Sanna Allegory
Sanna's story is an allegory of the author's own. Both were aware in 1937 that things were becoming dark in their native country but neither really understood how much darker they were going to get. Both were opposed to Hitler and his cohorts, and both were willing to express their opinions - to a point. Sanna is perhaps more circumspect about this than the author, given that this, and her other books, were published during the first years of Hitler's regime.
Both young women were somewhat naive, but not so naive that they did not notice that that would be required to live a pretense for much of the time, for their own safety. If a person opposed Hitler they had better keep it a secret, and give every outward sign of being a fervent believer in his rule. Both the author and Sanna realized this and the novel chronicles their struggle to enable their actual views, and their survival instinct, to come together.
Hitler Salute
After the man on the bicycle is taken away by guards a woman in the crowd shouts out that his behavior was "disgusting" and she gives the Hitler salute - an arm raised stiffly in the air. This salute was a symbol of support and also a symbol of conforming to the expectations of both authorities and fellow Germans. It was also something that was used as an act of being seen to support Hitler, regardless of whether or not a person actually did.
S.S. Guard Symbol
To Sannay, the uniform of the S.S. symbolized both brashness and laziness. Her experience of the guards was that they were brash, and rather over-imbued with a sense of their own importance. They almost all felt more important than they actually were. They were also very lazy, and would only help the townsfolk if it helped them to do so. Otherwise they would rather sit, and let their uniform speak for them.
Fawning Poetry Symbol
Sanna's brother cannot get his writings published or re-published because he is considered to be a dissident. He therefore wants to write a poem that fawns over Hitler and proclaims his greatness. He believes this will be a symbol of his change of heart and of compliance with the regime, and as such get his work back into publication.
Oppression Symbol
The fact that Sanna's brother feels he has to write a positive poem about Hitler in order to be published again is a symbol of the regime's oppression of the people and its complete abandonment of free speech.
Sanna Symbol
Sanna is a symbol of hope in the novel even when it becomes obvious that there is very little hope left for a country that have got behind Hitler with enthusiasm. She knows that she needs to be careful, but she is also pragmatic and knows that she needs to be seen to be conforming to what the authorities require. She knows that there is political and social turmoil, yet she wants the right to be preoccupied by parties, matchmaking her friends and living the life of a young woman, free from oppression. She is a symbol of a light in the dark even when it is apparent that everything is going to get much darker for her after the novel ends.
