Echo

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

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Part 1, Chapters 11-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary

As Elisabeth’s visit continues, her family mostly avoids her, and her conversation. Martin plays Brahms’ Lullaby with a melancholy tinge to it. Friedrich wonders of his sister, “All those years, had she loved him as he’d loved her?” (114).

Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary

Elisabeth leaves without saying goodbye. Martin explains to Friedrich that he asked him not to speak ill of Hitler merely to protect them both from Elisabeth. He says that he will stop sharing his opinions, although he will continue to shop at the Jewish grocery. He tells his son, “I don’t carry on just for the Jews. I carry on for you, too. Any injustice the Nazis impose on the Jews, they will impose on you, or anyone else they deem undesirable” (118).

Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary

Two weeks later, Anselm invites Friedrich to a Hitler Youth meeting; it turns out that his sister is a good friend of Elisabeth’s, and that Elisabeth has asked him to encourage Friedrich. On his way home, he learns from his father that Dr. Braun is indeed planning on recommending Friedrich for sterilization, unless he is admitted to the conservatory, in which case he may be eligible for a concession for “loyal and true Germans of great aptitude” (123). His father agrees to coach him so that he receives admission.

Part 1, Chapter 14 Summary

Friedrich struggles to decide on a piece of music, but his father is impressed by his rendition of Brahms’ Lullaby, as well as the tone of his new harmonica. He encourages Friedrich to write his sister, so that she might remember his voice.

Part 1, Chapter 15 Summary

Father invites over two friends, Rudolph and Josef, to play music with him. Rudolph sits on the director’s board of the conservatory, and Friedrich may have the opportunity to make “a favorable impression” (131). Josef has just lost his job because of his Judaism, and Father hopes the music will raise his spirits.

Part 1, Chapter 16 Summary

Friedrich plays Brahms for the guests. Josef praises the performance, but Rudolph says that the harmonica is vulgar, thus revealing his Nazism. He goes on to recommend that Friedrich play a German composer for his audition. Rudolph realizes he knows Josef, and that he is Jewish. Martin encourages him to put their differences aside for the sake of music, but he refuses: his brother and nephew Anselm might find out and report him as a Jewish sympathizer. Rudolph goes on, “I abideby the new laws for Germany’s sake and the future of my family” (138). He also suggests that Nazi laws would have prevented a disfigured, childlike Friedrich from being born.

Part 1, Chapters 11-16 Analysis

In these chapters, the threat of Nazism to Germany and to the Schmidts quickly escalates. Elisabeth chooses her beliefs over her family, and her family must decide how to act, going forward. While Martin suggests he is willing to abide by the laws for his safety, he is not willing to shun his Jewish neighbors, and in these chapters, that decision puts him increasingly at risk.

Friedrich, meanwhile, must also choose a path, as Anselm invites him to Hitler Youth meetings. These chapters ask whether it is better to blend in, or to stand up for your beliefs. Pretending to be loyal may have some benefits—Friedrich may, for example, avoid sterilization if he is admitted to the conservatory and able to prove his loyalty.

However, Rudolph and Josef’s visit forces the family to choose sides. They are on the side of music—a force beyond politics that brings people together and affirms their equality. This side seems fundamentally opposed to Nazism, which excludes instruments, composers, and musicians themselves. This also means they will be questioned—and perhaps punished—by Nazi officials.