Salvation for the surviving Jews of Skala arrives with the Red Army in March 1944, yet life after liberation is anything but easy. Munye is left to fend for himself when his father is drafted. He teaches himself tin-smithing and becomes Skala’s first post-Holocaust bar mitzvah. Then he helps to obtain Shulem's discharge and arranges to change his family name—all part an artful dodge to put the past behind.
The Red Army Arrives • Olenka’s Embrace • Evacuation with the Army • Tateh’s Unwelcome Surprise • Declaration of Independence • Helped by My Housemates • My Makeshift Bar Mitzvah
False Accusation • The Repatriation Announcement • Dilemma and Solution • Tateh Is Arrested for Desertion • Engaging a Czortkov Lawyer • Lonye’s Choice • Tateh Is Discharged