Number the Stars — 5-Minute Cram Guide | Last Night Study
1 · Quick Overview
Setting
Copenhagen & coastal Denmark · 1943
Point of view
3rd person limited (Annemarie)
Based on
True events · Danish rescue of Jews, 1943
Historical context: In October 1943, Nazi Germany ordered the arrest and deportation of all 7,000 Danish Jews to concentration camps. Danish citizens — ordinary people, not soldiers — organized a secret rescue operation. Within two weeks, nearly the entire Jewish population of Denmark was smuggled by boat across the sea to neutral Sweden. This novel is based on that true rescue.
2 · Characters
Annemarie Johansen
Protagonist · 10-year-old Danish girl
The narrator and main character. Annemarie is brave but also genuinely frightened — she does not start out as a hero. Over the course of the story she grows from a child who wonders if she could be brave into a girl who proves she can be. She is loyal, thoughtful, and protective of Ellen.
Ellen Rosen
Annemarie's best friend · Jewish girl
Annemarie's best friend and neighbor. When the Nazis begin rounding up Danish Jews, Ellen comes to stay with the Johansen family for safety. She is brave and calm on the surface but terrified underneath. She and her parents are ultimately smuggled to Sweden. Ellen represents all the Jewish families Denmark worked to save.
Papa and Mama Johansen
Annemarie's parents · Rescuers
Quiet, ordinary Danish citizens who put their family in serious danger to protect the Rosens. Papa quickly invents a story to fool the Nazi soldiers. Mama makes the dangerous walk through the woods to Uncle Henrik's boat in the dark. They represent the courage of ordinary people under occupation.
Uncle Henrik
Mama's brother · Fisherman and rescuer
A fisherman who lives on the coast. His boat is used to ferry Jewish families across the sea to Sweden. He is the one who tells Annemarie that it is easier to be brave when you do not know everything — that acting in the dark is sometimes the only way to act at all. He is calm, steady, and deeply principled.
Kirsti Johansen
Annemarie's younger sister
Five years old, cheerful, and completely unaware of the danger around her. She has grown up under the Nazi occupation and thinks it is normal — she has never tasted real bread or seen fireworks. She provides moments of innocence and unintentional humor throughout the story.
Lise Johansen
Annemarie's older sister · Deceased
Annemarie's older sister who died before the story begins — hit by a Nazi car at a resistance meeting. At first the family says she died in an accident. Annemarie eventually learns the truth: Lise was part of the Danish Resistance. Her fiancé Peter Nielsen continues her work. Lise's memory is a quiet presence throughout the novel.
Peter Nielsen
Lise's fiancé · Resistance fighter
Lise's former fiancé who has become a full member of the Danish Resistance after her death. He helps organize the escape of Jewish families, including the Rosens. He is brave and capable but carries deep grief. An author's note reveals that Peter was eventually captured and executed by the Nazis.
The Nazi Soldiers
Antagonists · Occupying force
German soldiers who occupy Copenhagen and enforce Nazi orders. They appear at the Johansens' apartment at night demanding to know who Ellen is. They are threatening and powerful, but the novel shows them being outsmarted by ordinary citizens acting with quiet courage and quick thinking.
3 · Core Themes
1
Courage — ordinary people doing extraordinary things
None of the Danish rescuers in this novel are soldiers or superheroes. They are parents, fishermen, children, and neighbors. Lowry shows that courage is not the absence of fear — Annemarie is afraid throughout the book. Courage is acting despite fear. The novel's central question — "What does it mean to be brave?" — is answered through Annemarie's run through the dark woods to deliver the packet to Uncle Henrik's boat. Exam tip: "How does Lowry define courage in this novel?"
2
Friendship and loyalty across danger
Annemarie's friendship with Ellen drives the entire plot. The Johansen family risks their lives — and the lives of their children — to protect the Rosens. Lowry shows that true friendship does not step back when things become dangerous. The bond between Annemarie and Ellen is tested by the most extreme circumstances possible. Exam tip: "How does the relationship between Annemarie and Ellen show the meaning of friendship?"
3
The cost of freedom · What people sacrifice
Every character in the novel gives something up. The Johansen family risks imprisonment. The Rosens leave their home, their synagogue, and everything they own. Lise gave her life. Peter will give his. Uncle Henrik risks his boat and his freedom on every crossing. Lowry shows that freedom is never free — it is paid for by the choices of ordinary people willing to act.
4
Innocence and the reality of war
Five-year-old Kirsti has grown up under Nazi occupation and considers it normal. She has never tasted real bread or coffee. She thinks the soldiers are simply part of life. Her innocence is contrasted sharply with what the adults around her know. Lowry uses Kirsti to show how war reshapes what children grow up believing is normal — and how much the adults are working to hide from her.
