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The Book Thief Chapter 79 Summary

The War Maker

  • Earlier on July 27, 1943, Liesel watches the Jews being made to walk back to Dachau.
  • Before this, she reads to Frau Holtzapfel, after Hans walks the mourning woman home.
  • It's a really busy day for Death:
    The Allies bombed Hamburg […] and it's lucky I'm somewhat miraculous. No one else could carry close to forty-five thousand people in such a short amount of time. (79.3)
  • (The July bombing campaign of Hamburg is knows as Operation Gomorrah.)
  • This is bad news for Hitler, who is actually becoming afraid.
  • Yet, he doesn't cut down on his "war-making" and he doesn't cut down on "the extermination and punishment of a Jewish plague" (79.7).
  • Death tells us that while the majority of the concentration camps are outside of Germany, in various European locations, some German ones are still intact and running.
  • Max is a person being made to live in one of the camps inside Germany.