The Upstairs Room

The new house outside Winterswijk represents the false hope that many Dutch Jews had at the outset of the war. Instead of fleeing to the US, like their relatives, Annie’s mother insists on staying:

Mother felt we would be about as safe as in America. It made Father furious to hear her say that. But he built the house anyway. The house wasn’t going to be near that border. No, it would be far away, on the other side of Winterswijk. The Germans would not bother us there (6).

Her father’s anger underscores the false optimism of her mother’s hopefulness. Like few others, he understands the need to get much further away. Winterswijk borders Germany, and moving to the outskirts of town does little to protect the family from an army that has already advanced across Europe. Young Annie naively believes the illusion that simply moving across town will make a difference. This mirrors the false hope of Dutch Jews that if they volunteer to work for the Germans, nothing bad will happen to them. When the threat of deportation looms larger, Annie’s father looks for places to hide his family. Annie “stamped [her] foot. Mother had been wrong about the new house.