Someone Named Eva

“As I raised my arm, I shuddered at the thought of Babichka seeing me. What would she have said? Her oldest granddaughter saluting a picture of the man she thought was Satan himself, in a place that had once held a cross.”

The Nazis force Milada and the other kidnapped girls to salute a photo of Hitler before going to sleep. From her first night in the facility, Milada’s ability to maintain her Czech values are challenged. However, she still possesses an awareness of her Czech identity and family. Nazism came to replace religion for many Germans, and Hitler’s photo is in a place that once held a cross, which is a prominent Christian symbol.

“Carefully, I pinned the star to the inside of my uniform shirt so no trace of it would show. I realized now that it needed to stay with me always.”

On Milada’s first day in the facility, she realizes the importance of Babichka’s pin and the necessity to conceal the pin just like her Czech identity. Milada decides to always keep the pin with her so that it can constantly remind her of the truth. The pin is symbol of Milada’s Czech identity, and the removal of the pin later in the story coincides with her confusion about her identity.

“I shook my head, shivering at the sound of this strange new word echoing in the room. My name was not Eva. Ruzha’s name was not Franziska. My name was Milada, the name of my grandmother and her mother before her. ‘No,’ I said forcefully. ‘My name is Milada.’ ‘Nein!’ Fräulein Krüger yelled. She slapped my face hard, moving so close to me that our noses almost touched.”

In this passage, the Nazi headmistress, Fräulein Krüger, renames the girls to “Germanize” them and reprogram them to be ideal Aryan wives and mothers. This is the first phase of indoctrination that Milada receives, and when she resists is punished. This is a turning point in the story: When Milada becomes “Eva,” she must figure out how to maintain her identity and survive the German facility in the face of violent repercussions.

“Constantly we were told that we were part of the German agenda. I had heard this so many times, it was hard to remember that I wasn’t a Nazi, that I didn’t want to be the Aryan ideal, that I hated Germany.”

This quote exemplifies how dangerous and effective indoctrination can be. Eva has only been at the facility for a few months, but the beliefs she is being inundated with are already taking root. However, this quote also shows Milada’s strength of character, as she is aware of the mental battle taking place within and around her.

“I was learning to tuck away pieces of my real self: the girl from Czechoslovakia that has a family waiting for her. I was learning to put that girl in a box during the day, safe and secure, until just before going to sleep at night. Then I could take the real girl out in the darkness and examine her more closely.”

Eva is learning how to maintain her identity of Milada, the Czech girl, and live as Eva, the German girl. This is challenging as she is given little time to think her own thoughts and examine herself. This quote demonstrates how the indoctrination at the German facility challenged Eva’s sense of identity and made it difficult for her to think for herself.

“Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. There was an empty spot where my name should be, like the hole left in your mouth after you lose a tooth.”

This is the first time Eva realizes that she cannot remember her Czech name. In this passage, Wolf pulls on physical sensations to show the readers how this realization affected Eva—she felt anxious, afraid, and empty. The Nazi indoctrination has been successful and is replacing Eva’s identity and memory.

“Milada. My fingers touched my name, my beautiful, sweet name. Milada. The name that belonged to my grandmother and her mother before her. Milada. There it was, lovely and pure and real.”

In this scene, Eva is awoken by Babichka’s pin, which unclasped in the night and stabbed her leg. She sneaks out and watches the shooting stars, suddenly remembering a song Babichka would sing her that has her name in it. This is the first time Eva remembers her Czech name after realizing she forgot it, and she is flooded with peace. Eva repeats her name three times like a chant to solidify its transcendental effect.

“She pulled me into her lap, whispering and rocking me gently. I let her hold me, feeling ashamed. She was a Nazi. She was the enemy. She had invaded my land and taken me from my home. And yet she was a woman, my new mother, there to comfort and hold me. I couldn’t help but feel safe and protected in her arms.”

This quote shows Eva’s first night in her adopted family’s home, when the mother, Frau Werner, tucks Eva into bed. This is the first time Eva has felt parental love and affection since the night she was taken from her mother, and she is overwhelmed. Eva longs for the love, comfort, and protection of a parent so much that she accepts it from Frau Werner. This demonstrates how internally conflicted Eva is about her new German identity and other Germans.

“Tears rolled down my cheeks as I discovered that another part of myself had slipped from my grasp, like a balloon floating quietly into the sky. And I hadn’t even seen it leave.”

Eva realizes that she cannot remember the Czech word for “grandmother” and other pieces of her original language. She is especially heartbroken because she didn’t even realize she was losing her ability to speak Czech. Eva considers her Czech language a part of her identity, and therefore considers the loss of her language devastating. This is another example of the effectiveness of Germanization.

“‘Come meet my friends.’ She led me over to where the other girls stood. ‘Lotte, Willa, this is Eva. My… sister.’ It was the first time she had called me her sister, and she smiled at me as she said it.”

The adoption party the Werners throw to celebrate Eva marks the first time Elsbeth calls Eva “her sister.” Eva feels happy and proud to be part of the Werner family. A sense of not belonging anywhere or to anyone has haunted Eva since her separation from her family. However, she gradually accepts the Werners as her new family and feels like she belongs again.

“‘Oh,’ I said, as I realized how much worth I added to this family and feeling important somehow.”

At the adoption party, Eva and the Werners are celebrated for fulfilling their duty by increasing their family number and adding to the strength of Germany. Eva is flattered by the attention she receives and how valuable she is to the family. Now, she begins to accept herself as a German girl and is proud of her role in the family.

“The language I’d thought I had lost forever simmered, alive and real, in front of me. Even though I had forgotten the words, I could still recognize them as having once been mine.”

