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The Book Thief Chapter 25 Summary

The Aryan Shopkeeper

  • First, Death foreshadows—Liesel and Rudy are leaning against Frau Diller's candy store.
  • Liesel is sucking on candy.
  • She and Rudy are playfully and semi-profanely (as usual) arguing over the piece of candy.
  • She passes the candy to Rudy.
  • They both agree it's a wonderful time.
  • Now, Death backtracks ever so slightly. It's the end of August (1940).
  • Rudy and Liesel find "one pfennig" (25.6) in the dirt. ("Pfennig" sounds an awful lot like the "penny," doesn't it?)
  • They take it into Frau Diller's shop to see if they can buy the candy they've heard rumors about.
  • Frau Diller makes both of them say heil Hitler.
  • Then she accepts the coin, and Rudy asks for "Mixed candy" (25.13).
  • Frau Diller gives them one piece of candy and tells Rudy to "Mix it [him]self" (25.15).
  • The candy is two hard to break in half, so they trade off every ten sucks.
  • The candy stains their tongues and teeth red... but they're content.
  • Death tells us "The day had been a great one, and Nazi Germany was a wondrous place" (25.20).