Contents
Chapter 59 - Punishment
Overview
Hans Hubermann’s “punishment” arrives as official approval into the Nazi Party, followed by immediate conscription into the German army. The family reels as Hans fears Russia and Liesel imagines the machinery behind such letters. Parallel consequences strike next door: Barbara Steiner reveals Alex Steiner has also been drafted for refusing the regime’s demands.
Summary
The narrator frames punishment in wartime Germany, then narrows to Hans Hubermann. After helping a Jewish prisoner and hiding Max Vandenburg, Hans first suffers conscience: silence, sleeplessness, and a stopped accordion.
In early November, a letter approves his Nazi Party application—once rejected—then a second letter orders his conscription into the army. The kitchen fills with shock. Hans quietly fears being sent to Russia. Liesel reads the words “compulsory” and “duty” and feels sick; Rosa’s tough exterior cracks.
Liesel later imagines the typewriter churning out such punishments for men like Hans and Alex Steiner, evidence of the army’s desperation as Russia stalls and German cities are bombed.
Days on, Liesel goes next door and finds Barbara Steiner and Kurt. Barbara, shaken, confirms their father has also been drafted. Her final remark—parents are expected to say yes when asked for a child—underscores how refusal brings a different, deadly cost.
Who Appears
- Hans HubermannReceives Nazi Party approval, then is drafted into the German army; fears being sent to Russia.
- Liesel MemingerWitnesses Hans’s conscription notice, imagines the regime’s typewriters, and worries about the cold future ahead.
- Rosa HubermannMaintains the kitchen as the news arrives; her hardened facade breaks in grief.
- Barbara SteinerReveals Alex Steiner has been drafted, reflecting the regime’s reprisal for defiance.
- Kurt SteinerSits with his mother and shares that his father is leaving for the army.