How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #1
"But the refugees—and there were nearly a thousand of them—were living high at the taxpayers' expense. And this, of course, after all we had been put through because of the war." (12.92)
In Fort Oswego, the refugees weren't exactly greeted with open arms. When Becca talks to residents there decades after the war, the tension between Harvey, an immigrant, and the other townspeople is palpable. Geez, as if they hadn't been through enough.
Quote #2
"She did not speak to any of us. It was as if a curse had been placed upon her." "A curse?" Becca said. "The Nazis were the curse," said Harvey. "They still are." (12.133-12.135)
What does Harvey mean when he says the Nazis are still the curse? How does that fit with Gemma's story about a curse on the castle?
Quote #3
"Gemma didn't have any number. So she couldn't have been in a camp. So what kind of refugee was she?" "Not all the camps burned numbers into the prisoners' arms, Becca," he said. "Not all of them kept their prisoners long enough." "How do you know that?" He spoke into her hair. "I read more than medical journals, my sweet." (14.32-14.35)
The Holocaust is famous for its concentration camps. The book mentions two other types of camps. Can you name them? Hint: We're not talking summer sleep-away camps.
Quote #4
Gemma, she remembered suddenly, had had no passport…. "Someone running desperately in a war," she'd said, "rarely stops to find the proper papers." (18.4)
Becca's understanding of Gemma changes after she learns what her grandmother went through during the war.
Quote #5
The first real shock came when they entered the town where they had rented a new chalet. A banner was suspended over the road: JEWS ENTER AT THEIR OWN RISK. (25.7)
Yikes. And we thought "No shirt, no shoes, no service" was bad.
Quote #6
You must understand (he said) that this is a story of survivors, not heroes. The war was full of them. (25.1)
If you had to name just one hero from Briar Rose, who would it be? Why? What's the difference between survivors and heroes, anyway?
Quote #7
The persecution—systematic and horrible—against the homosexuals had begun as early as 1933. Some part of Josef must have known. (25.27)
The book is careful to correct some of the misunderstandings that people have about World War II, including the elimination or "erasure" of victims who were gay.
Quote #8
The war was filled with such unbelievable stories. This man hid in the cupboard of his neighbor's house the entire war. That one was killed out walking his dog. This woman missed her train and it was blown up. That woman begged a ride and was murdered. (28.1)
Briar Rose emphasizes the sometimes arbitrary nature of war. People didn't necessarily survive because of skill or fate; sometimes they were just lucky.
Quote #9
The brothers never returned. If they were captured, if they were tortured, they surely gave nothing away. But they were gone as if they had never been. So it was with this war. (29.12)
Some stories don't have a tidy ending. Until he met Becca, Josef didn't even know for sure that Gemma had made it to America, or survived at all.