4 · Plot Summary
Part 1 — Copenhagen under occupation · Ellen comes to stay
Ch. 1–3Life under the Nazis · The soldiers on the corner
It is 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Nazi Germany has occupied the country for three years. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen run home from school and are stopped by two German soldiers who demand to know where they are going. Annemarie is frightened. The soldiers are a daily presence on the streets — watching, questioning, controlling.
Annemarie lives with her parents and her younger sister Kirsti. Her older sister Lise died before the story begins, in what the family describes as an accident. Life is hard under the occupation: food is rationed, butter and sugar are nearly impossible to find, and the Danish people have learned to be careful about what they say and to whom.
Ellen is Jewish. She and her family are members of Copenhagen's Jewish community. Word begins to spread that the Nazis are planning something — a roundup of all Danish Jews, to be arrested and "relocated." Ellen's parents are frightened.
Ch. 4–5The New Year · Ellen stays the night
It is the Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah. The rabbi warns the congregation: the Nazis plan to arrest all Danish Jews on the night of the holiday, when they know the families will be gathered at home. Ellen's parents decide to go into hiding separately and send Ellen to stay with the Johansen family. If the soldiers come, Ellen will pretend to be Annemarie's sister.
That night, Nazi soldiers do come to the Johansen apartment. They demand to know who the dark-haired girl is — she does not look like the blonde Johansen children. Papa stays completely calm. He pulls out a family photo album and shows the soldiers pictures of his three daughters — including a photo of Lise as a baby, dark-haired. The soldiers look, grunt, and leave. Ellen and Annemarie lie in the dark afterward, shaking. Papa has saved them with a quick mind and a steady voice.
Part 2 — Uncle Henrik's farm · The escape plan
Ch. 6–9To the farmhouse · A fake funeral
The Johansen family takes Ellen and travels to Uncle Henrik's farmhouse on the coast of Denmark, near the sea that separates Denmark from Sweden. Sweden is a neutral country — if the Jewish families can get there, they will be safe.
Uncle Henrik announces that there will be a funeral — a gathering at the farmhouse to mourn "Great-aunt Birte." Annemarie knows perfectly well that there is no Great-aunt Birte. The funeral is a cover. That night, many people gather in the farmhouse — including the Rosens and several other Jewish families. They sit around a casket in the living room. The casket does not contain a body. Peter Nielsen arrives and reads aloud from the Bible — Psalm 147, which includes the line "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name." This is the source of the novel's title.
Nazi soldiers burst in and demand to know what is happening. Uncle Henrik calmly explains it is a funeral. The soldiers insist on opening the casket. Peter steps forward and opens the lid — it contains clothing and blankets for the Jewish families to use on the boat crossing. The soldiers see nothing suspicious and leave.
Ch. 10–13The packet · Annemarie runs alone in the dark
In the dark early morning, Peter leads the Jewish families through the woods to Uncle Henrik's fishing boat. Mama goes with them to help. Annemarie stays behind with Kirsti.
A short time later, Mama returns to the farmhouse — she has fallen on the path in the dark and twisted her ankle badly. She is hurt and cannot walk properly. Then they discover a terrible problem: Peter has left behind a small packet that must be delivered to Uncle Henrik before the boat leaves. Without it, the rescue may fail. Mama cannot make the walk. Annemarie volunteers to go.
Annemarie puts the packet in a basket, covers it with food, and walks alone through the dark woods to the harbor. She is stopped by four Nazi soldiers with dogs. They search her basket. They find the packet. One soldier opens it — it contains only a handkerchief. The soldiers mock her and let her go. She delivers the packet to Uncle Henrik just in time. The boat sails. The Rosens and the other Jewish families cross safely to Sweden.
Part 3 — After the crossing · What the packet was
Ch. 14–17The truth about the handkerchief
After the rescue, Annemarie asks Uncle Henrik what was in the packet — why was a handkerchief so important that the entire rescue depended on it? Uncle Henrik explains: the handkerchief was treated with a special chemical mixture of dried rabbit blood and cocaine. Nazi dogs were trained to sniff for human scent on boats carrying hidden passengers. The treated handkerchief, held under the dogs' noses, destroyed their sense of smell temporarily — making it impossible for them to detect the Jewish families hiding in the hold of the boat. The handkerchief was the key to the entire rescue.
Uncle Henrik also explains why he did not tell Annemarie what she was carrying: it is easier to be brave when you do not know everything. If Annemarie had known the full stakes of what she was carrying, she might have been too frightened to act. Acting in partial ignorance was what made her courage possible.
"It is much easier to be brave if you do not know everything."
