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Lito/Mariano Padron
Josef and Ruthie’s father, and Rachel’s husband. At the beginning of the book, Aaron is taken away to the Dachau concentration camp on Kristallnacht. Aaron is released six months later on the condition that he leave Germany immediately, prompting the Landaus to book passage to Cuba on the St. Louis. Despite the fact that Aaron is free, he is completely changed by his experience at the concentration camp. He is thin and frail, and is constantly paranoid that the Nazis are going to find him. He reveals some of the horrors that he experienced, such as watching the Nazis hang a man upside down in a barrel and slowly filling it with water until he drowned. Aaron’s mental health deteriorates over the course of the novel, to the point where he is in danger of not passing the medical inspection to get into Cuba. Fearing this, Josef slaps Aaron and threatens him in order to get Aaron to calm down, prompting Josef to observe how he has become the adult in the family, while Aaron is now acting like a child. Aaron attempts to commit suicide by jumping off of the ship into the water, but he is rescued by Mariano Padron and is taken to mainland Cuba. He remains there even as the ship is forced to leave, and at the end of the novel Ruthie explains that he lived there the rest of his life, and died before she could reconnect with him.
Aaron Landau Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Aaron Landau or refer to Aaron Landau. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days
Quotes
It all came flooding back to him now—swaying and humming along with the prayers, craning his neck to see the Torah when it was taken out of the ark and hoping to get a chance to touch it and then kiss his fingers as the scroll came around in a procession. Josef felt his skin tingle. The Nazis had taken all this from them, from him, and now he and the passengers on the ship were taking it back.
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Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 14 days
Quotes
Suddenly, Josef saw what he had to do. He slapped his father across the face. Hard.
Papa staggered in surprise, and Josef felt just as shocked as his father looked. Josef couldn’t believe what he’d just done. Six months ago, he would never have even dreamed of striking any adult, let alone his father. Papa would have punished him for such disrespect. But in the past six months, Josef and his father had traded places. Papa was the one acting like a child, and Josef was the adult.
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Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 21 days
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“I wish from the bottom of my heart that you will land soon, Little Man,” Officer Padron said again. “I’m sorry. I’m just doing my job.”
Josef looked deep into Officer Padron’s eyes, searching for some sign of help, some hint of sympathy. Officer Padron just looked away.
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Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (3)
Quotes
“Don’t you see?” Lito said. “The Jewish people on the ship were seeking asylum, just like us. They needed a place to hide from Hitler. From the Nazis. Mañana, we told them. We’ll let you in mañana. But we never did.” Lito was crying now, distraught. “We sent them back to Europe and Hitler and the Holocaust. Back to their deaths. How many of them died because we turned them away? Because I was just doing my job?”
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Get the entire Refugee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Aaron Landau Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Aaron Landau or refer to Aaron Landau. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days
Quotes
It all came flooding back to him now—swaying and humming along with the prayers, craning his neck to see the Torah when it was taken out of the ark and hoping to get a chance to touch it and then kiss his fingers as the scroll came around in a procession. Josef felt his skin tingle. The Nazis had taken all this from them, from him, and now he and the passengers on the ship were taking it back.
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Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 14 days
Quotes
Suddenly, Josef saw what he had to do. He slapped his father across the face. Hard.
Papa staggered in surprise, and Josef felt just as shocked as his father looked. Josef couldn’t believe what he’d just done. Six months ago, he would never have even dreamed of striking any adult, let alone his father. Papa would have punished him for such disrespect. But in the past six months, Josef and his father had traded places. Papa was the one acting like a child, and Josef was the adult.
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Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 21 days
Quotes
“I wish from the bottom of my heart that you will land soon, Little Man,” Officer Padron said again. “I’m sorry. I’m just doing my job.”
Josef looked deep into Officer Padron’s eyes, searching for some sign of help, some hint of sympathy. Officer Padron just looked away.
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Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (3)
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“Don’t you see?” Lito said. “The Jewish people on the ship were seeking asylum, just like us. They needed a place to hide from Hitler. From the Nazis. Mañana, we told them. We’ll let you in mañana. But we never did.” Lito was crying now, distraught. “We sent them back to Europe and Hitler and the Holocaust. Back to their deaths. How many of them died because we turned them away? Because I was just doing my job?”
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