Making Bombs for Hitler

Lida knows she cannot leave without Larissa. Lida sees Luka off. They wait for the Red Army truck to collect Luka and three older men. Pani Zemluk is surprised to see Lida there. Luka asks Lida to join him, but Pani Zemluk counsels her not to. Lida refuses Luka. He hopes she stays safe, writes, and that she and Larissa join him later. The cheerful, nonthreatening Red Army officer makes Lida wonder if she is wrong not to go. He asks who Lida is, but Pani Zemluk interrupts Lida before she can answer. The Red Army officer suddenly looks angry, and Lida sees he is a bully. Lida asks Luka to stay, but he departs. Pani Zemluk tells Lida never to give her identity to the Soviets. Lida protests that the messages on the stone wall list peoples’ names and home countries, but Pani Zemluk knows the Soviets read those messages.

Lida prays for Luka and Larissa’s safety. At breakfast one day, Lida is surprised when a blonde girl calls her name: It is Natalia. Lida is thrilled to see her. Natalia is searching refugee camps for her family. She, Kataryna, and Zenia hid in the woods after they escaped.