The Kommandant's Girl Quotes
"The air, damp from the last bits of melting snow, is perfumed with the smell of roasting chestnuts from the corner kiosk."
"The ground seemed to slide sideways, and I felt so dizzy I was afraid that I might faint."
"Better, we decided, to get married right away and face the uncertainties of the future together."
"I looked to my father and our eyes met. One of his hands was fingering the edge of his prayer shawl, the other gripping the edge of the countertop, knuckles white."
"The Polish army, consisting in large part of soldiers on horseback and on foot, would be no match for German tanks and machine guns."
"You must take off your rings, pretend we were never married."
"I could tell that he was imagining the worst."
"This war is the shame of my people. Having you and the child live here with me is the least I can do."
"We are working in the garden, Krysia pulling weeds from around the spry green plants that are just beginning to bud, me hanging the linens we washed in a large basin an hour earlier."
"Lukasz is a beautiful boy, calm and undemanding."
"A dinner party?" I repeat, picking up the towel from the dirt.
"I haven’t seen such items since before the war!" Krysia exclaims upon receiving the bounty.
"I imagine my father working beside me, kneading the bread with his light, almost magical touch."
"He would think you are even more beautiful than he already does."
"The Kommandant hesitates, caught off guard; clearly, he is accustomed to people knowing his role."
"‘Anna, I am looking for a secretary, an assistant, really, to manage some of the daily administrative tasks of my office,’ the Kommandant says."
"‘You may in time be able to get close enough to him to help with our work,’ Krysia says."
"‘I thought so, too. Do you know how to knit?’"
"‘We need to get an early start tomorrow, and you’ll need your strength,’ Krysia says."
"‘I am going to work for the Nazis. A chill races through me and I draw the blanket closer, oblivious to the fact that it is May and not at all cold.’"
"‘I have never felt this way before. The only alcohol I tasted growing up was the kosher wine of Shabbes and the holidays, too sweet to manage more than a few sips.’"
"‘I am drunk, I realize, as I stare numbly at the soap bubbles that overflow from the sink.’"
"‘He would gladly stab me in the back while shaking my hand,’ the Kommandant says."
"‘But I do know one thing. The courage of young people such as yourself is the one thing that still gives me hope,’ Krysia says."
"‘I have grown to love early mornings since coming to Krysia’s house. There is a thin layer of fog hovering over the fields that I know will lift like a flock of birds by midmorning as the sun rises.’"
"‘We have to believe that. Otherwise, there is no hope,’ Marta says about the resistance."
"‘We need to go to church. We don’t have a choice. We have to keep up appearances,’ Krysia explains."
"I remove the first stack and quickly slide two sheets from separate locations in the middle of it."
"In my hurry, I almost forgot my building pass, which is sitting on the edge of the file cabinet."
"For the rest of the day, I find it impossible to concentrate on my work."
"The summer to that point had been dry, almost drought-like."
"Each night I lay awake, acutely aware of their presence, recalling the children’s story about the princess and the pea."
"You must understand… we all had parents."
"The situation in the ghetto has changed much since you were there."
"We have to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible."
"You are very capable and have an eye for detail."
"It’s good to be here, I missed… that is, Berlin is a very stressful place."
"I have to go, regardless. I have been summoned to an important meeting."
"I will need your assistance with my travel preparations today."
"I’ve got to get out of here, I think uneasily."
"You are under a lot of stress at work, you are troubled."
"Just one question—does Jacob know about this?"
"Get into the Kommandant’s personal study to find out what is going to happen to the Jews."
"Suddenly I cannot breathe. There is no way I can be unfaithful to Jacob. It is impossible."
"Jacob believes in this cause, I realize, perhaps even more than in us."
"This is not Jacob’s decision. He did not even want you involved with the resistance."
"It is about me. I am here, alone, and the decision is mine."
"Suddenly I regret having accepted the assignment so readily."
"The Nazis killed her and they have killed so many others. And the Kommandant is one of them."
"This is madness. The magnitude of what I am contemplating crashes down upon me."
"I cannot do it. I lean over the water. Who are you? I demand of my reflection."
"Every day people like them are dying, or being killed by the Nazis."
"My mind is made up: if there is any chance that my actions might help my family, I have to try."
"Jacob will never have to know. Perhaps, I venture, something I discover might actually bring him back to me sooner."
"The Jewish question will be resolved. You needn’t worry about that."
"Part of me wants to say no, to write off two nights ago as something that only happened once, a mistake."
"We have to take responsibility for our actions. It is the only way we can avoid becoming victims and keep our dignity."
"I am choosing to do this, to be with the Kommandant in order to help the resistance."
"I bite my lip. 'Then I am choosing to see him again. For my parents and for the resistance.'"
"The problem was this chemistry thing that Krysia had spoken of—part of me liked the Kommandant, liked talking to him and being close to him."
"Unpredictability is the best part of life. The surprise of who or what might be around the corner, it's what keeps us going. It is hope."
"I have to concentrate on getting out and back to Krysia's safely."
"You can see now why we felt it best you not know the truth. But, Emma, no matter what you think and no matter what happens, you must go on pretending with Richwalder."
"We are Maccabees, Emma. You and me and Alek and Marta and the rest."
"I can't imagine there is anywhere safer for him right now."
"I have to do something. I grab my coat and run out of the Kommandant’s apartment and into the night."
"There's always a choice, she said after I had become involved with the Kommandant. We have to take responsibility for our actions. It is the only way we can avoid becoming victims and keep our dignity."
"I realized then that I am staring into the eyes of absolute faith."
"You loved who you loved. You could no more help your feelings for Jacob than I could mine for the Kommandant."
"But she was right: the resistance, everything we have done, has been about survival. I had to go on because I could."
"The Kommandant stands before me, pistol aimed at my heart. 'Goodbye, Anna,' he says, tears streaming down his face."
"Perhaps he has lost so much there is nothing else to take."