True to their promise, the governments of Great Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later. World War II has begun. The morning of September 1 finds Lilli and Mutti on the busy street with the trolley line, on the very block where Lilli tackled Helga to the ground just a few days before. Mutti, always much more stylishly dressed than the average German Frau, wears a flowered-chiffon summer dress and a brimmed straw hat, tilted at a charming angle. Lilli, already tall for her age, walks beside her mother. She is dressed in her usual khaki clothing, high socks, and sturdy shoes. She carries both a small suitcase and a backpack. Her heart is racing. She could never have imagined this scene until the day of Helga’s accident . . . Helga, who now rests with her broken arm and dislocated shoulder in a cast, attended in the attic room by Gerda and a hired nurse. After Helga’s fall, people began to gather, seemingly from nowhere, muttering and making suggestions for lifting her from the ground.
