Lies

Annemarie is aware of the lies that they are being told by her mother and her uncle. She questions her Uncle as he is milking the cow, stating, "you are lying to me. You and Mama both." Her uncle explains to her that they have not given her all the information, because they want to make it easier for her to be brave during this time, and that even they do not know everything about the situation to remain safer. This kind of guardianship from the truth is controversial, and goes against common societal ideas such as "knowledge is power". However, it is in fact a very common occurrence in our everyday lives. Lowry brings to light the reality of this common paradox, posing the question, when is it okay to keep secrets?

"Great-aunt Birte"

A curious conversation that Annemarie overhears between her mother and her Uncle Henrik brings up questions about what her family has become involved in. Lowry seems to paint distrust between the adults and the children, especially focused on Annemarie, as they tell her a lie about how they are clearing the living room for "their Great-aunt Birte's casket" when Annemarie knows that they don't have a Great-aunt Berte. It can be inferred from this scene that they have become involved in transporting Danish Jews, but the details of the situation are unclear, and Annemarie isn't aware of this being the case yet.

Reprieve

As Annemarie, her sister and mother, and her friend Ellen stay with her Uncle Henrik, there is a scene in which there is a definite reprieve from the stressors and the worries that the Nazi invasion has made them so accustomed to. They even joke about how the Nazis "relocate" their butter to the stomachs of their soldiers. That morning is a discontinuity of their stressful lives that Lowry put in in order to give the reader a glimpse of their lives before the Germans began intruding upon their lives.