The Forest of Vanishing Stars

In the morning, Yona goes into the town to get medicine for the child and food. She encounters a German officer on the road who comments about her unusual, mismatched eyes. When she returns to the church, the nuns tell her that the Germans are arresting villagers at random and will kill them in retribution for an attack on a German soldier.

The mother superior says she will speak with the German commander to try and stop it. Yona tries to discourage her, but the nuns urge Yona to take the injured girl to a parishioner, Maja, who will protect her, and then leave the village.

After leaving the girl with her protector, Yona leaves for the forest, but after walking a while, she turns back to the village. A German soldier blocks her way, and she lies about going out in search of milk for her daughter. The encounter with the soldier tells Yona something is terribly wrong, and she hurries to the square in front of the church.

The square is filled with townspeople and German soldiers, and the nuns stand watching the body of a young priest, which hangs lifeless from a gallows. A German officer tells the crowd that the priest offered his life to spare the rest of the townspeople from German retribution—and so did the eight nuns. The officer she saw the previous day glances at her and speaks to another officer. This officer turns toward her, and she realizes he is her father, Siegfried Juttner.

The German soldiers raise their guns to fire at the nuns, and Yona knows she must stop them. She calls her father’s name, and he recognizes her, calling her by her birth name, Inge. He agrees to call a temporary halt to the execution. He takes Yona to the large house where he is staying. He tells Yona that her mother died two years after her abduction and demands to know where she has been.

Yona tells him about her life in the forest with Jerusza and says perhaps Jerusza was right to call her parents bad people. Juttner tells her he is only following orders, and those orders are necessary to keep Jews from destroying Germany. He gives Yona clothes and a bedroom but locks the door.

The next day, Yona asks to see the nuns so she can know they are still alive. Juttner takes her to the church, and the nuns explain that they accept their fate in order to save the lives of villagers. They also hope that their deaths might ignite resistance against the Germans.

After Juttner escorts Yona from the church, she asks him to do something to save the nuns. He tells her that he is merely obeying orders, and the villagers need to know the consequences of challenging the Germans. Juttner tells her that within two weeks, the Germans will be coming for the Jews in the forest, and Yona knows she must escape and warn them.

The next morning, Juttner refuses to take Yona to the church but tells her he has spoken with the nuns. He tells Yona that he has a plan to save them by faking their deaths, but in return, Yona must reveal where the Bielski group is hiding, and she must go to Berlin. She tells him she has never seen the Bielski group, and he accuses her of lying. That night, Yona sneaks out and goes to the church, where she hears Juttner shouting at another officer. Inside, she finds all the nuns shot dead, apparently against Juttner’s orders.

Yona slips back to the house, gathers her things, and leaves. She stops at the farm to see if Maja and the girl are safe in a hidden tunnel under the farmhouse. Maja says Anka will be taken to safety, but she will stay. She tells Yona to follow the tunnel to a door that opens in the forest.