We Must Not Think of Ourselves: A Novel

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-13

Chapters 14-22

Chapters 23-34

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

The Resilience of the Human Spirit

We Must Not Think of Ourselves is set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, a place where horrors were carried out by the Nazis against the Polish Jews. However, the book still has moments of hope and lightness, and Grodstein uses these to explore the resilience of the human spirit even in the face of unprecedented tragedy.

Through Adam’s archival work as part of the Oneg Shabbat project, he and the reader are exposed to the different goings on in the ghetto. A lot of the reports include increasingly disheartening news from outside the ghetto, such as the Nazi expansion and atrocities committed against Jews across the globe. Inside the ghetto, too, conditions are stark, with the constant threat of death via illness, starvation, or murder. Despite this, the ghetto as a whole still experiences moments of joy. There are public concerts, theater performances, even weddings that take place and are celebrated by the whole community. These varied reports suggest the possibility of lightness coexisting alongside tragedy and despair.

This possibility is further explored through individual character arcs and events. Adam, for instance, arrives at the ghetto having already undergone a lifetime of heartbreak, but with the perspective that things could be worse. This optimism is one of his defining character traits, and he constantly demonstrates this even in his work with the children: He chooses to only teach happy poetry, wanting to ensure that the children are reminded of and prepared for joy. Adam’s resilience is seen in his optimism; other characters, such as Sala and Szifra, display a similar resilience in different ways. Szifra deems herself pragmatic and is prepared to do whatever it takes for her own and her family’s survival. Sala displays this same stoicism with respect to her children’s fate, sending them out of the ghetto with Adam, as she knows this is their best chance of survival. All three characters thus display different forms of resilience despite having experienced tragedy and horror over the past many months in the ghetto.

Beyond instances from everyday life and individual characters, however, the children in the ghetto as a whole are most exemplary of the resilience of the human spirit. The children have all faced immense and unimaginable hardships and challenges very early in life. They have been forced to grow up and deal with very adult dangers and burdens, and most rise to the challenge. For instance, the children and their smuggling are integral to the ghetto dwellers’ lives, as they bring in resources that are otherwise scarce. Szifra and the burden she takes on of caring for her family at such a young age is yet another example. Despite these trials, the children still find ways to entertain themselves and preserve some form of lightness in their lives; the dog races are one such example. It is thus fitting that Adam leaves the ghetto to facilitate Rafel and Arkady’s escape. Two young boys starting over on the outside is symbolic of the hope that they will carry forward their family and culture’s memories and legacy.

The Importance of Memory and Documentation

The context of the Oneg Shabbat Archive is central to the book. As explored in the theme of The Resilience of the Human Spirit, Adam’s archival work showcases a variety of different perspectives and experiences. The stories that emerge tear down the unidimensional portrayal of the Jews by the Germans as lesser, unclean, morally impure people. They equally negate the idea of the Jews as a people elevated to martyrdom by their victimhood. What emerges, rather, is a picture of very real people with a range of stories and worldviews, which humanize them within history. This exposition, rooted in the context of the Oneg Shabbat Archive, lends itself to a central theme explored in the book: the importance of memory and documentation.

Some stories speak to the heartbreak and loss caused by antisemitism during the German invasion of Poland. Filip recounts being asked to leave his soccer team, and Mariam remembers the fracturing of a close relationship between her father and his employee, Piotr. There are also, however, backstories that emerge that revolve not around the individuals’ Jewish identities but around other formative experiences in their lives. Charlotte remembers a brave older sister who flouted social norms to chart a path for herself. Sala reflects on how she found freedom in marriage and true love in the births of her children.

Even Adam’s own backstory displays how his Jewish identity was thrust upon him by the arrival of the Nazis. His life, prior to this, was defined by his relationship with Kasia more than anything else. Mixed in with these stories are perspectives like Pan Forman’s and Szifra’s, which are cynical and critical of the current state of affairs. These threads show that, alongside the resilience of the human spirit, tragedy and suffering can also evoke individualistic behavior and selfishness, especially when the survival instinct kicks in.