This quote shows how Eva feels after hearing the Czech national anthem from the women’s concentration camp near the Werner home. In this moment, her German identity cracks, and her Czech identity rises to the surface. Eva still feels a sense of ownership over the Czech language, and hearing the Czech national anthem reminds her of her ethnic roots.

“In my own room I stood before the mirror and took in the reflection of the Aryan German girl staring back. I touched the blond hair and looked deep into the blue eyes, trying to see If there was any Czech girl left inside at all.”

After seeing the Czech women in the concentration camp, Eva isn’t sure how to think about herself. She cannot reconcile her Czech identity with her German identity and feels guilty for the luxury she is living in while her people are suffering behind her house. After years of Germanization, Eva feels as though she has lost her Czech identity.

“I sat up in bed, thinking about something real that I might have lost. Grandmother’s star pin. How long had it been since I had touched or worn it? How could I have forgotten it? I pulled back the covers and crept out of bed. As quietly as I could, I opened the top drawer of my bureau and felt for the handkerchief. It was safe, exactly where I had left it months before. I hugged it tightly to my chest and got back into bed.”

After months without Babichka’s pin, this important symbol is reintroduced. Eva only remembers the pin after hearing the Czech anthem at the concentration camp. The pin symbolizes Eva’s Czech identity, which Eva had forgotten during her time with the Werners. Now, Eva remembers her Czech self and struggles to be both Eva and Milada.

“Hatred burned in my stomach, its warmth spreading into my arms and legs. She was a Nazi. How could I have forgotten? She was a German who worshipped Hitler and heated all others. She was just like the soldiers who had taken me from my family. Just like Fräulein Krüger, who had sent Heidi and Elsa away. Just like Herr Werner, who was keeping my own people prisoner.”

This quote takes place directly after Elsbeth accuses Eva of being a Jew. For the first time, Eva’s anger comes to the fore. She vividly remembers the injustices against her people and is angry for all she has had to endure at the hands of the Germans. The pain of the last few years boils over, and Eva equates her German “sister” to other persecuting Nazis in positions of power.

“I felt as if I belonged nowhere and to no one.”

The war ends, but no one comes to return Eva to her family. Eva can no longer be the German child Frau Werner and Elsbeth have come to love, but she doesn’t know how to be Milada in this context either. This quote demonstrates the emptiness and confusion she feels.

“‘Are you Milada?’ The woman stepped toward me and touched my arm. Her voice was quiet and soft. Milada, Milada, Milada. The name shimmered in front of me. So real I could almost touch it. Milada, girl from Czechoslovakia, fastest runner in her school. Milada, best from of Terezie, sister of Jaro and Anechka. Milada, who lived with her mama and papa and beloved grandmother.”

Americans from the Red Cross have come to the Werner home looking for Milada. This is the first time Milada has heard someone else say her Czech name since Liesel in the facility. This moment is grounding and validating for Milada, who was struggling to understand herself or her future post-war. After hearing her true name from an external source, Milada suddenly remembers who she is and what makes her unique. This passage also fulfills the anaphora pattern Wolf has set, where Milada’s name is repeated three times in important moments.

“I looked at Mutter and then at Elsbeth, afraid at that moment that my own heart might break.”

Milada is deciding whether to go with the Americans to find her mother or to stay with the Werners. This quote shows how Eva has come to care for these women even though they are Nazis. These women also have a deep affection for Milada and are, in a sense, her family too. Despite this momentary feeling of loss, Milada leaves them without saying goodbye.

“Over and over again she said my name. ‘Milada, Milada, my little Milada.’ Long afterward, I would ask her to say my name just so I could hear it spoken out loud.”

Milada reunites with her mother in Prague. This scene serves as a resolution to Milada’s book-long struggle to maintain her identity and remember her home. She finds the safety and comfort she has been longing for in her mother’s arms. This scene also follows the pattern of Milada’s name repeated three times in important moments.

“All the lessons were in Czech, making them difficult and confusing. But I didn’t care. I never wanted to speak German again.”

After returning to her mother and Prague, Milada works hard to regain her Czech identity. The indoctrination Milada received in the German facility was highly successfully in erasing Milada’s Czech language and culture. This quote highlights Milada’s strength of character, as she is undaunted by the difficulty of relearning her language and is determined to cut ties with her German identity.

“‘Grandmother told me not to forget,’ I said, beginning to cry myself, ‘The night we were taken away. Remember?’ Mama nodded, grasping the pin. It was the only thing we had left from before the war.”

Milada shows her mother Babichka’s pin. Mama is shocked that Milada has kept the pin through all the years. The pin becomes more than just a symbol of identity for Milada; the pin is the only possession the family has from before the war and serves as a reminder of those times.

“She looked at me and touched Babichka’s pin on my collar. She had asked me to take it from my pocket and wear it so everyone could see it. It helped her to remember the good parts before the war, she said, and not just the bad things that had happened during the war.”

Milada and Mama return to Lidice. The town is flattened, and the two women look out over the field where their house used to be. In this passage, Babichka’s pin is a beacon of hope and a reminder of the life Milada and her family had before the war. It is also worn openly for the first time, showing that Milada no longer must hide her true identity.

“‘They did not win, you know,’ Mama said quietly, looking out again over the field. ‘This war. Or taking you. Or Anechka…’”

While looking over the ruins of their town, Mama demonstrates incredible strength of character. In the concentration camp, the Nazis beat her and dehumanized her. Despite this trauma, she still has hope and can celebrate that the Nazi’s did not win or succeed in tearing her family apart entirely. She is also hopeful that the Americans can help find and return her youngest daughter.