The Upstairs Room

The Upstairs Room (1972) is a novel based on the experiences of author Johanna Reiss as a Jewish girl during World War II. The novel follows protagonist Annie de Leeuw and her sister Sini as they hide from the Nazis during the German occupation of Holland. Annie’s story, which is told from her first-person perspective, celebrates human resilience and compassion while exploring themes concerning the loss of childhood innocence, the sacrifices people make during wartime, and the importance of family bonds. The book received many awards, including the Newbery Honor, the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor, and the Jewish Book Council Juvenile Book Award.

This guide refers to the 1972 Harper Trophy print edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of antisemitism, genocide, and graphic violence related to the Holocaust and World War II.

Note: The guide adheres to the author’s use of Holland, an informal and somewhat dated name for the Netherlands.

Plot Summary

The Introduction provides historical context for the rise and reign of Hitler and the Nazis. After losing World War I, Germany was coerced into a peace settlement. Riding a wave of German nationalism, however, Adolf Hitler came to power and ignored the peace agreement, ultimately assembling not only a strong military but an antisemitic nation, blaming Jews for global problems. As Germany began conquering Europe and aligning with Italy and Japan, the Allied forces (led by England, France, and eventually the US) fought back. Meanwhile, Hitler established death camps for Jews and dissenters. In 1940, the Germans invaded Holland, occupying it until the war’s end. The Upstairs Room focuses on the suffering of Jews in Holland during this time.

The story begins in Winterswijk, Holland, in 1938. Six-year-old Annie de Leeuw lives with her parents and two older sisters, Sini, 16, and Rachel, 21. Because of Germany’s conquests and Hitler’s hatred of Jews, the adults around her worry. Her Uncle Bram’s family leaves for the US, and Annie’s father wishes to go too; however, her mother is ill, so the family stays. Her father builds a house outside the town instead. Meanwhile, a group of National Socialists, the NSB-ers, support Hitler’s actions. In 1940, Germans arrive in Winterswijk but are initially quiet, so residents think they’re safe. Then, notices appear limiting the businesses that Jewish citizens can run and forbidding Jewish children to attend school. In October 1941, the de Leeuws move to their unfinished house outside town.

Soon, the Germans gather Jewish men to work in labor camps. Their neighbor’s son is taken and is never heard from again. All Jews must now wear the yellow Star of David and are prohibited from traveling. Many volunteer to work for Germany, but Annie’s father doesn’t. Soon, her mother is hospitalized, and her father secures a place for him to hide in Rotterdam and a place for the girls in Usselo, with the Hannink family. Rachel refuses to go, vowing to stay with their mother. After Father leaves, Annie and Sini disguise themselves and separately trek to the Hannink home in Usselo. Not long after the girls arrive there, they learn that their mother has died in the hospital.

In Usselo, the girls stay upstairs in the Hannink home while Mr. Hannink builds an underground hiding place. After Christmas, a German soldier follows Mr. Hannink home, so he hides the girls underground before relocating them. Annie is excited about the adventure but, once underground, wants to leave. After 24 hours, Mr. Hannink takes them to a farm owned by the Oostervelds: Johan; his wife, Dientje; and his mother, Opoe. There, the girls share a room upstairs with Johan and Dientje. Over time, the family grows fond of the girls, and sometimes they all listen to the radio together. In case the Nazis search their house, Johan crafts a secret hiding space inside the closet behind a bookshelf. Listening to the news, they’re hopeful that the war will end soon.

One day, Mr. Hannink’s daughter, Dini, warns of a German search. The girls spend the night in the closet, but soldiers never arrive. Annie and Sini hug, crying about what could have happened if they were found. During the following days, Sini teaches Annie math and forces her to walk because Annie’s legs seem weak and not right. Dientje takes Annie to visit a group of Jews hiding at a nearby farm so that she can meet a girl her age. In the spring, Annie celebrates her birthday. Johan brings home an underground newspaper with reports of Nazis killing Jews in gas chambers at the camps. Annie forces herself to read, finally understanding the danger she and her family are in.

When the weather is warmer, the girls move to the back bedroom and can safely look out the windows. Everyone hopes the war will end in the fall of 1943 when the Italian dictator Mussolini is imprisoned and the US and England advance into Italy. When the weather turns cold again, the girls must move back to the front room. Then, Miss Kleinhoonte, Sini’s former teacher, visits to bring Annie a textbook. On New Year’s Eve, the girls have been in the house one year. Then, Rachel, who is now in hiding somewhere else, visits. The de Leeuw sisters learn that their Uncle Phil’s family were sent to their deaths in Poland. Allied Troops land in Normandy, and everyone is hopeful again. Sini worries about how Annie now mumbles to herself. When the girls beg to go outside, Johan relents, ferrying them under a blanket to the wheat field. However, the day is long and hot, and Annie is severely sunburned, requiring a doctor.

When the Allied forces enter Belgium, the Germans begin searching houses. With Johan away, Dientje and Opoe hide the girls in the closet. Soldiers arrive, upend the house, and even stand in the closet but don’t find the girls. However, the group at the nearby farm is taken away. The Germans were tipped off, and Mr. Hannink asks Johan to kill the informer. Johan refuses, so a young boy does the job. In retaliation, the Germans shoot a group of innocent people on the side of the road. In September, Germans round up more men to work and shoot others. Then, they demand to use the Oosterveld house as a headquarters. The girls are stuck under blankets in the freezing back bedroom. When Annie sneaks downstairs to get wool, a German officer spots her. Johan concocts a story about a visiting niece to save them. Then, the Germans abruptly pack up and leave.

When soldiers pull random men off the streets, Johan goes into hiding. Fearful, Dientje sends the girls to Mr. Hannink’s underground hiding space. After 10 days, Johan returns and retrieves the girls, but Sini refuses to hide again and demands false papers so that she can work. One night, bombs drop, and everyone goes into the air raid shelter. Later, they learn that Canadians will liberate Usselo, so they all go meet the soldiers. When people stare and ask about the girls, Johan reveals who they are. That night, Annie and Sini sleep alone in the front room. When Annie ducks by the window, her sister reminds her that she’s safe.

The girls stay in Usselo for a month before returning to Winterswijk to live with Rachel and their father. Eventually, all of them leave, including Annie, who goes to the US. As an adult, Annie returns to Usselo with her own children to visit the Oostervelds, and she cries when she sees the hiding place in the closet.