City of Thieves: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

The detour to the clearing ruined any chances Lev and Kolya had for making it to Mga by nightfall, and they walk fast to try to beat the cold. As the sun begins to set, Lev sees four German airplanes racing towards Leningrad, and he thinks they look harmless. The war seems abstract outside of Leningrad, and Lev feels guilty and selfish for feeling safe outside the city.

Lev and Kolya are walking past Berezovka, a name Lev is familiar with because it was the location of one of the clashes between the Nazis and the Red Army. Lev tells the reader how the newspapers must be read in order to glean the hidden truth. If the newspapers say that the Red Army "withdrew to reserve strength," that means they lost the battle, while if they "gladly sacrificed themselves," it had been a massacre. Berezovka had been a massacre. The village itself has been torched.

As they walk around the edge of the village, Kolya says the Germans are fools, since the best fighters in history gave their enemies a way out. He continues, saying that with the Germans, you die whether or not you fight or surrender. Lev thinks that this assessment, while true, misses the fact that the Germans don't care about embracing the "inferior races." Lev says to the reader that the Russian people are a “mongrel” people shaped by years of invasion and lost battles and haven't adapted to brute reality, unlike the Germans, who simply believe they're playing a role in human evolution. Lev responds to Kolya, though, by mentioning that the French got a way out, which Kolya ridicules.

Lev changes the subject to the disappearing light, and Kolya says they can build a dugout. Lev thinks he can't keep up much longer, and can't feel his fingertips even in his thick wool mittens. He asks Kolya if they have a shovel, and Kolya replies that they have hands and a knife. Lev, unimpressed, says they need to get inside, brushing off Kolya's attempt to jokingly draft him into the army and sleep outside.

Suddenly Kolya puts his hand on Lev's chest and gestures to a Russian soldier standing with his back to them, 100 meters away. They creep closer, and at 50 meters, Kolya shouts at the soldier to not shoot. The soldier doesn't turn, and Kolya and Lev walk closer. The soldier is standing far too still, knee deep in the snow. As Lev and Kolya approach, they realize the soldier has been dead for days. A wood sign with the German phrase "Workers of all lands unite!" hangs around his neck. Lev removes it and Kolya tries the man's gun, which doesn't work, but Kolya finds a pouch of bullets under the coat. Lev and Kolya try to pull the man out of the snow, but he's frozen to the ground, and they soon move on.

East of Berezovka, Lev and Kolya spot a farmhouse with lit windows and smoke coming out of the chimney. They bicker about the merits of approaching the farmhouse. Kolya says it's a bad idea, and Lev counters that it's better than freezing. Kolya finally admits that they're not going to make it to Mga, because he realized hours ago that they're not going the right way. After more arguing, Lev starts walking to the farmhouse alone, his legs beginning to give out.

Kolya catches up to Lev and says they don't have to be stupid about it. He leads Lev behind the house, next to a huge stack of firewood. Kolya peers into the window and they hear American music playing inside. Lev asks who's in the house, but Kolya is silent, and Lev thinks that it must be something entirely unexpected. He joins Kolya at the window. Inside are four teenage girls in nightshirts, dancing to the music. Lev expects Kolya to be happy at what they've stumbled upon, but he looks grim and angry. He leads Lev around to the front of the house.

Kolya knocks on the door and one of the girls appears in the window. She tells Kolya he shouldn't be here, and Kolya instructs her to open the door, holding his pistol so she can see. After conferring with the other girls, the girl lets Lev and Kolya inside and into the great room. The youngest girl looks ready to cry as Kolya asks when "they" are coming. When the girls attempt to sidestep the question, Kolya chambers a bullet dramatically, and one of the girls says "they" come around midnight. Kolya asks if the Germans come and have the girls take care of them after shelling Piter.

Lev says that in some ways, he's very stupid, even though he feels he's more intelligent than average. He tells the reader about how smart his father was as well, and says that his father would've known what was happening in the farmhouse immediately, but Lev is takes a long time to realize why the girls are here and who's feeding them.

A blond girl looks angry, and asks Kolya where the Red Army has been and why they didn't protect her family when the Germans shot them and burned the town. She continues, saying that if she were a general, all her soldiers would've died before they let a single Nazi into Russia, and Kolya puts his pistol away and says he's glad she's not the general.