The German Wife

Lizzie arrives at a restaurant to meet other American wives of the men working on Project Paperclip. They push her for information from Calvin about the German scientists and their families. Avril tells the women about the painted “Nazi” on the road in front of Sofie and Jürgen’s home, and she suggests that one of the scientists may have been in the SS. Lizzie refuses to confirm the rumor, but neither does she lie by denying it.

Sofie’s oldest child, Georg, starts school, hugging Mayim goodbye and rushing to the schoolyard to play with his friend, Lydia’s son, Hans. Sofie walks Georg to school every morning while Mayim stays with Laura because of the possible risks to Mayim walking in public as a Jewish woman. Mayim, Sofie, and Adele regularly sit together in Adele’s garden. Adele mentions Jürgen’s long working hours and expresses her frustration at a friend taken by the Gestapo. Sofie warns her to be careful about what she says, as someone could be listening. They talk about Mayim’s family and about Mayim herself. Adele and Mayim point out to Sofie that it could easily become illegal to associate with Jewish people.

After several months at school, Georg brings home some books and excitedly insists that he and Mayim read them together. They are all pro-Nazi or antisemitic propaganda, specifically designed to teach children to fear and reject Jews like Mayim.

Sofie brings the problem up to Jürgen, wanting to find a solution and talk to Georg to keep him from being taught that their family friend is the enemy. Jürgen tells her that they can’t do anything, that “almost every schoolteacher is now a member of the National Socialist Teacher’s League” (172). As the school year progresses, Georg becomes withdrawn, and Sofie reaches out to Lydia to see if Hans might have some idea as to why. Lydia tells her that the boys have been teasing Georg about Mayim. Sofie calls Jürgen and insists that he come home that evening, and he puts Georg to bed. Georg bursts into tears, saying that the children at school won’t associate with him because of Mayim. He asks if she’ll hurt their family. Jürgen and Sofie try to reassure him that Mayim is not a threat, but he insists that he doesn’t want Mayim to live with them.

Sofie and Jürgen retreat to the study to talk about what to do. Sofie suggests leaving the country, and they run through possibilities. Jürgen says that he could get a job at a university in France or England and that it would be a relief to escape the rocket building that is now clearly going to be used for war. They agree to leave during the weekend, telling only Mayim and Adele.

Lizzie confronts Calvin about Jürgen, outraged that a former member of the SS lives in her town. Calvin insists that Jürgen has worked for Project Paperclip for years and has never shown any sign of violence, hatred, or danger. He also says that there’s no way to know for sure what his past consisted of. Henry walks by the room as they’re talking. Later that night, Calvin and Lizzie are woken by sounds of a struggle in the kitchen. They rush from their rooms and hear Henry shouting. They think he’s sleepwalking, so they approach carefully as Henry throws himself around the room. When Lizzie turns on the light, Henry charges Calvin. Lizzie pulls Henry off of Calvin, and Henry wakes up, dazed. Henry insists that there was a man in the house, likely Jürgen, and that Henry chased him off, despite obvious evidence to the contrary. They calm Henry down and suggest calling the police the next day.

Henry calls the police himself the next day and reports that Jürgen broke in. Lizzie tries to tell the officer that she didn’t see anything and didn’t see any evidence of a break-in, but the officer clearly believes Henry, especially after learning that he was in the military. Lizzie asks the officer if Jürgen will be interviewed, and he says that there’s not enough evidence, which gives her some relief.

When Lizzie tells Calvin, he worries about the fallout for Jürgen. He insists that Lizzie talk to Henry about going to a doctor. She tries the next night, but Henry resists, insisting that he knows what he saw. Lizzie begs Calvin for more time, and Calvin reluctantly agrees.

Jürgen and Sofie spend hours discussing their plans to escape Germany until they finally go to bed. They’re woken by loud knocking on the front door, and Jürgen is taken into custody by the Gestapo. Sofie tries to call Lydia, but there’s no answer. Sofie tells Mayim about their discussion the previous night, but they can’t figure out how anyone would have known. When Sofie takes Georg to school, she asks Lydia’s nanny if Lydia was away from home, but the nanny says that Lydia was home and that there was no ringing phone that morning. Later, she tries again, but the housekeeper says that Lydia is unavailable and that the phone had accidentally been left off the hook.

Jürgen returns at around noon, with bruises on his face. He confirms that he was arrested because of their conversation about leaving. They threatened to kill him if he tried to leave Germany—he’s too important to the rocket program. They also told him that Mayim has to leave. Sofie resists, but Jürgen makes it clear that they have no choice. Jürgen talks to Mayim, who says that she had already decided to leave to protect the family. Sofie and Mayim embrace each other, and Sofie begs Mayim to go to Poland, where she will be safer.

That night, Adele cooks dinner for the family. When the children misbehave, Jürgen sends them to bed. Adele tells Sofie that “it’s not the strongest trees that survive the storm. Sometimes it’s the trees that bend with the wind” (203), encouraging her to protect herself and her family, even at the expense of her morality. The family adjusts, with grief: Even though Georg pretends that he’s glad Mayim left, he wakes in the night calling for her, and Laura fights Sofie, demanding Mayim.

Jürgen keeps trying to make friends with his son, Felix, when there’s a knock on the door. A police detective comes in and questions Jürgen and Sofie about the confrontation with Lizzie, wanting to know whether Jürgen broke into Calvin and Lizzie’s home. Jürgen says that he was at home asleep, and when Sofie confirms this statement, the detective leaves. Jürgen wonders if he should talk to Calvin, and Sofie urges him to leave it alone, arguing that it was probably Lizzie. The next morning, the word “Nazi” has again been painted on the road. Jürgen paints over it, and Sofie notices a man across the street looking suspiciously at them.