How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Then, as we have seen, came Marshal Rokossovsky. Seeing the undamaged city [Danzig], he recalled his great international precursors and set the city ablaze with his artillery, so that those who came after him could work off their excess energy by rebuilding it (32.6).
At the beginning of Chapter 32, Oskar decides to give us a history of the Polish city of Danzig that lasts several pages. It's his way of saying that wars and conquerors are nothing new to Danzig, since the place has been conquered and abandoned dozens of times in its long history. Oskar sees the futility and absurdity of wars and conquerors. Europe's borders never stay the same for long.