The Last Green Valley

Emil is Adeline’s husband, Walt and Will’s father, and the other primary protagonist of the story. Overall, Emil is a quiet but determined man. He resents being subject to someone else’s rules: “He did not like being told what to do and never had, though he was not stupid or vocal about it in response” (35). Emil enjoyed being in charge of his life in Friedenstal before he and his family moved west with the Nazis; abiding by Nazi orders on the journey out of Ukraine makes Emil “feel like a pawn” (42).

Emil’s character arc revolves around his relationship with God. At the beginning of the story in 1944, Emil does not believe in God. His faith, the narrator says, “had been taken from him piece by piece over the past fifteen years of calamity, persecution, and situations no man should have to face” (43). Given his difficult relationship with religion, Emil insists that a man cannot rely on anyone but himself. He often chides Adeline for her belief in God, arguing that they should not teach the boys to expect that God will answer their prayers.

Emil strives to maintain his morals and protect his family at all costs. His faith and sense of morality were shaken to the core in 1941 when he was detained by Nazi soldiers in Dubossary. Emil initially refused Major Haussmann’s order to shoot three young Jewish people, changing his mind only when Major Haussmann threatened to kill him too. At that moment, the narrator says, Emil felt himself “go primal, savage, godless, willing to kill two little girls and a young man so he could return to protect his own wife and sons” (233).

Emil experiences a religious epiphany during his time as a laborer in the Poltava prison camp when he is reunited with Corporal Gheorghe. Corporal Gheorghe helps him see that God heard his prayers that night in Dubossary. Emil’s religious epiphany propels him through his escape from Poltava and changes the way he views life. He becomes “stronger and humbler and more aware of the power of dreams” (409).

Walt is Adeline and Emil’s oldest living son, just six-and-a-half years old at the start of the story. Walt shares a name with Adeline and Emil’s first son, who died as an infant. Walt is quieter and more serious than his younger brother. He particularly struggles with the violence the family encounters as they leave Ukraine. Many of the attacks leave Walt “trembling [with] his hands clenched in fists” (61). Walt witnesses other bloody scenes, most notably his aunt Rese’s lower legs laying on the train tracks after being severed from her body.

Walt excels in school once the Martels reach Montana and eventually attends the Montana State University School of Architecture. He gets married and works as an architect until joining Martel Construction to work with his father and brother. Despite Walt’s successful life, he struggles with memories of the war. He leaves Martel Construction in the 1980s after a dispute with a union turns violent, reminding him of the tank cannons he experienced as a child.

Will is Adeline and Emil’s youngest son; he is four-and-a-half years old at the start of the story. While Walt is serious, Will is adventurous. Will often displays a sense of humor. After escaping from a battle between the Soviets and Germans, Will celebrates regaining his hearing by “[shaking] his head like crazy, [waving] his hands around his ears” (34). Will also exhibits a sense of bravery akin to his father. When Emil is taken to Poltava, Walt expresses hesitation about leaving Legnica, whereas Will is ready for the adventure.

Will takes after his father for most of his life, working with him in the construction company in Montana. Will’s stubborn streak persists as he grows up. At 16, Will tries to get a job building the Montana State University field house; when he is turned down, he vows to build something even bigger. He quits high school the year after and begins working full-time for his father.

Lydia is Adeline’s mother and represents the fate of many Volksdeutsche women living in Ukraine. After Lydia’s husband, Karl, was sent to a Siberian prison, she became one of the many “widows of Stalin” (24). Karl was taken away when Adeline was just a child, and Lydia maintained hope that he would return. For Lydia, the decision to leave Ukraine with the Nazis is bittersweet; while she has the prospect of a new life, she must give up her dream of seeing her husband again.

When Emil is taken away to Poltava, Lydia expresses grief that Adeline has ended up like her. After years of struggling to keep her hope alive, Lydia cautions Adeline not to be optimistic about Emil returning to her: “Emil is gone […] He will never find a way back to you. Don’t waste your life waiting for him” (277). Lydia lets go of the hope she has held on to for years, choosing to remain in Soviet-held East Germany instead of trying to escape to the West.

