Anna is the storyteller in Hitler’s Daughter. Her creativity and skill in creating a vivid world are what allow Storytelling as a Means of Understanding the World to have its power. She introduces “The Game,” a storytelling activity designed to help Tracey adjust to school that turns into a powerful exercise in philosophy. Anna’s storytelling ability captivates Tracey and especially Mark: “Mark settled back on the seat. It always took a while for Anna to settle in to a story. But it was pretty good when she did. She always added details so you sort of saw the story in your mind” (9). This skill makes her storytelling a way for the group to process difficult emotions and historical events and to learn The Importance of Questioning. Mark is significantly affected by Anna’s story and starts arriving early to hear more. Anna ignites a process of Awakening to the Horrors of the World in Mark that is mirrored through the story she tells.

Heidi’s story begins to tell itself, and Anna becomes the vehicle through which the story emerges. As she says, “I don’t know why she called him Duffi. I don’t even know if it means anything. It was just what she did” (9). The story of Heidi is portrayed by Anna as fiction, but her emotional investment, somber state as she speaks, and her deep knowledge of the subject suggest it may have been her grandmother. Throughout the book, hints emerge suggesting that Anna might be connected to Heidi, and Heidi’s story reflects Anna’s family history. Anna keeps this connection a secret, framing the story as fiction, likely as a way of processing it herself. Anna insists that Heidi (Helga) wanted to be her own person and that in the end, she was not “Hitler’s daughter” but a mother and grandmother. Anna is a static character, as she doesn’t change throughout the narrative.

Heidi is the daughter of Adolf Hitler, and her story is central to the themes of the book. Anna tells Heidi’s story to create an experience of Storytelling As a Means of Understanding the World. Hearing Heidi’s story changes Mark’s philosophical outlook and causes him to go through a process of realizing The Importance of Questioning. Heidi represents the traumatic experience of Awakening to the Horrors of the World, as experienced through her gradual increase in knowledge of the outside. Heidi lives in isolation, away from everyone except those hired to take care of her and an occasional visit from her father. She has a birthmark on her face and a limp, representing the opposite of the “perfect” Aryan race Hitler sought to create during his reign and the Holocaust. Heidi’s appearance makes her feel unworthy and unwanted, and she resents not fitting into her father’s ideals, as symbolized by the hatred she feels toward her dolls. At first, Heidi is unable to question the world she lives in, as she is raised to believe that her father is doing the right thing. She is like a prisoner in her own home, living in a world of illusion, ignorance, and naivety. Her position compares to Plato’s cave metaphor, in which a person’s whole world is contained within a small and limited perspective.

As the story progresses, Heidi begins to awaken to the horrors of the world around her through speaking to the women who take care of her. This growing awareness makes her a dynamic character. She hears about the atrocities of the Holocaust, including the death of one cook’s sister and the conscription of Fraulein Gelber’s son into the army. Frau Leib, who often forgets how young and sheltered Heidi is, contributes to Heidi’s growing awareness, and they form a bond through cooking, cleaning, and sharing personal stories. Heidi attempts to help by setting up a place for Jewish people to hide, but no one ever comes. Still, the effort shows Heidi has empathy where others do not. As the war ends, Hitler rejects Heidi in his bunker, claiming he doesn’t know who she is, and she is left to fend for herself. Heidi is thrust into the center of a warzone after living an isolated country life: “The air was full of a new sound, a high-pitched squeaking rolling, and the yellow light of flames” (126). After being injured in an explosion, a woman and her son rescue her and give her a new name and a chance to start over. Heidi decides never to tell her story until she is nearing death because she does not want to be known as Hitler’s daughter. She wishes to create her own legacy, one that is separate from her father’s horrific legacy. Her journey reflects the struggle for identity and the search for meaning in a world marked by violence and moral corruption. It is never clearly stated whether Heidi is real or fictional, but Anna tells her story from a fictional perspective and hints at the end that Heidi may have been her grandmother.

Little Tracey is the youngest member of the bus stop group. She was nervous on her first day of school, and Anna introduced The Game to help Tracey feel safer. Tracey is eager to hear Anna’s stories and is full of creative ideas, which sometimes unsettle Mark. Tracey is also the opposite of Ben; while Ben wants thrilling stories, Tracey is excited by simple, humanizing stories of ordinary people. Tracey also contributes to the story’s development, naming the girl Heidi and adding ideas that make the narrative a mutual creation. This collaborative aspect of the storytelling process demonstrates how stories can bring people together and demonstrate Storytelling as a Means of Understanding the Past. Tracey’s enthusiasm represents innocence and the curiosity of youth. She is also there to emphasize Anna’s kindness and her natural tendency to try and care for the vulnerable.