Character Relationship Map: In Darkness

Characters

• Mundek Margulies (played by Benno Fürmann) — protagonist

  A Jewish smuggler involved in the illegal trade surrounding the Lvov ghetto. Mundek helps Leopold Soha and others organize the evacuation into the sewers, remains among the hidden Jews, and later join...

• Paulina Chiger (played by Maria Schrader) — supporting

  A member of the Chiger family who escapes the ghetto liquidation by fleeing into the sewers. She becomes one of the Jews protected by Leopold Soha and remains among the survivors hidden underground un...

• Szczepek (played by Krzysztof Skonieczny) — supporting

  A Lvov sewer worker and Leopold Soha's initial partner in looting and underground work. He is concerned when Soha agrees to hide the Jews and later argues with him about their cooperation. Szczepek is...

• Ignacy Chiger (played by Herbert Knaup) — supporting

  A Jewish man seeking help for his family during the ghetto liquidation. Ignacy gives Leopold Soha a watch as payment and persuades him to hide the family in the sewers. His decision establishes the ar...

• Bortnik (played by Michał Żurawski) — minor

  A member of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police who praises the Nazis and later pressures Leopold Soha to reveal where the Jews are hidden. He becomes suspicious of Soha's explanations and follows him duri...

• Chaja (played by Julia Kijowska) — supporting

  Janek Weiss's pregnant companion, who joins the Jews hiding underground. She gives birth while the group is concealed, but suffocates the baby to prevent detection. Her presence reveals the extreme da...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Paulina Chiger → Ignacy Chiger (Family Member) — They belong to the same endangered family seeking refuge.

  The plot identifies Paulina among the Chiger family members who flee into the sewers, while Ignacy is identified as the family member negotiating assi...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Ignacy Chiger → Bortnik (Conflict Opposing Forces) — Ignacy’s attempt to preserve his family conflicts with Bortnik’s institutional role.

  Ignacy seeks protection for his family during the ghetto liquidation, while Bortnik serves the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police and praises the Nazis.

• Paulina Chiger → Bortnik (Conflict Persecutor And Victim) — Bortnik represents the police power threatening Paulina’s survival.

  Paulina is among the Jews fleeing the ghetto liquidation, while Bortnik is an auxiliary policeman who supports the occupying authorities.

• Mundek Margulies → Bortnik (Conflict Opposing Sides) — Their positions place them on opposite sides of the occupation’s power structure.

  Mundek is identified as a Jewish smuggler among those hiding from persecution, while Bortnik belongs to the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police and supports th...

• Ignacy Chiger → Chaja (Social Refugee Group Member) — They belong to the same threatened survivor community.

  Ignacy’s family and Chaja are both connected to the hidden Jewish survivors sheltered in the sewers and beneath a church.

• Paulina Chiger → Chaja (Social Fellow Refugee) — Their relationship is shaped by shared confinement and persecution.

  Both Paulina and Chaja are described as members of the group hiding underground, including the refuge beneath a church.

• Mundek Margulies → Chaja (Social Hideout Companion) — They share the dangerous refuge beneath the occupied city.

  Chaja joins the underground group, and Mundek remains involved in protecting and relocating people in the hideout.

• Mundek Margulies → Ignacy Chiger (Alliance Underground Ally) — They are connected through the collective effort to preserve the hidden group.

  Mundek helps organize the evacuation, while Ignacy and his family are among those moved into the sewers.

• Ignacy Chiger → Szczepek (Alliance Rescue Connection) — Szczepek becomes part of the effort to shelter Ignacy’s endangered family.

  Ignacy’s family receives assistance from the sewer workers, and Szczepek is involved in the evacuation operation.

• Paulina Chiger → Szczepek (Alliance Protected Civilian) — Their connection is defined by rescue and protection during the liquidation.

  Szczepek helps organize the evacuation while Paulina is among the Jews fleeing into the sewer system.

• Mundek Margulies → Szczepek (Alliance Evacuation Partner) — Their cooperation supports the group’s escape during the ghetto liquidation.

  Mundek and Szczepek participate in organizing the evacuation of Jews into the sewers.

• Mundek Margulies → Paulina Chiger (Alliance Fellow Survivor) — They share the risks of concealment and survival under occupation.

  The plot places Mundek and Paulina among the Jews evacuated into the sewers and later sheltered in the same underground hiding places.

Story Analysis

Under Nazi occupation, a group of persecuted Jews survives in the sewers while fragile cooperation, moral compromise, and overwhelming danger test their protectors and one another.

Plot Progression

1. Ghetto Shadows — The occupation creates a world of persecution, humiliation, smuggling, and fear. Mundek’s underground activity and the sewer workers’ encounter with escapees establish the survival dilemma.
2. The Sewer Bargain — Ignacy offers a watch while seeking protection for his family. A paid shelter arrangement is made just before the ghetto liquidation begins.
3. Trust Under Threat — The hidden group is evacuated and faces police pressure, missing refugees, and growing suspicion. The fragile cooperation surrounding the refuge begins to fracture.
4. Beneath The Church — Deaths and the danger of discovery force the survivors into a new refuge. Chaja’s pregnancy and the baby’s death express the extreme moral cost of concealment.
5. Flood And Release — Mundek’s search fails, and a devastating flood threatens the underground survivors. Bortnik dies, Soviet forces arrive, and the remaining Jews finally emerge.