The Ocean: Is it Really Big and Cold?

"My mother is afraid of the ocean," she said, laughing. "She says it is too big for her. And too cold." When Ellen giggled about her mother's fear in Number the Stars, a simile popped into my head: The Nazis were as big and cold as the ocean. After all, the dominant German army was monstrous in size, taking over any puny Resisting country that seemed merely a roadblock to them. And if citizens were asked to describe the Nazi soldiers with one adjective, I'm sure a majority of the people would say "cold." The cruel, merciless soldiers seemed to have no sympathy for any victims that they murdered.