and dedication, but was a fascade for the reality of lost strength and individual power. How is this ironic, and how did it inspire Gerta?
The approved Communist art was a fascade, because it really did not promote strength and power. Gerta used this artwork, and the mixed messages from the Communist government, as an inspiration to make deadly choices and escape East Berlin.
What situation caused Mama to have a discussion with Frau Eberhart, what did Mama do, and how did Gerta describe the changes that Gerta saw in her mother?
Frau Eberhart said that the Lowe children's rude manners were overlooked during Mama's time away, but it's unexpected with Mama back.
Mama had a private conversation with Frau Eberhart.
Gerta explained that mama looked younger and stronger, as though the tunnel has "reclaimed the spirit of who she used to be".
Papa stuck this in the tunnel's dirt as a place marker.
The striped flag of West Germany.
When this person came to take Fritz to the military, what was his job title, what did Mama make for him, how did Mama communicate her request, and what did she offer him as a bribe for his silence? What did this person say to distract the microphones, allowing Mama and Gerta to leave?
Viktor
Stasi officer
Tea
10 finger countdown
Oma Gertrude's car
"I hear a sound in the backroom. Don't either of you go anywhere while I check it out."
SECRECY
Fritz was upset upon receipt of his military letter for this reason.
Mama wanted everyone home before curfew for this reason.
100 meters is significant for this reason.
Fritz knew the tunnel was not ready for travel, but the military changed his reporting date within the next couple of days.
Mama knew the apartment was bugged, knew they needed to be home to talk and be heard, and knew they had to remove any suspicion of their plans to the Stasi.
This measurement was the estimated width of the Death Strip.
"I didn't know it would be you, Gerta. Why did it have to be you?"
What are the implications of this sentence?
How did you react after reading this statement?
This means that Anna was a spy for the Stasi, but didn't expect that she would have to provide information about Gerta. It also implies that Anna has to choose between her family or her best friend, and she will choose her family.
Teacher response: I feel that Anna is still lying to Gerta, that she knew, deep down, that Gerta was going to be the one to break Communist laws.
The Grenzers and Gerta noticed something about the Death Strip. What was it?
The Grenzers were talking about the sinking soil, the broken water pipes, and the incompetence of the Germans.
Gerta saw the fissures in the Death Strip and noticed that Papa's tunnel was caving in.
"The Sun never rises in the west, but that day it did. For me, and for my family, the long, dark night was over."
Sunshine is used to represent happiness and joy. Gerta's family is reunited, and that is a joyful feeling. Therefore, the joy of being with her family makes it feel like the sun is rising in the West, and the pain and misery of living in the East, represented by the long, dark night, is over.