While The Cruelty of War affects many characters, widowhood is a recurring motif that reinforces the ways that women suffer during wartime. The opening chapters of the novel focus in part on the hardships experienced by the Ukrainian Volksdeutsche communities under Stalin’s rule; in particular, many Volksdeutsche men were sent to Siberian prisons, leaving their wives to take care of their children alone. While Emil’s father eventually returned, Adeline’s father never did. Adeline’s mother became one of the many “widows of Stalin” (24), unsure whether her husband was alive or would ever return.

Adeline faces the same fate as Lydia and Karoline when Emil is captured by the Soviets. At first, Adeline is tempted to give in to the “compelling anger and defeat” that Karoline has held on to even though Johann did return from prison (246). Even Adeline’s mother urges her to give up hope of Emil ever returning, telling Adeline to not “waste [her] life waiting for him” (277). Ultimately, while the devastations of war impact everyone in one way or another, the uncertain limbo that many wives face represents a specific gendered aspect of wartime suffering.