In this chapter, Cohen examines how people connect through the feeling of loss of hope. The first time that this idea is seen in this chapter is when Tsura, Seraph, Wolf, and Marko go to Marzahn. “‘Only deportations.’ ‘There’s been nobody new.’ The pain in Tsura’s chest grew outward, surging through her throat and down in her stomach. Despite the stench of the hut, she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the burning reality. I’m too late. Her mother and Aunt Marie were gone” (211). When Tsura finds out that her family who were in the camp are deported, she loses hope that she will see her family again because she knows that since they were deported, she won’t see her family. Also, since she loses hope in finding her mother and aunt, she also loses hope that she will find her cousin, Kizzy, who was taken away into Rosenstrasse. At this part in the book when the author uses the word “pain”, it describes the pain of Tsura in the moment and to express the pain that Tsura has built up from being sterilized, losing members of her family, and experiencing the holocaust in general. “At first, their house looked normal. But then, through the broken front windows, Ruth saw house its entire back had been blown out. A direct hit” (226). When Ruth discovers her half-bombed house, she loses hope that her and her mother will reunite with Alexander and her father. One reason she loses hope is because she knows that Alexander’s treasure hunt was somewhere in there house and that it was most likely blown up. The other reason that she loses hope is because she takes her house blowing up as a metaphor towards getting back with the rest of her family because once her house blew up, the chance of being reunited went with it. The last main example of loss of hope in this chapter is when Marko reminisces about the history and struggles for homosexuals in Nazi, Germany. “Marko told Alex about the laws against homosexuals. Perverts, the Nazis called them. … They were breaking the law and they had to protect their jobs and themselves. They had to keep their relationship a secret from their families. When Marko told Alex about men like them being sent to to the Nazi labor camps, Alex became scared” (236). When thinking about this, he realizes how hard it would be to start the life that Alexander and Marko dreamed of together if Alexander ever got released. In this quote, when it says the word “scared”, the quote describes how Marko was scared of his relationship falling apart because Marko and Alex were separated. The quote is also describing how Marko and Alex are always scared and always living in fear that somebody will find out about their secret and their relationship and they will be reported to the Nazis. Marko loses hope that he will ever see Alexander again, and if he does, that he will not be able to be himself in the way that he wants with Alexander.

 

     Cohen examines the idea of foreshadowing to future events and how certain events strengthen or weaken a relationship. One example of foreshadowing in this chapter is when Marko is thinking about the history of homosexuals in Germany. “Perverts, the Nazis called them. … The law had been written decades before Hitler came along” (236). Because of all of the bad stuff that Marko was thinking about that Hitler, and the society that they are living in, has done to the homosexuals, the quote foreshadows that something bad will happen to Marko because he is a homosexual and Alexander is his partner, this foreshadows that something bad might happen to him as well. Another example of foreshadowing in this chapter is when Kizzy and some of her friends are hiding from the guards in a makeshift bathroom. “She could hear footsteps in the corridor outside. ‘No breathing sounds,’ she whispered. Nazi guards would be searching for them. When the door handle rattled, Kizzy held her breath, hoping to hell Felix didn’t move, hoping it wasn’t obvious they were there” (240). This foreshadows that something bad will happen to Kizzy because she is already in a bad situation hiding from guards, almost getting caught, and being crammed in a makeshift bathroom made up of a bucket. Since she is already in a very bad position, which foreshadows that something worse will happen in the future. In this chapter, it is seen that relationships both strengthen and weaken. One relationship that strengthens from the events happening in this chapter is Alexander and Marko’s. “Alex said with his arms on his knees, chin on his hands. Taking his mind away from the bombs,  Alex wonder what Marko would think to see him unshaven like this. Marko would have liked it, he was sure” (217). The events in this chapter strengthen their relationship because when they are restricted from seeing each other, it makes them think about each other and want to be together even more. Their relationship is strengthened by their yearning for each other. One relationship that is weakened in this chapter is Ruth and Elise’s. “Ruth always gets her way. ‘Please, can you wear it?’ Ruth asked Elise. Tired from a poor night’s sleep, Elise was holding out her girls’ league uniform. She should be grateful” (229). Their relationship is weakened by the events in this chapter because when it is not safe for Ruth and her mother to leave Elise’s house, they are forced to hide themselves from the bombs in Elise’s basement. When they spend a lot of time together in Elise’s basement, Elise becomes aggravated that Ruth keeps talking about herself. After the bombs stop and Ruth needs to borrow clothes, Elise gets upset that Ruth will not be grateful that she is getting an clothes at all which causes Elise to like Ruth less and their relationship to grow apart. Since the reason that they are required to Spending time together during the bombings weakens the two characters’ relationship.