In attempting to capture this multidimensional portrait of Jewish life, Ringelblum views the work of the archive as a form of resistance. Events are unfolding on a global scale, and there is nothing the people in the ghetto can do to influence either the main actors or their actions. What is in their control is recording their stories to ensure that they are remembered as more than just what the Germans portray. Thus, memory and documentation become a form of resistance that cannot impact the immediate present but can shape the perceptions of this time, place, and people in history.

By the end of the book, with Adam’s participation in the Oneg Shabbat project and his personal experiences and reflections, he comes to fully grasp the importance of remembering. The book ends at a time when there are still thousands of people trapped in the ghetto; Adam and the Wiskoff boys are some of the lucky few who manage to escape it. Before Adam leaves, however, he hands over his archival data to the Ringelblums, and as he embarks on a new life with the Wiskoff boys, he resolves to pass on to them the remembrances of their mother. Thus, the ending of the book underscores how memory and documentation play an important role in understanding both global and personal histories.

The Moral Complexities of Survival Under Oppression

Life in the Warsaw ghetto under the oppressive Nazi regime is a matter of survival, and Grodstein explores how the human survival instinct is expressed in morally layered and complex ways, especially in a dangerous and oppressive environment.

Szifra’s character arc speaks loudest to this theme. She is as beautiful as she is proud and strong-willed, and a combination of these traits sees her relying on what comes naturally to her to survive: trading on her appearance and natural charm. Szifra does not view her behavior as immoral or questionable; to her, trading sexual favors for essentials and protection is the best chance at survival she can give her family. However, this rubs people the wrong way, especially because Szifra flaunts her newfound power. The scene where she eats a luxurious meal alone in a restaurant while a starving crowd looks in especially encapsulates both her insensitivity and the people’s resentment of her. The unfortunate end Szifra eventually meets is a result of her community’s conflated feelings of anger, resentment, envy, and condemnation. Her behavior is viewed as a moral failure and is unforgivable specifically because she is willing to do what others will not to survive.

Sala and Adam’s relationship explores a different kind of moral complexity. Their affair begins shortly after Filip’s and Mariam’s deaths and precedes the news of impending deportations. As the events around them grow more tragic and the circumstances grow more dangerous, all moral pretensions are abandoned; people do whatever they can to survive physically and psychologically. In keeping with this, Adam, who has not felt closeness since Kasia’s death, and Sala, whose marriage was a means to escape her previously stifling life, find companionship in each other. In the face of imminent death, the usual social mores are abandoned, and Adam and Sala give into their attraction to each other. However, their affair affects no one beyond themselves; even Emil remains apparently oblivious. Thus, they neither feel guilty nor are punished for their behavior.

In addition to these individual instances of skewed morality, there are mass incidents or patterns of behavior that regularly flout the law but are viewed benignly and even appreciatively. Instances such as scavenging, smuggling, and identity theft, which would be seen as legally and ethically wrong in normal times, are commonplace in the ghetto and seen as necessary for survival. This is because there is a unanimous understanding that the foundation of the laws in place is fundamentally oppressive and immoral. Thus, children are lauded for scavenging, adults readily pay money to smuggle things in, and no one bats an eye when someone manages to arrange counterfeit papers to escape the ghetto. Roman and Charlotte’s mother actually wishes Adam well when she divines that he has found a way to escape.

Thus, in oppressive times, ethics and morality become flexible when the survival of the community is at stake. They may be suspended for private sexual or romantic behavior, as this does not impact the community at large. However, when sex is used for the survival of a single individual while the community suffers, the behavior might be morally condemned and harshly punished. By providing these sliding and sometimes contradictory moral scales, the novel explores the moral complexities of survival under oppression across a range of circumstances.