KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Escaping East Berlin
(Genre: Historical Fiction)
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Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
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When I was a young girl, I loved secrets. I hid toys under the loose
bricks in the courtyard of our apartment building. I sometimes hid myself
for hours in a nook below our pantry shelves. I even discovered a secret
window between East Berlin and West Berlin. It was the only way to see
my beloved cousin, Ilse.
On Friday afternoons, I would stop by the candy shop for a treat. After
paying, I asked the young woman behind the counter, “Do you have
anything new?”
“Let’s look,” she’d say, smiling. I
followed her to the rear of the store, into a
narrow supply room. At the back, behind
some boxes, was a fogged-up old window.
The young woman opened the window,
and there, on the other side, was an alley
in West Berlin. On the ground below was
Ilse, with a giddy smile. The window was
so high that Ilse and I could barely brush
fingertips. We slipped each other letters,
photos, and news of our families. It was
just a few moments each week, but it was
From 1945 until 1989, Germany and its capital
precious.
city of Berlin were divided into communist East
Each week, my mother, Mutti, asked,
Germany and free West Germany. Many East
“Anything new at the candy shop?” I gave Germans escaped into West Berlin, until East
Germany built a wall around the city in 1961.
her the letters from Ilse’s family. When
my father, Vati, came home, we would all read them together.
But in 1961, East Berlin started to close in around us, and secrets
weren’t fun anymore. They had become dangerous. One morning, Mutti
looked grave as she handed me letters to take to Ilse.
“You can’t go to the candy store anymore,” she said cautiously, as if
someone were listening. “It’s … it’s not healthy. The letter explains why.”
On the way to school, I read Mutti’s tiny script. “Dearest Family: The
Stasi are cracking down. I fear that the men on the first floor of our
building are spies. They will arrest anyone who tries to escape. Even
Nadia and Ilse are not safe going near the border anymore. I will miss
your letters, but we cannot risk it. I’m so afraid!”
Unit 1
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Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details
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KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Escaping East Berlin continued
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Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
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At the candy shop, I could not bear to tell Ilse myself. I reached out the
window to clutch her fingertips. “Read the letter,” I said.
Not long after, Vati came home from work one evening. His face was the
color of ash.
“East German soldiers are building a wall around West Berlin, to keep
us here forever,” he whispered urgently to Mutti. “They’ve strung wire
across the alleys. Bulldozers are already ripping up the streets.”
“Should we try to get out?” Mutti whispered.
“I don’t think there is a way out anymore.”
“We should ask the candy-shop girl,” I said. Mutti and Vati exchanged a
silent nod.
We left that evening, pretending to go to the cinema. We left everything
behind. Otherwise, the Stasi would know we weren’t coming back. As we
passed the candy shop, I begged for a treat, as Vati and I had rehearsed.
Vati, acting reluctant, knocked on the door.
The young girl peered out. “We’re closed,” she said, loudly. But she
hesitated, looking around. “Quickly!” she whispered, herding us inside
and locking the door behind us.
“Many families have come through already,” she said, leading us
through the dark shop. “The Stasi have noticed. I was about to run myself
when I heard you knock.”
The window rattled open, and the girl directed Vati to jump. “How far is
the ground?” he asked. I’d never heard him sound so afraid.
“Not far,” I reassured him. Mutti breathed hard and gulped as she
dropped into Vati’s arms below. The shop girl’s hands shook as I helped
her down.
“HALT!”
A light stabbed through the shop. I froze. It was a soldier. His flashlight
flailed and his gun clattered as he squeezed between the shelves of the
candy shop.
The soldier’s light caught my face, and he stopped. He was silent for a
moment, as if unsure what to do. We were not half a meter from each
other. I heard his fast breath, and I saw the light tremble. Though I
couldn’t see his face behind the light, I looked straight at him. I did not
blink.
“Go,” he whispered. “Go now.”
“Danke,” I said, thanking him.
Under the trembling light, I followed my family through the window
to freedom.
Unit 1
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Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details
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KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Comprehension Check
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
1. One message of this story is that secrets can be both good and bad. How is this true
for the narrator?
2. Which quote from the text best helps you infer that the soldier was scared?
a. “His flashlight flailed and his gun clattered as he squeezed through
between the shelves of the candy shop.”
b. “I heard his fast breath, and I saw the light tremble.”
c. “The soldier’s light caught my face, and he stopped.”
d. “Though I couldn’t see his face behind the light, I looked straight at him.”
3. How are West Berlin and East Berlin different?
4. Read this sentence from the passage.
One morning, Mutti looked grave as she handed me letters to take to Ilse.
What is a synonym for the word grave in this sentence?
a. happy
b. serious
c. upset
d. silent
Unit 1
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Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details
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KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
5. Why do the narrator and her family have to leave right away? Include at least one
quote from the passage to support your answer.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Common Core Progress.
6. What is the best antonym for the word thrilling?
a. exciting
b. scary
c. comfortable
d. boring
7. Write a short summary of the story.
Unit 1
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Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details
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