The Painted Bird

The country is liberated from the Germans, and the boy goes to an orphanage. Gavrila promises that if no one claims him in three months, he will take him in himself. The boy holds back tears as his car drives away. On the train, he observes evidence of the war: towns destroyed by bombs, abandoned airplanes, former concentration camp prisoners.

At the orphanage, children laugh at his Soviet uniform, which he wears at all times. When the principal attempts to pry it from him, he runs into the street and, using pen and paper, tells Soviet soldiers that he’s the son of an officer and that the principal, an enemy of the Red Army, regularly beats him. The soldiers enter the school, damaging property and harassing the nurses. The boy has confidence in the Red Army. He sneaks out and buys a newspaper each day, enjoying the pictures of Stalin.

Many of the children in the orphanage were injured during the war. Fights break out among the children, who have nicknames reflecting their attack technique of choice. The boy is frequently attacked by bigger boys. Though he remembers Mitka’s teaching that one must avenge oneself according to the severity of the injury, he finds himself unable to flee.