Chapter+02

=**Chapter 2: Spiders Hatched**= = =


 * MEMORABLE PASSAGE(S):**


 * "I remember shadows. And in those shadows, spiders hatched. Venomous terrors were born. I know. I was one."**


 * "They all swore never to be like sheep. While a sixteen-year-old could make make such promises, he now understood how simple-minded that was: not everyone could be a leader; nor should everyone want to be one."**


 * SUMMARY:**

The chapter opens with the chilling start of Johann's letter to Helga, in which we learn Johann fears he has lost his soul and feels he became a "venomous terror", a spider hatched. Johann enters a flashback where he is waiting to meet Philipp, his Jewish friend, outside a watch shop. While waiting, Johann overhears a fanatic speaking wildly about how Germany's problems are the faults of the Jews. It is hinted the speaker could be Adolf Hitler, but never confirmed to the reader. As the crowd grows ever more rowdy and the police arrive, Johann leaves the scene, retreating to a park bench. He enters fitful dreams and reminisces of his earlier life and his experiences in WWI. Bosch, the Lutheran pastor Johann admired so greatly was killed in the war. Johann wondered how such a good man could die. Johann recalled how eager he had been to enter the war, and how he was disappointed not being at the front-line. Johann had been injured in war, but at that time, his national pride had not diminished. He still believed Germany could win the war. When the armistice was called, Johann was baffled. This loss in confidence may foreshadow how Johann, like many other Germans, was susceptible to the Nazi Party's rallies of pride and nationalism. Because of the time he served in the policlinic center during the war, Johann decided to pursue medicine after the war. As time progressed, despite his childhood claim of not following the herd, Johann began to see the importance of following. He noted how a leader is only as strong as his followers. At the end of the chapter we learn of Johann and Philipp becoming blood brothers and swearing eternal friendship.


 * CHARACTERS:**

Johann Brenner (21) Helga Brenner (21) Philipp Stein (23) Fredrich Brenner (27) Doktor Schmidt (29) Pfarrer Bosch (29) Christian Gerstner (32) General Ludendorff (33) Johann's Mother (38)


 * VOCABULARY:**


 * Ensnared (22)- To be caught or trapped in a snare.**


 * Jubilant (22)- Exultingly joyful**


 * Zealot (22)- A fanatically committed person**


 * Incontrovertible (22)- Impossible to dispute; unquestionable**


 * Unfathomable (25)- Difficult or impossible to understand; incomprehensible**


 * Harangue (26)- A scolding or a long or intense verbal attack.**


 * Absolete - No longer in general use; fallen into disuse**


 * Zeal - Fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence**


 * Ennobling - To elevate in degree, excellence, or respect; dignify**


 * Gymnasium-** High school


 * Crescendo - A steady increase in force or intensity**


 * Kirche**


 * Juden - Derogatory term for a jewish person**


 * Ardent**


 * Imminent - Likely to occur at any moment; impending**


 * Armistice - A temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties; truce**

__Communism__ (26)- A political system much like socialism but more extreme. Rose in Germany after WWI. Met with resistance and criticism from conservatives like Johann.
 * KEY CONCEPTS & EVENTS:**

__Deutsche Volspartei__ (29)- German's People Party. "**German People’s Party  (Deutsche Volkspartei; DVP) ****, ** right-liberal [|political party] founded by [|Gustav Stresemann] in 1918, made up largely of the educated and propertied. Since Stresemann was essentially a monarchist, when he decided to cooperate with the [|Weimar Republic] the DVP was at first excluded as being among the “national opposition.” When Stresemann became chancellor in 1923, the DVP was part of the “Great Coalition,” composed of representatives of the Social Democrats, the Centre, and the German Democrats. It dwindled // c. // 1927, and large sections of it went over to the extreme right."(Information from Britannica Online.)

__Eisner's assassination__ (26)- Einser was a German socialist journalist and politician, He was assassinated by a German nationalist on February 21, 1919. In the book, Johann sees this as a blessing, showing he is against the socialists.

__Freikorps__ (25)- "free corps". More information at []

__Kristallnacht__- November 9 and 10, 1938; A targeting of Jews and Jewish property across Germany and Austria carried out by the Nazi program. More information at []

__Munich__ (21)- The capital city of Bavaria, Germany.

__Nuremburg__- a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Location of trials. City is mostly bombed out and in a pathetic state after WWII.

__Rhineland__ (35)-The general name for areas of Germany along the middle and lower Rhine in Germany between Bingen and the Dutch border

__Stadtpark__ (25)- Veinna City Park.

__Treaty of Versailles__ (24)- The treaty written by the allies after WWI that punished Germany greatly. More information at: []

__Vaterland__ (23)- "Fatherland". The name given to germany by Germans; nationalist.

__Volk__ (20)- German people.

__Volksbank__ (21)- German for "people's bank" was founded in 1850.