Rescue

Throughout the narrative, the author highlights the characters’ struggles with the morality of their actions, particularly when it comes to resisting oppression. Those dilemmas emphasize the challenges of resistance efforts as well as the complexity of human nature. This theme is developed through Meg’s growing maturity and experience as she comes to terms with the fact that the world cannot be reduced to a mere black-and-white view.

At the beginning of the book, Meg’s compassion for her fellow townspeople is made evident, for instance, when she empathizes with a woman complaining about the price of her produce: “She truly was a kind woman, so if she had become angry with me so easily, things must have become very difficult at home” (17). This acknowledgment demonstrates that Meg is able to recognize that a person’s actions do not define their whole identity. However, she initially does not extend the same sympathy toward German people because she views them as inherent enemies. This leads to Jakob later asking her not to conflate his entire country with the Nazis: “‘The Nazis are evil, not the Germans.’ I shrugged. ‘Is there a difference?’ ‘Yes, Meg. There is’” (58).

At first, Meg views people (and groups) as morally good or evil, depending on which side of the war they are. Talking about Jakob, for example, she states: “I didn’t want to think of him as an enemy. But how could I ever think of him as a friend?” (114). However, once she understands Middle Places, the young girl realizes that illegal or seemingly immoral actions can be driven by moral principles. Albert, for example, understands the weight of his previous actions and the moral responsibility he now feels to avoid violence. Albert even tells her as much: “We know who we are…who we were before. All we ask is that you look at us for who we are now trying to be” (124), later adding: “Part of making up for my past behaviors is to gain the forgiveness of those who have been hurt by my country” (157).

Additionally, when Meg witnesses a French lady flirt with Lieutenant Becker, she initially describes her as a traitor, but she then realizes that the woman is doing so to distract him away from Meg and the Durands’ hiding place. On the other hand, she is shocked when a Nazi soldier offers them a ride to safety during a bombing but turns on them once he realizes they are fugitives. Those examples frame human morality as constantly shifting because they emphasize The Intersection of Historical Events and Individual Lives. At the end, Liesel, who tells Meg that she had no choice in betraying her friends to save her daughter, further points out the moral challenges of resistance efforts:

Please understand, there are no good choices in war. Albert swore an oath to serve the Führer, but he betrayed that oath and now will work for the enemy of his country. He has disgraced his family name and left behind coworkers who will now be under even stricter observation and rules. But he will be called a hero in the end, and I will be the villain (288).

Nielsen demonstrates how war leads every person to judge their own decisions and those of others, with no easy answers offered.