The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

Gretel and Hansel watch Magda’s hut through dense snowfall. Eventually, Magda emerges to collect firewood, but she tells the children that she cannot help them. Hansel and Gretel gather firewood, too, and follow Magda into her hut. She does not make them leave. Hansel notices Magda’s huge oven.

An elderly priest enters the hut and says that Magda must get rid of the children. He reminds Magda that she only survived the Nazis because of a fire that destroyed records of her gypsy parentage. He also reminds Magda of the false identification records he obtained for her and says that the Nazis will kill her and those she loves if she shelters Jews. Magda expresses hope that the war will soon end with the Germans defeated.

Gretel wonders how people, like the priest, can tell that she and Hansel are Jewish. She thinks about how her father encouraged them to learn other languages but forbade them to use Yiddish, a Jewish language. When the priest tries to confirm that Hansel is circumcised, Gretel stops him by biting his arm. Magda says that she can explain Hansel’s circumcision by saying that he is one of the Karaites, a Christian sect that believes in circumcising males.