Chapter 27 is the end of the book, but it does mention what happens to Irene in a little section at the end of the book. It explains that Irene moves to America and ends up marrying William Opdyke after running into him at a coffee shop. 5 years after Irene moved to the US she became an American citizen. She William had a daughter named Janina and moved to southern California. She also learned what happened to many of the people she left behind back home. The major moved to the Ida Hall until he died. Many of her laundry room friends moved to Israel and had started lives and families there. She also learned that sadly, her mother had died shortly after the war was over. Irene also started telling people about her experiences in the Holocaust in America. Another thing Irene did was take a trip to Israel to visit Roman Haller, now a grown man. (Roman Haller was Ida's baby who she had saved back when Ida was still living in the basement.) The final thing it says is that Irene gets to visit her sisters in 1984 for the first time. So overall, after the war, Irene lives a happy life with her new family in America.
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In this Chapter Irene explains how even though she is dealing with hard times, her friends help her out of them. She says that her friends find out that there is a repatriation camp for people who are struggling after the war. It helps all kinds of people, but mainly Jews. So, Irene's friends help her change her identity to a Jewish girl. They dye her hair black and get her a transit pass with a different name on it. When Irene is finally ready to board the train the the repatriation camp she flashes back to her childhood when riding the train was fun. Now, as she looks at the faces of all of the passengers, the only expression she can read on them is defeat. Once Irene gets to the repatriation camp things do not get better. Instead, they get worse. Irene finally tells everyone that she isn't a Jew. People at the camp call her a hero because of it, but she doesn't even care. Instead, she once again starts working, trying not to focus how everyone in this camp still seems to look miserable. Although, the hard work takes a toll on Irene once again. This time she becomes very sick with diphtheria. This disease takes months to heal from and changes the rhythm of Irene's heart. She can no longer work as hard.... Months pass at the camp and Irene is finally starting to become happy there. She makes friends and everyone's moods begin to lighten. One day a delegation from the United Nations comes to Irene's camp to interview survivors. His name is William Opdyke. Although William and Irene do not speak the same language the interview goes well. After it is over William says he is honored to have met someone like Irene. He also says America would be proud to have her as a citizen. Irene thinks about it. Her? America? Yes, she thinks to herself, I want to go to America.
After all of her work for the partisans Irene becomes over worked and gets pneumonia. She is extremely ill for 3 months until she is nursed back to health. Irene also learns that that during the time she was sick Poland became "free" again! Hitler had died and now Irene knows it is time to start looking for her family. Irene bids the Ridels goodbye and goes on her way. As Irene starts her journey she notices many signs asking the partisans to reveal themselves, saying they would be welcomed as heroes. Although, Irene knows better. She knows that if she turned herself in she still might be arrested and killed. So, she continues to travel keeping her head down. After the struggle of traveling for so long, Irene finds her aunt Helen. At first she is thrilled, but then she finds out that no one has heard from her family for a long time. Now, Irene does not know what to do. That is until she decides to focus on trying to find some of her friends from the laundry room now that are supposedly free. She prays for many days until she finally comes across Fanka. Their reunion is amazing. Irene learns that not only is Fanka safe, but so are the rest of her friends. This distracts her from thinking about how her own family might not be ok. Irene also learns that Ida safely had her baby. Irene knows she wants to visit it. Fanka tells her they live about a two day walk away. Irene sets out for their home right away. When she arrives to Ida's home she is overjoyed. So overjoyed, that she doesn't see two police come up to arrest her. Irene is kept in jail for many months. She is constantly questioned and put to work. This is the worst point in her life. She is completely miserable and feels as if she has no hope. Although, as usual luck is with her. One day, they switch her cell and she is left alone with access to an open window. Without hesitation, she jumps. Irene limps all the way back to Ida's home. When she gets there she finally meets Ida. Ida helps her get a car so she can leave before the police come back to arrest her. Irene is driven to two people named Moise and Pola. She stays there for two weeks until she finds out horrible news. Her father had been killed and her mother and sister are in hiding. She is stunned and wonders about what she is going to do with her life. She wonders if she can ever find a place to be safe.
Soon after Irene is forced to travel with Rokita and the major she finds the opportunity to escape. Luckily, Irene knows exactly where to go. Before Irene left to go with Rokita and the major her "cousins" told her about a relative they had that would be more than happy to have her stay with them. Sure enough when Irene arrives at the new family's house where she would be hiding, they welcome her in. The two parents introduce themselves as Pani and Marek Ridel. They also tell her they have a son, Janek, that was around her age that was at work. So, all through the night Irene speaks with the family until their son walks through the door. Irene knows it is love at first sight. Soon Irene begins to follow Janek and everything he does. She finds out that he is a member of the partisans and she willingly signs up also. Irene loves Janek and will do anything to be with him. For once Irene is happy, even though what she is doing is dangerous. She is helping Poland while enjoying the company from the love of her life. Soon Janek proposes to Irene. She is overwhelmed with joy and accepts. A few days before the wedding Irene is trying on her dress. Janek walks in and tells her she looks beautiful. Pani scolds him for looking at her in her dress and says it is bad luck. Janek and Irene just laugh. Janek continues to tell Irene that he is going to fight in a ambush later in the night. Irene begs him not to go, but he says he must. Janek is killed later that night, just weeks before the wedding. Irene wants to die. She thinks several times about killing herself, but she does not. She continues to fight for her country with the partisans. She throws herself into her work, no longer afraid of dying. She knows that she can still help and she will not give in to defeat.
