The Upstairs Room

As the place where Germans post notices about new laws, the tree symbolizes both the Nazis’ threatening presence and Annie’s youth and innocence, thus helping thematically develop The Loss of Innocence in Extreme Circumstances. She explains how the tree “talks” to the town, which simplifies what’s happening during German occupation and reflects her naive outlook that these are simple rules (whereas the notices are part of a systemic plan to deport and exterminate Jews). Her innocence is apparent when they move to the new house and Annie notes, “The tree still talked, even to us outside of town” (19). Her simplistic belief that moving away would stop the rules and regulations from reaching her family shows how little she understands.

In contrast to Annie’s innocence, the notices on the tree symbolize German machinery and efficiency. First, “the tree had asked for Jewish volunteers” (22), insinuating that working for Germany would be a good thing and suggesting that the Nazis are kindhearted because they ask people to work of their own volition; the forced labor isn’t apparent to most Dutch Jews. However, as the war progresses and many have already been lost, the German military drops the ruse of kindness, and “the tree no longer spoke nicely” (23). Now that it’s too late for Dutch citizens to fight back, since many have already left and the Germans already have a stronghold on the area, the Nazis assert their authority without fear of resistance. They systematically built trust until they could do what they wanted. In fact, after the tree begins demanding that people work for Germany, the troops begin rounding people up off the streets. As a result, the tree is a complex symbol that paradoxically represents both Annie’s childlike perspective and the calculated moves of the German army, proving that traumatic events can shatter innocence.