Number the Stars: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

Annemarie and Ellen get ready for bed, and, as they do, Ellen expresses how nervous she is at the idea of a soldier coming to the house. At the same time, she reveals that she has a plan—if anyone asks who she is, she would “just pretend to be Lise.”

As the girls brush their hair, Ellen asks Annemarie how Lise died—she says that though she remembers the funeral, she never knew what happened to Lise. Annemarie confesses that she doesn’t know “exactly” what happened to Lise either—she knows only that Lise was struck by a car while out with Peter one night. As Ellen solemnly reflects on the day of Lise’s funeral, Annemarie notices a gold and gleaming Star of David necklace around her neck.

Together the girls get into bed and continue talking about Lise—about her terrible fate, her secret trunk of things, and how beautiful she was. The girls talk about Lise until the girls fall asleep. Hours later, a pounding on the door shakes them from their sleep. Annemarie opens the door to see what’s happening while the terrified Ellen remains in bed. Out in the hall, Annemarie can see her Mama and Papa, holding candlesticks, greeting three Nazis. The soldiers ask them about the whereabouts of the Rosen family—their apartment is empty. The Johansens insist that no one is home but the members of their own family, but the Nazis insist on looking around the apartment.

Annemarie quietly shuts the bedroom door and flies back to the bed, urging Ellen to take her necklace off. Ellen cannot undo the clasp, and so Annemarie grabs the chain and yanks it free. She folds the necklace into her hand just as the Nazis enter the bedroom and aim a flashlight at the two of them. The soldiers sweep the room but find nothing suspicious. They order the girls to get out of bed and follow them to the living room—Ellen and Annemarie, frightened, follow them. 

In the living room the Nazis demand to know the girls’ names. Annemarie gives them her own name, while Ellen tells them her name is Lise Johansen. Mama, distraught, urges the officers to let the innocent children go back to bed. One officer, though, grabs a handful of Ellen’s dark hair, and asks why everyone else in the family is blonde. He asks if the Johansens got the dark-haired girl “from the Rosens.” Papa strides over to a nearby bookcase and pulls out a family photograph album, then tears out three pictures. He hands them to the German officer and points out the names written at the bottom of each—they are of Annemarie, Kirsti, and the real Lise, who had dark hair as a baby.

The officer tears the pictures into pieces and leaves the apartment, taking his cronies with him. Annemarie relaxes her right hand—she has been clutching Ellen’s necklace inside it the whole time. As she opens her palm, she sees that she has “imprinted the Star of David” into the soft flesh there.