Character Relationship Map: Escape from Germany

Characters

• Elder Anderson (played by Sebastian Michael Barr) — supporting

  A missionary working in Germany alongside Elder Seibold, he encounters Nazi repression when a Gestapo officer confiscates and burns his Articles of Faith Book. Anderson also reports information about...

• President Wood (played by David McConnell) — supporting

  The president responsible for the German mission, he directs Elder Barnes and Elder Seibold to evacuate all missionaries after learning that war is imminent. Wood later closes and evacuates the Frankf...

• Elder Barnes (played by Landon Henneman) — supporting

  An elder working in the Frankfurt Missionaries Office, he contacts the American diplomatic representative about the danger facing missionaries and later receives President Wood’s evacuation directive....

• President Biehl (played by Kevin Kirschenmann) — supporting

  A German branch president, he helps Erna Rosenhan obtain approval to leave Germany for London. The Nazis then conscript Biehl himself, and the postwar account states that he was killed in combat. His...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Elder Anderson → Elder Barnes (Professional Mission Colleagues) — They are connected through the German mission evacuation effort.

  Elder Anderson is one of the missionaries affected by the evacuation, while Elder Barnes works from the mission office to respond to the impending inv...

• Elder Anderson → President Wood (Power Missionary And President) — President Wood has organizational authority over Elder Anderson's mission.

  President Wood issues the directive to evacuate all missionaries from Germany, a directive applying to the missionary group that includes Elder Anders...

• President Biehl → Elder Barnes (Professional Mission Colleagues) — Their roles place them in the same mission administration during the evacuation.

  President Biehl manages a German branch during the crisis, while Elder Barnes coordinates emergency actions from the Frankfurt mission office.

• President Biehl → President Wood (Professional Mission Leaders) — Both hold leadership responsibilities within the mission network.

  President Biehl leads a German branch while President Wood directs the wider mission evacuation and searches for missionaries across West Germany.

• President Biehl → Elder Anderson (Professional Mission Colleagues) — They belong to the same missionary organization operating in Germany.

  Both are identified as leaders or elders connected to the German mission during the same evacuation crisis.

• President Wood → Elder Barnes (Professional Colleagues) — They jointly manage the missionary evacuation from Germany.

  President Wood gives mission-wide evacuation instructions, while Elder Barnes works from the Frankfurt Missionaries Office and contacts the U.S. Embas...

Story Analysis

A missionary evacuation becomes a race against Nazi expansion, closing borders, and the beginning of World War II.

Plot Progression

1. A Mission Under Threat — Missionaries serve in Germany while Nazi authority becomes increasingly visible and hostile. Reports of a planned invasion force the mission leadership to consider a full evacuation.
2. The Evacuation Order — President Wood orders the missionaries out of Germany after diplomatic efforts fail. Missionaries urge others to leave, while conscription and political repression make delay dangerous.
3. Borders Closing — The search for scattered missionaries continues across West Germany. Holland's imminent border closure and the seizure of railway resources sharply narrow the available escape routes.
4. The Dangerous Escape — The evacuation groups face confiscation attempts, military transport blockades, and police pursuit. A ferry route through Warnemünde provides one desperate path out of Germany.
5. Return for the Stranded — Even after reaching the Danish side, the search leader returns toward Germany to help missionaries still trapped there. The group finally reunites in Copenhagen before the invasion begins.