— Uncle Henrik, explaining to Annemarie why she was not told what she was carrying
EpilogueAfter the war · Peter's fate · Lise's truth
The war ends. The Danish Jews return from Sweden. Annemarie learns the full truth about her sister Lise: she was not killed in a random accident but was run down by Nazi soldiers after a Resistance meeting. Lise was a fighter. Annemarie asks her father to put Ellen's Star of David necklace — which Ellen left behind and which Annemarie has kept all through the war — back around her own neck. She will wear it until Ellen comes home. The novel ends with Annemarie's quiet resolve: she will keep it safe, just as Denmark kept its people safe.
5 · Cram Quiz
Read straight through — all answers are visible. Read once, close the page, walk into the exam.
Q1. Why does Ellen come to stay with the Johansen family?
A. The Nazis plan to arrest all Danish Jews on the night of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), when they know Jewish families will be gathered at home. Ellen's parents go into hiding separately and send Ellen to stay with the Johansens, where she can pretend to be Annemarie's sister if soldiers come. This is exactly what happens — soldiers arrive that same night.
Q2. How does Papa fool the Nazi soldiers who come to the apartment at night?
A. The soldiers notice that Ellen is dark-haired and does not look like the blonde Johansen girls. Papa calmly produces the family photo album and shows them baby pictures of his three daughters — including a photo of Lise as a dark-haired infant. He presents this as proof that Ellen is his daughter. The soldiers examine the photos and leave. Papa's quick thinking and total composure under pressure saves Ellen's life.
Q3. What is the "funeral" at Uncle Henrik's farmhouse, and why is it held?
A. There is no real funeral and no real "Great-aunt Birte" — she does not exist. The gathering is a cover story to allow Jewish families to assemble at the farmhouse without arousing suspicion, and to prepare them for the boat crossing to Sweden. The casket contains not a body but clothing and supplies for the refugees. When Nazi soldiers arrive and demand to look inside, Peter opens it — they see only blankets and clothing and find nothing suspicious.
Q4. What is in the packet Annemarie delivers, and why is it so important?
A. The packet contains a handkerchief treated with a mixture of dried rabbit blood and cocaine. Nazi dogs were trained to detect human scent on boats hiding Jewish passengers. The treated handkerchief, held under the dogs' noses, temporarily destroyed their sense of smell — preventing them from finding the people hidden in the hold of Uncle Henrik's boat. Without the packet, the dogs would likely have found the Jewish families and the rescue would have failed.
Q5. Why does Uncle Henrik not tell Annemarie what she is carrying through the woods?
A. Uncle Henrik tells Annemarie afterward that it is easier to be brave when you do not know everything. If Annemarie had fully understood the stakes — that the entire rescue depended on the packet, and that being caught with it could mean imprisonment or death — she might have been paralyzed by fear. Her partial ignorance is what allowed her to walk through the woods calmly enough to fool the soldiers. This is one of the novel's key ideas about the nature of courage.
Q6. What is the truth about how Lise died? Why does it matter to the story?
A. Lise was not killed in a random accident as her family originally said. She was run down by Nazi soldiers after attending a Resistance meeting — she was an active member of the Danish Resistance fighting the occupation. Her death matters because it shows that the Johansen family's courage during the rescue is not accidental — they have already paid a terrible price for resisting the Nazis. Lise's fiancé Peter Nielsen continues her work, and Annemarie inherits her spirit.
Q7. What is the significance of Ellen's Star of David necklace?
A. Ellen gives Annemarie her Star of David necklace — a Jewish symbol — to keep safe before she leaves for Sweden, because wearing it would be dangerous. Annemarie keeps it throughout the war. At the end of the novel, she asks her father to clasp it around her neck, saying she will wear it until Ellen returns. The necklace symbolizes the bond between the two friends, Annemarie's promise to Ellen, and Denmark's act of sheltering its Jewish citizens as if they were its own.
Q8. Essay question: How does Lowry show that ordinary people can be heroes?
A. Use three examples: (1) Papa — a quiet, ordinary father who faces armed soldiers in his apartment at night and outsmarts them with a photo album and a calm voice. (2) Mama — walks through dark woods in the middle of the night to guide Jewish families to a fishing boat, injuring herself in the process. (3) Annemarie — a ten-year-old girl who walks alone through the woods past Nazi soldiers with dogs, carrying a packet she doesn't fully understand, because someone has to. Thesis: In Number the Stars, Lowry argues that heroism is not a quality that belongs to soldiers or leaders — it is a choice that ordinary people make, one frightened step at a time, when the alternative is to do nothing.
About this page: This is an educational summary created for student exam preparation. All plot descriptions are original summaries of the novel's events — not copied text. Direct quotations are clearly attributed.
Quoted works:
· Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. Short quotation used for educational commentary under fair use.
· Historical context based on documented events: the Danish rescue of Jewish citizens, October 1943.
This page is a study aid for students. All quotations are clearly attributed to their original sources. For a richer and fuller experience, we encourage you to read the original book.
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