Hans’s Mother and the Family Home

Hans’s mother offers affection through practical care, welcomes Konradin into the family home, and shares the fate of a household destroyed by persecution.

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A Reserved Tenderness

A Reserved Tenderness Care through routine Hans’s mother manages the household and looks after him, but his adolescent reserve limits their closeness. Affection unspoken Her gestures are quiet and practical. Hans later remembers that illness was when he most readily accepted her tenderness.

The Mother’s Welcome

The Mother’s Welcome A gracious reception Hans’s mother greets Konradin warmly, asks about his studies, and treats him as a welcome guest. A family contrast Her uncomplicated kindness stands against Konradin’s mother’s prejudice and makes the different household boundaries unmistakable.

A Home Shared

A Home Shared Ordinary hospitality Konradin returns to Hans’s home for coffee and cake, gradually becoming familiar to the family. A fragile refuge The house provides a welcoming setting for friendship, even as antisemitism outside begins to threaten the family’s security.

The Son Sent Abroad

The Son Sent Abroad A painful choice Hans’s mother joins Dr. Schwarz in sending their son to America for protection. Love through separation The decision safeguards his future by breaking the family’s daily life. The parents still believe they can remain safely in Germany.

A Shared Death

A Shared Death The last night Hans’s mother is asleep when Dr. Schwarz turns on the gas, killing them both. Loss at a distance Hans learns that his parents did not die in a concentration camp, but their deaths remain inseparable from the persecution that surrounded them.

Hans’s childhood in Stuttgart

Spring 1932, during Konradin’s first visit to Hans’s home

Spring and summer 1932, during Konradin’s repeated visits

December 1932, when Hans’s parents arrange his departure

A few days after Dr. Schwarz’s public protest