A Night Divided

Gerta notices a change in Fritz. He is no longer as hardworking, is moodier and more distracted, and spends more time with whatever simple pleasures he can find. Now that Gerta is considered dangerous to associate with, she begins reading more to fill the hours alone. She is reading in her quiet, bugged house one day when she hears noise next door. She can tell that Herr Krause is in pain, crying out for help. When she runs next door, she sees Herr Krause on the floor, bleeding. Gerta shouts that she will call the police, but a gruff voice that identifies itself as law enforcement tells her to go back inside.

Papers go flying out of the open doorway. Gerta grabs one. Straightaway, she sees why Herr Krause is being arrested: He has been operating a free press from his home. Gerta grabs a paper that says, “If I cannot speak what I think then it’s a crime to be me” (72). An officer attempts to grab the page from Gerta, and when looking at the Stasi officer in the face, Gerta sees that she knows him.