Throughout chapter 10, deeper themes are shown through each character.   Tsura reacts to Marko being gay in a very negative manner. Tsura becomes very angry when she learns that Marko is gay, as she may be fearful that their family name won’t be carried on for future generations. She also cannot believe that Marko would betray Kizzy and leave her alone at the hospital. As a result of this, Kizzy is taken by the Nazis. Kizzy is getting off the train car she had been in for two days with no food or water. People flood out of the car knocking her over. The men and women are getting separated, and when the Nazi asks her age, she holds out a pack of cigarettes. The guard hits them away and takes her away from her friends. Alex is also still a prisoner of Rosenstrasse and comes to a realization how this world only cares about themselves and what affects them. He gets the bread and fake papers from Ruth and gets taken away because of the fake papers. He is also worried about his father and how sick he is becoming. Ruth is beginning to lose hope that she will ever see Alex and her father again. Elise, her mom, and Ruth continue to stand outside and protest for their family. They also go to see their church and see their holy place be burned. Seeing their one place of freedom ruined made them lose even more hope that the Nazi’s even have control over their worship. Elise expresses to Ruth how pathetic it is for her to be praying for the Jews and Gypsies. Elise dislikes those religious groups and believes everyone else should too. Elise and Ruth then go to see the cathedral ruins and Mrs. Broden becomes very shaken up by the ruins.

 

     In this chapter, Tsura finds out that Marko identifies as gay. Tsura feels betrayed as well as hatred toward Marko for being gay, “Tsura loved her brother, but she couldn't forgive him.” By stating that Tsura couldn't “forgive” him, the readers learn even though they are related, couldn't move past the fact that Marko Identifies as gay. Being homosexual was not tolerated during this time period. Adding on to finding out that Marko Identifies as gay, Tsura also finds out everything wrong that Marko did. Tsura states, “He’d stolen a bag from some poor kid, he’d pretended to not know Elise, Alex was only a friend, he’d said. But all those lies were nothing compared to what he did to Kizzy.” Marko feels guilty that he let Kizzy take Professor Deur to the hospital, instead of him taking her. He feels that he is the reason she was taken by the Gestapo. If Marko had just come with her, Kizzy would probably still be with them. Tsura becomes upset at Marko because she wishes he had chosen family over his love. Due to the fact that he did let Kizzy go outside at night alone, she is taken by the Nazi’s and never seen again.

Train portrays an important motif of how gay people at this time were mistreated. This chapter expresses this theme through Tsura and her actions. Even though Marko is Tsura's brother, it still upsets her that he’s gay. Being gay at a time like this was very dangerous, and Tsura worries that her brother will be unsafe because of his sexuality. “Marko got away with his misbehaviors, his disobedience, his jokes and pranks” (311). This text suggests that Tsura feels that her brother's decisions regarding his homosexuality are “misbehaviors.” She loves her brother but lets his sexuality come in the way of her feelings towards him. This reflects the theme of gay people being mistreated as even their family members struggle to accept them.

 

     A main theme in the book and one that’s specifically shown in this chapter is how the characters continue holding onto hope during such hard times. A character who is able to hold the most faith in this chapter is Ruth, as she believes if she solves the puzzle, Alex will be okay. Ruth states, “If I solve every puzzle, everything will turn out alright.”  This is her way of coping with the traumatic events that she is facing. This also allows her to believe that her brother and father will get better. Ruth and her family have been through so much that would lead them to give up, but they never do. Instead, they protest outside of Rosenstrasse, and never lose hope.