Behind the Bedroom Wall

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Initially, Korinna does not want Rachel to play with her kitten. What does her decision to let the kitten into the secret room illustrate?

A) Her diminished interest in the kitten

B) Her growing compassion for Rachel

C) Her desire to not disappoint her mother

D) Her embarrassment at her mother’s criticism

2. Why does Eva run from the beating of Herr Haase?

A) She does not want to be seen sympathizing with a “Jew-lover.”

B) She is upset to see a kind man being aggressively beaten in front of his family.

C) She is scared that Hans will also hurt her.

D) She despises Rita’s indifferent reaction to the scene.

3. What is the role of the black books?

A) To encourage the children to spy on those around them, reporting disloyal actions

B) To encourage the children to hero worship the Fuhrer by writing about him in the book

C) To encourage the children to express their creativity

D) To encourage the children to record altered historical details

4. What does the children being instructed to paste together pages in their history books symbolize?

A) The attempts of the Nazi party to rewrite history to be more pro-German

B) The Nazi party’s desire for children to look to the future, not to the past

C) The attempts of the Nazi party to uncover disloyal teachers

D) The Nazi party’s desire for children to be unquestioningly obedient, even when given strange demands

5. Why does Korinna get slapped at her jungmädel meeting?

A) She does not march in step with the other girls.

B) She refuses to join in the singing.

C) She says that she will not participate anymore.

D) She does not salute quickly enough and is out of time with the other girls.

6. Why is it disturbing that Rachel draws Ruth with blue eyes and blonde hair?

A) Rachel has forgotten what her sister looks like.

B) Ruth had to dye her hair and wear contacts to avoid detection. 

C) Rachel has confused her sister with someone else.

D) Ruth looked nothing like the rest of her family.

7. What does Korinna’s changing perception of the Fuhrer’s portrait illustrate about her ideology?

A) Korinna always admires the Fuhrer, but she begins to question his methods; this leads her to feel some ambivalence towards the portrait.

B) Korinna once loved and admired the portrait, but later the sight of it makes her feel stressed and angry; she has become totally disillusioned with the regime.

C) Korinna struggles to reconcile her unchanged love of the Fuhrer with her growing affection for Rachel; the portrait reminds her of this dissonance.

D) Korinna’s continued love of the portrait attests to the strength of the Nazis’ ideological brainwashing.

8. Why does Rita tell Korinna that she thinks of Jewish people all the time and feels sorry for them?

A) Rita says this because these are her genuine feelings; she feels sorry about what Jewish people are enduring.

B) Rita, who knows that Korinna feels this way, expresses this belief because she wants to remain best friends with Korinna.

C) Rita is a pathological liar who constantly fabricates stories, including about her feelings.

D) Rita, who doesn’t actually feel sorry for Jews, is trying to goad Korinna into revealing her un-German sympathy for Jews.

9. What does Korinna realize to be as important as love after she and her family are forced to flee?

A) Helping others

B) Freedom

C) Trusting no one

D) Being true to oneself

10. Why does Korinna’s mother encourage Korinna to attend the jungmädel, even though it espouses beliefs that Frau Rehme finds offensive and problematic?

A) To avoid bringing their family under suspicion

B) To gain information on tactics of surveillance

C) To allow Korinna to maintain her friendships

D) To encourage Korinna to get a perfect attendance medal

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why is it significant that Korinna calls her kitten “Tag”?

2. What role do children play in identifying dissidents of the Nazi regime?