Rachel Landau Character Analysis in Refugee

Josef and Ruthie’s mother, and Aaron’s wife. After Aaron is taken away to the Dachau concentration camp following Kristallnacht, Rachel becomes the primary caretaker in the family. But when they meet up with Aaron again six months later and board the St. Louis, Rachel starts to care primarily for the traumatized Aaron, while Josef takes responsibility for Ruthie and is forced into increasingly mature situations. When Aaron dives into the water to try to commit suicide and is taken to mainland Cuba, Rachel is distraught and Josef must become the adult in the family. When the St. Louis leaves Cuba, Rachel tries to become hopeful again and spends much of her time in the ship’s dance hall, but this too becomes a shirking of her responsibilities and only makes Josef’s burden heavier. At the end of the book, when the Nazis force Rachel to choose one of her children to set free and one to be sent into the concentration camps, Josef completely assumes the role of adult in her place, and chooses to sacrifice himself to save Ruthie.

Rachel Landau Quotes in Refugee

The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Rachel Landau or refer to Rachel Landau. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

It all came flooding back to him now—swaying and humming along with the prayers, craning his neck to see the Torah when it was taken out of the ark and hoping to get a chance to touch it and then kiss his fingers as the scroll came around in a procession. Josef felt his skin tingle. The Nazis had taken all this from them, from him, and now he and the passengers on the ship were taking it back.

Related Characters: Josef Landau, Rachel Landau, Aaron Landau

Page Number and Citation: 74

Explanation and Analysis:

A week into Josef’s journey on the St. Louis, the social hall is converted into a synagogue and Josef is able to have his bar mitzvah on the ship. Josef recalls how he had not been able to attend synagogue since before Kristallnacht, since after this event German Jews became afraid of gathering together in public spaces for fear of Nazi retaliation. Josef’s memories of the services and his excitement at being able to revive these traditions emphasize the importance of his cultural heritage. But the fact that Josef is able to practice these traditions once more on the St. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas deb

For as much as he’d wanted to grow up, Josef wished now that he could join them. Be a little kid again, cheerfully oblivious to what was going on around him.

But he wasn’t a kid anymore. He had responsibilities. Like keeping his sister and his mother safe.

Related Characters: Ruthie Landau/Rosenberg, Josef Landau, Pozner, Rachel Landau

Page Number and Citation: 253

Explanation and Analysis:

As the St. Louis makes its way back to Europe after being turned away by Cuba and the U.S., Josef watches Ruthie and some of the other kids playing in the pool on the ship, despite the fact that all of the adults have become extremely mournful. Josef recognizes his own transformation from kid to adult. He recognizes the naïveté of wanting to be an adult, because adulthood comes with the heavy responsibilities that he now understands, such as caring for his mother and sister. The heaviness of responsibility is particularly salient to Josef in this moment, as he is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducim

“Don’t you see?” Lito said. “The Jewish people on the ship were seeking asylum, just like us. They needed a place to hide from Hitler. From the Nazis. Mañana, we told them. We’ll let you in mañana. But we never did.” Lito was crying now, distraught. “We sent them back to Europe and Hitler and the Holocaust. Back to their deaths. How many of them died because we turned them away? Because I was just doing my job?”

Related Characters: Lito/Mariano Padron (speaker), Mahmoud Bishara, Isabel Fernandez, Josef Landau, Rachel Landau, Ruthie Landau/Rosenberg, Aaron Landau

Related Symbols: Boats

Page Number and Citation: 276

Explanation and Analysis:

Just as Isabel and the rest of the refugees on the boat are racing a Coast Guard boat to Miami’s shore, Lito shares the confession that he was the Cuban official who saved Aaron Landau, and who turned away the rest of the St. Louis passengers and sent them back to Europe. By tying together Isabel and Josef’s storylines in this way, Gratz makes another point about the importance of treating refugees with empathy and respect. Josef and Rachel were sent back to their deaths in Europe, and Lito was complicit in the decision that caused this outcome. Additionally, by Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta.

I don’t remember much about him, but I do remember he always wanted to be a grown-up. “I don’t have time for games,” he would tell me. “I’m a man now.” And when those soldiers said one of us could go free and the other would be taken to a concentration camp, Josef said, “Take me.”

My brother, just a boy, becoming a man at last.

Related Characters: Ruthie Landau/Rosenberg (speaker), Saul Rosenberg, Mahmoud Bishara, Josef Landau, Rachel Landau, Hana Bishara

Page Number and Citation: 315

Explanation and Analysis:

When Mahmoud and his family find asylum in Germany, they are settled with a host family. This turns out to be Ruthie and her husband Saul. When Mahmoud tells her about how he lost Hana, Ruthie reveals the conclusion of Josef’s story: he chose to sacrifice himself and go to the concentration camps so that Ruthie could go free, and died in the camp along with Rachel. Josef’s decision serves as the conclusion of his journey from a child to a man, as Ruthie acknowledges here. But her language also acknowledges that her brother was still a boy at the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ips

Rachel Landau Character Timeline in Refugee

The timeline below shows where the character Rachel Landau appears in Refugee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Family, Displacement, and Culture Theme Icon

