Uprising

Mama is Lidia’s mother. Before the war, she cared for her home and her children, as her husband worked as a professor and made enough money to support their family. She and Papa are wealthy, employing a handful of other Warsaw citizens as maids, drivers, and gardeners. After the war begins, Mama struggles to let go of her old life and insists that their wealth and status will protect them. She largely stays out of the resistance movement, angrily scolding both Lidia and Ryszard for getting involved. Even when they try to listen to the news of the bombings around them, Mama turns off the radio, telling her children that they “need a break from so much terrible news” (41). Mama’s willful ignorance becomes a key point of contention between her and Lidia, as Mama wishes to hide and ignore the violence around her, not fully understanding that Nazi occupation will ultimately impact her life as well.

Despite Mama’s best efforts to follow Nazi law and stay out of the resistance, she has moments where she shocks Lidia by becoming involved. Mama voluntarily hides Bubbe and Doda, lying and saying that she employs them in response to the Gestapo officers’ questioning. Then, when Lidia drops food to the people within the ghetto, Mama often bakes extra bread—helping Lidia without openly acknowledging what Lidia is doing. However, despite it all, Mama remains largely a static character with regard to the resistance; she tries to stop Lidia from joining even after the fighting breaks out around her.

In one important way, Mama is also a dynamic character that changes in the text, specifically regarding her relationship with Lidia. Throughout most of the text, Mama shows little love for Lidia, scolding her for talking about the resistance and for risking her and Ryszard’s lives—even though Ryszard is also involved. However, in their last meeting in Poland, Lidia finally confronts Mama about why she does not love her. Mama tearfully admits that she has done her best not to love Lidia after losing Lidia’s sister, Krystyna, at the age of two. After she acknowledges this, Lidia and Mama mend their relationship, hugging for the first time and promising to meet up after the war. Mama’s change conveys the theme of The Importance of Family, Friendship, and Community. After losing Papa and Ryszard, Lidia and Mama have little else to live for, refusing to comfort each other or acknowledge their broken relationship. However, after they make amends, Lidia vows to stay alive to make it back to Mama one day. This gives her the motivation she needs to survive the uprising until she meets her years later.

Ryszard is Lidia’s older brother. Due to the limited point of view, little is known about Ryszard’s past or his actions throughout the war. However, he is important to the text in the way that he mirrors Lidia’s strong will and determination to help the Polish people. He joins the uprising before Lidia, delivering newspapers and gathering intel about the war for the resistance fighters. He does his best to protect Lidia. First, he insists that she stay out of the resistance movement—even speaking to Stefan to not allow her in. Then, he protects her once she becomes involved. After Lidia frees the children from the truck and tries to make her way back to Drill, Ryszard stops her, insisting that she is walking into a trap and protecting her from meeting the same fate as the other resistance members. In this way, Ryszard serves as a guide for Lidia as she develops and matures in the novel; he teaches her how to become involved in the resistance movement and helps her survive. His actions in the novel also contribute to the theme of Self-Sacrifice and Resilience Against Genocidal Violence.

Maryna is one of Lidia’s friends whom she meets during the Nazi occupation. Maryna is the same age as Lidia and also lost her father when he joined the war. She is smart and strong-willed like Lidia and uses her cleverness to find ways to sneak food to the people in the ghetto. She also takes Lidia to her secret school, where people have been educating the children of Warsaw after the Nazis closed all public schools. Maryna is an important component of the theme of The Importance of Family, Friendship, and Community. In particular, Maryna’s friendship and support allow Lidia to survive through much of the German occupation, helping her go to school and do what she can to help the Jewish citizens.