Could Johannes have done more to save his daughter? What would you have done?

Could Johannes have done more to save his daughter? What would you have done?

One of the most heartbreaking moments of the book was Johannes’ confession that he ordered the lethal injection. Initially, I couldn’t believe it but I have certainly not walked in his shoes. He was working for the government and knew what was happening behind the scenes. I don’t know if he could have done anything to save her, once she was taken away. But I cannot imagine making the decision he did. I believe many parents would put themselves in harm’s way with efforts to save their child. Perhaps he could have done more but he had made it clear in previous conversations that he was not completely opposed to the ideas of the Reich.

We always like to think we can do something to protect others but his actions could have dire consequences for the rest of his family. He was a member of the government’s party so Johannes may have agreed with their philosophy of eugenics. Once his daughter was in the clinic the opportunity to save her was probably gone. I think his choice of lethal injection was a horrible but a humane one at that moment in time. It cost him everything he cared about.

This portion of the story was absolutely heart wrenching. It’s difficult to say what a person would do in Johannes’ place. What he did was perhaps the only choice he had given the circumstances.

Perhaps Johannes could have had the foresight to see what was in store for his daughter and arranged for her to escape with Helen. But many of these characters regret their choices after they see their consequences. Rosie's treatment by Truman and her surgery speaks for all victims of these acts. Johannes' lack of action shows the harm done by the Nazis to so many.

We all have an "If only I had known.." in our lives. I feel that Johannes knew his daughter was not going to survive when she was taken away from the family. He chose the lesser of all the evils that he knew could have happened to her.

We all seem to put one step in front of the other and walk blindly into unimaginable horror. If I know what the Reich is up to and I certainly know I have a daughter who fits the profile of their victims, the time to act would be immediately upon the discovery. Johannes was sympathetic to the cause and thought he and his family would be spared. This part of the story reminded me of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." Evil is like an avalanche, consuming everything in its path.

Perhaps Johannes was fearful of possible experimentation done to the impetfect children and felt the lethal injection was his only choice.

I think that Johannes could have spoken against the lethal injection, but probably feared for his position if he did not approve it for his daughter. In other books about WWII and the Nazis, Hitler demanded absolute loyalty, and there was no room for negotiation or wavering.

I agree with deeh. I think he could see the forest in spite of the trees and knew what was coming. Perhaps, knowing the reich from being a part of it, he figured there was no escape.

I agree with Muse48. It was pretty obvious that Johannes knew what the Reich was doing early on and that his daughter fit the profile (remember the conversation he has with his wife Martine a few chapters before Brigitta is taken?), so why didn't he take action at that time to get his daughter out of the country? Sure, the escape might not have worked in the end, but he didn't even make the effort to try, despite all the red flags. Perhaps he was in denial that anything would happen to him being a member of the party in power? Or maybe he actually agreed with what the Reich was doing? I don't know, but in my gut, I feel like he wasn't as "helpless" in his situation as he was made out to be. I felt like that instance where Helen berates Johannes for allowing his superior to call his daughter a "monkey" and not saying anything is telling as to what kind of a person he is...

This is another instance of ":Sophie's Choice" ; people living under extreme conditions having to make impossible choices. It is easy to say "yes" while living comfortable in 2024 in USA. It was another time and place. It might be considered a thoughtful thing to do, while abhorent to us now. He saved her from certain extermination in a concentration camp. I'm not sure he had any way to save her

I think many people who stayed later wished they had left when they had the chance. If Johannes had tried to send Brigita away with Helen, I'm not sure his wife would have stayed behind. I'm not sure the Germans would let a whole family leave.

The end of the book was heart-wrenching when he confessed what he had done. I think the experimentation was awful so I might have made the same choice as Johannes by that point.

Both lee and sheilaa raised good points. I believe Johannes knew Brigitta fit the profile that the nazi’s wanted to do away with and that Brigitta would be taken. There was a point at the end of chapter 23 when Joannes said “what about the ones in institutions where day after day their lives are meaningless and no one truly loves or cares for them?” I couldn’t help but wonder whether he was trying to justify the Reich’s actions and Brigatta’a inevitable death. That he did not speak up when his daughter was referred to as a monkey was appalling. Perhaps her felt he could not speak up because there were so many Nazis standing nearby; however, I think there may have been a way to speak up if it was just Johannes and his officer.
Sheilaa made an excellent point making impossible choices under extreme conditions. Groups like the KKK and other hate groups would be gone from our country today if it were so easy to combat their disinformation and behavior, especially in 2024.
So many scenarios about what I would have done run through my mind. I just can’t predict what I would have done given the many variables that needed to be considered such as size of group, potential to be overheard, potential threat/death for the rest of the family, etc.

I agree with what others have stated here. This was such a heartbreaking section of the novel. With what we know today, one must wonder if Johannes decisions were perhaps also based on keeping himself alive for his family. If he spoke out against comments from his commanding officer, or fought differently for Brigitta, what would have become of Johannes? Of course, his actions ended with him being estranged from his family. None of the available choices led to an outcome anyone would hope for.

Ditto. This storyline was so incredibly heart wrenching. Unimaginable, really. But we know people have endured such traumatic times and still do, given all the global "unrest." I wish those people who deny these things happened or could happen again would read books like this.