Compare Hilde's and Gundi's experiences during Kristallnacht. Do you think either of them really understand the broader context of this event?

Compare Hilde's and Gundi's experiences during the November pogroms the Nazis called Kristallnacht. Do you think either of them really understand the broader context of this event?

I think Gundi's understanding of Kristallnacht developed over time, especially since she knew many people who were directly affected, thereby personally affecting her, unlike Hilde who didn't seem to have any real understanding of what had happened. She was very adept at parroting the Nazi propaganda and viewed events through that filter.

I do not think that young people who live through a traumatic event such as the November pogroms realize the effects of the event until afterward. When I was younger, I witnessed the burning of a house a safe distance from my childhood home. Police and fireman had set up a boundary that witnesses could not pass, but it wasn't until much later when I saw that only the foundation remained and learned that a child had been playing with matches and died that I understood the extent of the damage. Gundi is a sympathetic character who is carrying a child whose father is Jewish whereas as Hilde wants to become an integral part of the Nazi party and doesn't have an original thought in her head.. Parallels can be drawn to the political climate of the times in which we live.

Windsong makes an excellent point concerning events whose importance is perceived only after the fact. It takes observation and knowledge to understand so much of what happens, and a dictatorship makes that more difficult.

And so much depends on our own perspective and life experience. Gundi was more affected because of her relationship with Leo and her positive acquaintance with Jews. Hilde had been surrounded by the Nazi party line and accepted the government’s explanation, particularly when the government itself used the event to rally greater support.

Kristallnacht was much more personal to Gundi than to Hilde. Nonetheless, I don’t think anyone can fully understand major (or even minor) events fully until their effects are observed over time. Both Gundi and Hilde were young women with limited life experiences. Gundi’s romantic involvement with Leo, a Jew, and her subsequent pregnancy, allowed her to have more insight into the roots and consequences of that horrible night, whereas Hilde longed to be a part of the Nazi apparatus.

In the moment, I don’t believe any of us understand the broader implication of an event until some time later. Both girls were trying to figure out a place in the world in a terrible place of turmoil and manipulation and made the choices that gave insight into their character and upbringing.

I believe Gundi understood it because she was already working with the resistance and had an understanding which became even clearer once she arrived at the Helm Hochland. Hilde was too caught up in making a good connection to really understand or let herself be aware of what the true purpose of this place was.

As others stated, they were both too young and naive to truly understand Kristallnacht. Gundi was definitely more sympathetic because of her circumstances and relationship w Leo and the resistance. Hilde believed in the Nazis plan and despite being shocked by the event, she justified it.

I think Hilde's initial thought was to be appalled by what was happening but she was easily swayed by the Nazi propaganda when she "learned" that "Kristallnacht was retaliation for Ernst vom Rath being killed by a Jew in Paris. She quickly continued to be swayed by her own selfishness when she saw a chance to get in the good graces of someone in power and outdo her father within the German government. She flipped a switch overnight and decided to close her ears and heart to the Jewish people.

While Gundi's understanding evolved over time she had a personal relationship with people and she did not let selfishness take over her convictions. She allowed her convictions to grow in the right direction.

Hilde's views were just parroted by the Nazi party line because she didn't have a clue and didn't really care but Gundi was truly upset because it struct a more personal cord. At that time neither could possibly understand the full and lasting impact of that night.

I agree with several above who said that neither Gundi nor Hilde really understood at the time the seriousness of that night’s actions, as no one knew at that point the extent to which Hitler would carry out his extermination of the Jewish people. But Gundi at least had some knowledge of hostility towards Jews, and Hilde didn’t know, didn’t want to know, and didn’t care.

Ditto on what Juliep said.

Neither of them would probably fully understand the broader context of Kristalnacht in the moment, I would agree that Gundi was clearly the more "aware" and less "jaded" of the two characters for obvious reasons.

Hilde and Gundi were too young to understand the enormity of Kristallnacht, but I do think over time, Gundi understands better. Ironically, I attended an event recently in Tulsa, OK: Holocaust Survivors in Tulsa. Four people spoke of their experiences. One of them remembers Kristallnacht from being there and surviving. Her understanding even as a young child impressed me and her memory today is quite clear about the events through which she and her mother survived. Sadly, they were separated from her father and he died at Auschwitz.

Although I believe Gundi had a better grasp of the true meaning of Kristallnacht than Hilde, I don't think Gundi fully understood the importance of that night. Even most participants, the youth of Germany, truly understood it. How could the ordinary person grasp the full intent of the Third Reich's plan for a Final Solution? The horror was just beginning.