When The World Was Ours

Elsa admires Mrs. Stewart for her clothing, her wide smile, and her ability to laugh loudly. Mrs. Stewart seems happy and in love with her husband, and Elsa decides that she will be just like Mrs. Stewart one day. She stares across at Mrs. Stewart as the boys watch the city go by a second time; Elsa thinks that Mrs. Stewart is even more glamorous than Leo’s mother, who always looks beautiful. Both women are unlike Elsa’s own other, who lately wears gray and never seems to smile. Elsa overhears snippets of conversations at home, but she cannot piece together what might be wrong; her older brother, Otto, spends his days fixing everything he can get his hands on. Now, when Mrs. Stewart laughs, everyone in the Ferris wheel carriage laughs along with her, and Elsa is instantly reminded of a day when her parents danced together while her grandparents looked on. Elsa decides to tell her mother how pretty she is when she smiles; she wants to remind her mother of these happier times. Max, Leo, and Elsa promise to remember this day forever.

Max cannot remember a day filled with more joy and is glad to be with his two best friends. Before meeting them, Max remembers being alone, without friends; he was always at home and had to listen to his parents argue about money. Max’s father always seems angry and stressed, and Max is bullied at school for having less money than other students and their families. Being with Leo and Elsa makes Max feel like he belongs, and Leo’s papa always treats Max with the attention and affection that Max’s own father never does.

A few weekends later, Max’s father takes the children swimming. He is the only one of the three families who owns a car, and Leo is thrilled about the day ahead. When Max’s father pulls up with Elsa and Max inside, Leo dashes out to meet them, but Max’s father seems subdued and doesn’t want to talk to Leo’s papa. He rudely urges Leo to hurry into the car and heads off, and Leo looks back at his father, who seems sad. Leo wonders what he and his father could have done wrong.

Elsa sits on the edge of the pool, watching some nearby girls and admiring their bathing suits. Meanwhile, Leo does a perfect dive and Max accidentally belly flops. The boys behind Max snicker, but Elsa and Leo encourage Max and compliment his effort. Elsa feels sad for Max, but she is grateful that Max is unaware of the boys who are laughing at him. Afterward, Elsa and the boys play water games together until it is time to go, and they swear to come back to the pool every week thereafter.

After swimming, Max returns home for lunch with his parents. He freezes when he hears his father yelling. Max’s father complains about Leo’s papa, accusing him of being arrogant and “sneaky” (30). Max sees no logic behind these accusations, and when he enters the room, his father tries to discourage him from seeing Leo and Elsa. Max’s father wonders why Max has no other friends, and Max is simply confused, unaware of the cause of his father’s sudden hostility toward Leo and Elsa. Max’s mother argues that Max is only a child and can play with anyone he likes. Max doesn’t understand why his father suddenly hates his friends, but Max’s father agrees to let him continue playing with them—“for now” (32).

Elsa tries to hold back tears as she wonders how she will tell Leo and Max that she and her parents are moving to Czechoslovakia in just a few days. Her father allows her an hour to meet her friends, and when Elsa finds the boys at the park, they try and entice her into a game of tag, but she soon stops them. Through tears, Elsa tells her two best friends that her parents do not believe it is safe for Jewish people to live in Austria anymore, so they are leaving and never coming back.

Max thinks that Elsa must be joking and tries to see through the trick, but Elsa’s tears and choked-up voice prove the seriousness of the situation. When the truth hits Max, he becomes angry at Elsa’s parents and cannot make sense of why they would suddenly consider their own country to be unsafe. Elsa explains that even though her family does not openly practice Judaism, just being Jewish is enough to warrant their concern, and Leo wonders about his own family, who does practice Judaism. Leo’s instincts tell him that Elsa is right, but Max is overcome with sadness. Max tries to hold back his tears because his father always lectures him never to cry, but it is nearly impossible to remain stoic when he thinks about Elsa’s departure. Knowing that he may never see her again, Max bravely kisses Elsa, then rides away on his bicycle without another word, telling himself that he will marry Elsa one day. At home, Max’s father lectures him for spending time with Leo and Elsa and tells him that he can never see his friends again. Max asks why, and his father replies that it is because they are Jews, saying “the word as if it were dirt in his mouth” (46).

At home that night, Leo is preoccupied by Elsa’s assertion that Austria is dangerous for Jewish people. He cannot deny the feeling in his gut, which tells him that something is seriously wrong. However, his parents have not mentioned anything, so he tries to hold onto hope that everything will be all right. Before dinner, Leo discovers a note from the Stewarts (their fellow passengers on the Ferris wheel) and asks his papa why he still has it. Leo’s papa states that he keeps the note to remind himself of the times when people were kind, which is especially important “in these times” (51). Leo considers telling his parents about Elsa’s departure but refrains, feeling as though saying it out loud will make it all too real.