The Tin Drum

A woman named Maria visits Oskar in the hospital. She brings him “a new drum” (141), taking the previous, now worn-down drum away with her. According to Oskar, Maria keeps all his old, broken drums for posterity. He wonders whether a museum might exhibit them one day. In addition, the death of Sigismund Markus and the events of Kristallnacht taught him that he may not always have access to these tin drums.

He returns to his biography shortly after the night of violence against Jewish people. He finds one tin drum among the ruins of the shop but worries about where he will find his next drum. He cannot help but play the drum, even though he knows that doing so will wear it out quicker, so he plays delicately and treats it “with care” (142).

As Oskar walks through the streets playing his drum, he finds himself at Jan's house. Since the death of Oskar's mother, Jan's friendship with Alfred has “loosened and dissolved” (143). This is partly due to the increasing tensions between Polish and German people in Danzig. Jan works at the Polish Post Office while Alfred has joined the local Nazi group, rising to the role of leader.