Malia is Adeline’s older sister. At the age of 15, Malia was kicked in the head by a mule, leaving her in a coma and her family fearful that she would not survive. Although Malia did survive, her injury left her brain damaged, “childlike in some ways and wiser than most in others” (9). Malia maintains a positive outlook on life and tries to remain optimistic in the face of hardship. Adeline adores Malia for her “sincere, kind, loving, and oddly funny” personality (38). Malia often serves as a source of comfort for Adeline during their journey.

Malia is also deeply devoted to her mother. When Lydia chooses to stay in Soviet-held East Germany, Malia stays with her, telling Adeline, “My place is with Mother” (277). The Iron Curtain makes it difficult for Adeline to maintain contact with Malia after they are separated, but Walt and his wife visit Malia in the 1990s. Despite her difficult life, Malia maintains her “amused optimism and odd perspective” (429).

Johann Martel is Emil’s father and is married to Karoline. Johann experienced tremendous hardship in his past. Like Adeline’s father, Johann was sent to a Siberian prison. When Johann returned seven years later, Emil thought “his father had aged forty years” (37). Johann is fundamentally changed by his experience in Siberia, which he rarely discusses. His experience in Siberia had “broken him somehow, robbed him of his inner fire” (37). Johann still suffers nightmares years after his return.

Johann maintains a generally quiet demeanor. His one notable burst of emotion comes when Karoline refuses to acknowledge Rese’s stillborn baby; he screams at Karoline until she quiets down. Other than that outburst, Johann is demure. He represents the deep mental pain that former Siberian prisoners carry with them for years.

Karoline is Emil’s mother and Johann’s wife. In many ways, Karoline represents what happens when people give in to bitterness regarding their circumstances. Adeline views Karoline as a “cold, heartless being” (38). Most of Karoline’s behavior is selfish and self-serving. When Adeline and Emil manage to find cream for their dying infant son, Karoline drinks it because the baby cannot keep it down. Karoline lacks empathy for those around her. When Rese delivers her stillborn baby, Karoline tells Adeline to throw the fetus out of the train, claiming it is “a deadly sin, proof of lust before God and man” (163).

Though Karoline remains bitter, she demonstrates remorse. Karoline and Johann stay behind in Legnica rather than trying to escape west; as Adeline and the boys depart, Karoline begs Adeline to forgive her for drinking Waldemar’s cream years earlier. When Adeline forgives her, Karoline’s “features [melt], and she [grabs] hard onto Adeline’s forearm” (266). Karoline reveals a capacity for change in these moments.

Rese is Emil’s sister, who is 21 years old at the start of the story. She is rebellious and free-spirited, as demonstrated by her choice to “[wear] her golden hair down rather than wrapped in a kerchief or wool scarf” (39). Rese often pushes boundaries that others don’t, such as leaving the refugee train during a stop to swim in the nearby lake. Adeline admires that Rese does not care what others think about her: “She was…well…free in a way that Adeline had never known before” (150).

Rese’s free-spirited attitude tragically ends when her lower legs are severed by the train. She struggles to maintain a positive attitude when she returns to her family after a stay in the military hospital. At one point during the family’s time in Wielun, Marie realizes that Rese is addicted to painkillers. Rese chooses to return to Friedenstal with her parents rather than escape with Adeline and the boys. Years later, when Adeline and Emil visit Rese, they discover that she “succumbed to bitterness and alcoholism” (426). Rese never quite regains her joyful outlook on life after her accident, rejecting Adeline and Emil’s offer to bring her to America, “preferring to return to the hell she knew rather than move to the paradise she did not” (426-27).

As a member of the Nazi Party, Major Haussmann represents the violence and coercion perpetrated by the party. He revels in forcing regular Germans such as Emil to be complicit in violence. Furthermore, Major Haussmann demonstrates a vengeful streak. After recognizing Emil in the Immigration Concentration Camp, he promises Emil that his punishment “will go on well after [he is] gone” (191).

