The Landauer Family’s Flight

This flow follows Viktor and Liesel’s movement from early caution to escape from occupied Europe and the uncertain life that follows.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Warnings at Breakfast

The Threat Reaches Home News across the border Viktor reads reports of anti-Jewish measures and recognizes that distant events may foreshadow the family’s own danger. His Jewish identity has become impossible to treat as an abstract inheritance. Liesel initially believes the crisis may pass. She sees their home, work, and community as grounds for staying. Planning begins Viktor quietly transfers money to Switzerland and starts thinking about emigration. His prudence creates tension because Liesel experiences preparation as an invitation to abandon everything they know.

After Austria Falls

The Refugees Arrive A neighboring warning The annexation of Austria brings refugees into Město and makes political danger visible in streets and homes. Viktor sees a pattern of escalating pressure rather than a temporary disturbance. He raises emigration with Liesel, arguing that waiting may turn a planned departure into a desperate escape. Home as an obstacle Liesel resists leaving the house and business that define her life. Their disagreement is not simply about geography: it concerns whether home can remain home under persecution.

The Country Is Dismembered

A Shrinking Homeland The political collapse The Munich settlement and the loss of border territories confirm Viktor’s fear that the country’s security is failing. The Czechoslovak army stands down as neighboring powers take territory. Liesel and her friends hear the crisis described as a distant diplomatic dispute, while recognizing that it concerns their own country and future. A decision under pressure Viktor argues that the family must leave before the next crisis removes their choices. Liesel’s attachment to family and place continues to resist his urgency.

Departure from Město

The Last Journey from Home Occupation arrives German forces occupy the country as the Landauers pack their possessions. The family leaves the Glass Room and carries essential papers, children, and luggage toward Černovice aerodrome. The quiet streets and blocked routes make escape feel uncertain, even for a wealthy family with a planned flight. A final glimpse As the aircraft rises, Liesel recognizes the house from above and weeps. Their departure saves them from immediate danger but does not settle whether they can ever return.

The Long Exile

A Life Built Elsewhere Temporary refuge In Switzerland, the family tries to treat exile as a temporary interruption. Liesel writes to friends and imagines a return, while Viktor makes business plans for a life beyond Europe. The children adapt more quickly than the adults, but the household remains shaped by the lost home and the uncertainty of travel. Departure across the ocean The family eventually leaves Europe by way of France, Spain, and Cuba. Each stage takes them farther from Město, while Liesel continues to measure the present against the home she remembers.

As Nazi persecution intensifies in Germany

March 1938, after Anschluss

Autumn 1938, after the Munich Agreement

March 17, 1939

From Switzerland through the move toward America