In this Chapter Irene receives news from the major. He tells her he must fire her because word got out that he had a Polish girlfriend. Irene immediately wonders what is going to happen to her friends. The major says she must find a new place for them to stay in a matter of few days while he is on vacation. The next morning the major leaves the house, leaving Irene and her friends all to themselves. This is when Irene comes up with a plan to get all of her friends away. She tells them that the men will have to escape to the woods and join her other friends who she previously helped get to the woods. When the men arrive safely they will start making the dugout where they will be staying bigger. Finally, when the dugout is big enough, the women will meet them. When the night comes for Irene to take the men into the forest she borrows a sleigh and hides them inside all the way to the forest. Luckily, luck is with her and she returns safely. After about a week it is time for the women to move to the dugout. Although there is a problem. Ida is pregnant and can not live in the woods. Once again Irene has an idea! Ida can stay with her "cousins" in the forest. They would have enough space for Ida to have the baby there. Soon, Irene carries out the next stage in her plan. Ida and the other women make it to their destinations safely. Finally it is Irene's turn to leave. One day the major and Rokita pull up in a car in front of Irene's friends ("cousins") house. They tell her she is leaving right away. At first Irene refuses, but then she decides on plan. She will go with the major and run away as soon as possible. From there she will join the partisans, people who are fighting for the country of Poland. Irene knows once again this will be risky, but she has to follow her heart.
In this Chapter Irene is luckily able to get Miriam into the vila safely. Irene knows that Miriam will become healthy again in the warmth. After a few days of letting Miriam stay in the basement Irene decides to go out to the town. There she witnesses two couples and their young children being hanged to death for helping the Jews. Even though she knows that death is the punishment for helping a Jew she is still astonished about what happened. She walks home in such a daze that she forgets to lock the kitchen door. This is when her world comes crashing apart. The major walks in the door and sees two of her Jewish friends, Fanka and Clara. He is furious and shocked. Irene begs for mercy and the major says he has to think about what to do. For the next few days Irene and her friends prepare for the worst. Irene tells all the other Jews to run and hide if she doesn't come back in the basement within three days. Finally one night the major storms in and says he will keep her secret as long as she will become his girlfriend. Irene is shocked but knows she has to save her friends, so she agrees. Although her friends were now safe she still felt ashamed that she had agreed to being his girlfriend. She lied to her friends in the basement by telling them they were safe because the major had only saw two of them, not all and that the major thought the war would be over soon also. A few days later Irene still feels guilty about becoming a girlfriend to such an awful person. She decides to visit Father Joseph to confess. Unfortunately Father Joseph says he can not give her absolution. She storms out of the Church refusing to sacrifice the lives of her Jewish friends even if it means going to hell. When Irene gets home later that night she is surprised when the major says that Fanka and Clara can come up from the basement and sit with them. As Fanka and Clara come upstairs they joke saying that they have now seen everything happen in their lifetimes.
In the beginning of this Chapter Irene and her friends are discussing what they should do about Ida being pregnant. All of the Jews vote that they should not let her have the baby, but Irene tells them to wait until she can think of a better plan. Another thing that happens in this Chapter is that Schulz gets tarpaper to cover the windows of the kitchen. After covering all the windows there is still one roll left over and Irene knows that this is the thing she can use as a roof for her other friends in the forest. She asks Schulz if she can take home the last roll and he agrees to let her have it. Another unpleasant surprise happens to Irene in this Chapter, when she tells the major she is going to give the tarpaper to her "cousins" in the woods. The major immediately smiles and says he bought a sleigh so that he can take her to her "cousins" house. Now Irene is faced with two issues. 1. She now won't be able to deliver the tarpaper to the real people she wanted to deliver it to and 2. Irene has to hope that the family she always goes to visit will catch on to the fact that they are supposed to be cousins. To Irene's luck when she and the major get to her "cousins" house the kind family catches on to her lie. They easily pretend they are relatives and everything goes smoothly. When the major and Irene leave Irene promises she will be back soon. Over the next few days the snow melts and Irene is able to visit them again. She finally decides to tell them what she is really doing with the tarpaper-helping the Jews in the forest build a roof. They understand and tell her that they had a feeling all along. They then tell Irene that she can trust them. Irene is glad that she has true friends. That day when Irene is going home she stops by the woods and delivers the tarpaper to her friends for their roof. She is about to leave when she discovers one of the women who lives in the woods, Miriam, is sick. She decides that she will take her to the basement to live with her other Jewish friends. There, she can be warm, safe, and hopefully be able to heal. Now she can only hope that she and Miriam will make it home without being spotted by the major.
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September 2016
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