The major is a static and relatively flat character. He exemplifies the Nazi regime in being sadistic, impassive, and unremorseful. Though Major Haussmann enjoys the power he holds under the Nazi regime, he ultimately demonstrates his cowardice. Emil reads in the newspaper that Major Haussmann survived World War II but was eventually arrested and scheduled to be tried at Nuremberg. He committed suicide in his jail cell to avoid trial, revealing his inability to take responsibility for his actions.

Corporal Gheorghe serves as a mentor figure for Emil, ultimately helping Emil rediscover his belief in God. He also acts as a foil to Major Houssmann, as kind and optimistic as the officer is cruel and grim. Like Malia, Corporal Gheorghe suffered a head injury; Adeline observes that their head injuries allow Malia and Corporal Gheorghe to “see the world differently” (103). Corporal Gheorghe exudes a positive attitude. During his first encounter with the Martel family, he recounts how he survived the Battle of Stalingrad because he was protected by God: “The One hears us and helps us, moves the moon and stars for us if we ask in the right way” (103).

When Emil reunites with Corporal Gheorghe in the prison camp at Poltava, Emil comes to view him as “a strange and divine messenger of salvation” (324). Corporal Gheorghe reassures Emil that God did indeed listen to his prayers that night in Dubossary. Corporal Gheorghe never wavers from his positive attitude and belief in a higher power: “Once disbelief takes hold in their hearts and thoughts, the Almighty hears it and gives up trying to help them. That’s why dreams don’t come true” (335). With Corporal Gheorghe’s help, Emil shifts his worldview.

Nikolas is a Volksdeutsche refugee like the Martels, although it becomes clear that Nikolas has abandoned morals in favor of personal gain. When Emil meets him, Nikolas reveals that he is a member of the Selbstschutz, a Nazi-led militia group, and secured his place in the refugee caravan by helping Nazi soldiers murder Jewish people in Ukraine. Nikolas claims that he “had no choice” (81).

Nikolas continues to harass Emil after their first meeting, claiming that he is willing to report Emil’s actions to the Nazi Party. Though he and Emil are both refugees, Nikolas is not interested in helping his fellow Volksdeutschers, going so far as to report other refugees to the Nazis to bolster his standing. In the end, Nikolas’s self-serving attitude does not lend him any advantage. He dies in the Poltava prison camp, begging Emil to forgive him for what he did for the Nazis.

Though Esther appears only briefly in the book, she is a crucial secondary character. She is one of the few Jewish people that Adeline knows personally. Adeline and Esther first meet at Mrs. Kantor’s house, and Esther relies on Adeline for help when they run into each other in 1941. Adeline begins to fully understand the extent of Nazi violence against Jewish people when she agrees to help Esther obtain forged identity papers. Esther’s character is also an important reminder of how people are rewarded for selfless deeds. Years after Adeline helps her obtain the forged documents, Esther is able to repay Adeline by giving her money to purchase food for her starving family.

Esther struggles with the ethical implications of utilizing forged identity papers. When she and Adeline briefly reunite in Poland, she explains her guilt over concealing her Jewish identity as other Jewish people are taken away: “I knew what became of them, and I kept wondering I had been saved and not them” (226). Esther represents the moral compromises that people are forced to make in times of war.

Mrs. Kantor is a key secondary character who serves as a mentor to Adeline. The elderly Jewish woman employs Adeline in 1933 and offers high praise for Adeline’s cooking abilities. Mrs. Kantor exhibits a cheerful attitude and generous spirit; when Adeline secures a whole chicken to cook for dinner, Mrs. Kantor invites her extended family and friend Esther to share the meal. Mrs. Kantor also provides Adeline with the encouragement she needs to accept Emil’s marriage proposal. Mrs. Kantor gives Adeline advice on how to live a long and happy life; throughout her life, Adeline returns to that advice and her memories of Mrs. Kantor.