The soldiers then drag Josef and Ruthie into the living room, where the children’s mother, Rachel, and father, Aaron, are. They accuse Josef’s father of practicing law, despite the fact that... (full context)

...him, saying that if he’s a man, he could go to the camps as well. Rachel cries in protest. The Nazis drag Aaron away, warning Josef not to be “so quick... (full context)

Injustice and Cruelty vs. Empathy and Social Responsibility Theme Icon

...Broken Glass.” Josef and the others know it means that they aren’t wanted in Germany. Rachel, meanwhile, tries fruitlessly to find Aaron. They do not hear about him until six months... (full context)

Josef, Ruthie, and Rachel board a train to Hamburg and sit in a compartment labeled J, for Jew. They... (full context)

...building. Above the ship flies the Nazi flag, with the swastika in the middle. As Rachel, Josef, and Ruthie stand on the dock, a shabby man stumbles out from behind a... (full context)

...other passengers in line to board and streaks up the gangway, with Josef, Ruthie, and Rachel running to catch up to him with their luggage. She apologizes to the sailor taking... (full context)

As Josef, Ruthie, and Rachel board the ship, Josef is amazed that all of the sailors on board treat them... (full context)

...and his family “with kindness and respect,” though Aaron hasn’t left their cabin once, and Rachel has barely left his side. Josef also notes that the other passengers—who are all Jewish—are... (full context)

...they have to hide or get off the ship to avoid the Nazis. Josef and Rachel try to restrain Aaron while he panics, and Josef explains that they’re slowing down because... (full context)

...attending the funeral because he had seen “too many men die without funerals at Dachau.” Rachel and Ruthie stay behind while Josef and Aaron go to the A-deck for the funeral... (full context)

...the social hall. Josef runs back to his cabin and explains what is happening to Rachel and Aaron. Josef is concerned that Aaron will be deemed “too mentally disturbed to enter... (full context)

Rachel and Josef escort Aaron to the social hall. As the doctor approaches them in line,... (full context)

Rachel starts to cry, but Aaron pulls himself together and stands at attention like a prisoner.... (full context)

...no choice but to bring Schiendick to his family’s cabin, where Aaron is napping and Rachel is reading. Schiendick and two firemen ransack the room, smashing the mirror and knocking the... (full context)

Josef, Aaron, and Rachel huddle in the corner. When there is nothing left to destroy, Schiendick spits at Aaron,... (full context)

...room against the door in terror following the incident with Schiendick, even after Josef and Rachel have cleaned the cabin up. Ruthie crouches in a corner, crying and hugging her mended... (full context)

Rachel tells Ruthie to go to the pool, and she tells Josef that she’s going to... (full context)

Rachel returns within minutes, but she is panicked now, too. She says that the doctor made... (full context)

...return, however, Aaron is no longer in the cabin. Josef instructs Ruthie to stay with Rachel, who is still asleep, and goes to search for his father. Josef runs into the... (full context)

Josef, Rachel, and Ruthie go to talk to Padron. Rachel asks how Aaron is. Padron says through... (full context)

...play games, but the adults walk around mournfully. The only adult who appears happy is Rachel. For days she had locked herself in their cabin, crying and mourning for Aaron. But... (full context)

Josef finds Rachel in the dance hall, and she asks him to dance with her. Josef refuses, thinking... (full context)

...the bandleader says that there will be an announcement in the social hall. Josef and Rachel go to the hall, where they see a few passengers who had been working as... (full context)

...the passengers that they are going to try to find other landing places in Europe. Rachel returns to the dance hall, saying that other people will figure out a plan, but... (full context)

...to divide the refugees among them. The passengers throw an enormous party in celebration. Josef, Rachel, and Ruthie are assigned to France. Josef had wanted to go to England, across the... (full context)

Josef, Ruthie, and Rachel arrive in France exactly 40 days after leaving on the ship. Josef thinks of the... (full context)

Josef, Rachel, and Ruthie spend the night in a hotel before taking a train to Le Mans,... (full context)

One year after arriving in France, Josef, Ruthie, and Rachel are hiding in a tiny schoolhouse in Vornay, trying to avoid the Nazi soldiers and... (full context)

...window and sees Nazi soldiers entering the building. He breaks a nearby window and helps Rachel and Ruthie out, glass ripping through his coat and into his skin. The Nazis spot... (full context)

The Nazis catch up to them, and search Rachel’s coat for papers. The Nazis see that they are Jewish, and tell them that they... (full context)

The Nazi soldier examines the earrings, then tells Rachel that they are only enough to buy freedom for one of her children. Josef understands:... (full context)

...and raised her as family. When the war was over, she searched for Josef and Rachel, but they had both died in the camps. Then she met her husband Saul, and... (full context)

Rachel Landau Character Analysis

Rachel Landau Quotes in Refugee

Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days Quotes

Josef: Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 22 days Quotes

Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (3) Quotes

Mahmoud: Berlin Germany – 2015, Home Quotes

Rachel Landau Character Timeline in Refugee