Near the opening of the novel, Michael remembers Kristallnacht, the night the Nazis attacked and rounded up Jews throughout Berlin, and the night Michael first understood the depths of the Nazis’ depravity. Michael was struck by the image of one Jewish man being mercilessly beaten by a group of Germans, and by his own parents’ refusal to help the man. Michael’s parents explained that if they fought the injustice occurring “‘right here and now’” (10), they’d be captured and unable to complete their larger mission of helping the Allies, and ultimately saving many more people. Michael, however, remains haunted by the “helpless” (21) feeling of watching innocent people suffer; throughout the novel, he will wrestle with the question of when compromising one’s own morals is acceptable in service of the greater good.

Throughout the novel, Michael pretends to be a loyal Nazi boy in order to get closer to the Nazis and learn their secrets, and along the way, he must espouse philosophies and take part in actions he doesn’t agree with. When it comes to smaller acts such as burning books, Michael is willing to “burn every last book in Berlin” (36) if doing so will help the Allies win—even if he’s “consigning little bits of [his] soul to the fire” (36) as well.