Hans welcomes his foster daughter into his life, as he comforts her because he knows how hard it is for all the abundant change. An additional example is when Hans offers to teach her to read in his 'classes', "Unofficially, it was called the midnight class, even though it commenced at around two in the morning" (39). He fearlessly would teach Liesel to read, even if that meant teaching her to read stolen books, illegal, Jewish books. He worked very hard to help her read even though he believed he was not a good reader himself, and this shows great courage. The last example is when Hans tells her about his reaction to the letter, "You know, Liesel? I nearly wrote you a reply and signed your mother's name. [] But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself" (97). Hans honestly tells Liesel that her mother would not write back, but he really wanted to make her happy by writing back, however he did the brave thing and told her the truth. He tried to provide comfort to her while missing her parent. Overall, Hans's relationship with Liesel shows his true compassionate character.
Secondly, Hans' compassion is symbolized through him playing his accordion. One example is when he brings it on his walk, "They made their way back to Amper River. It worked its way past, pointing in the direction of Dachau, the concentration camp [] when darkness was here Hans pulled out the accordion." (71). While Liesel and Hans are walking together, he pulls out his accordion in this dark location in hopes that the prisoners of Dachau can hear the music. In this dark place, he wishes that the music will bring some light to the darkness the prisoners. A second example of the accordion being a symbol of courage is when Max asked him, "Do you still play the accordion?" (173) when Max shows up unexpected at Hans' doorstep. A flashback to Hans to his past when he used to play the accordion with Max and this connects him to Max making Hans want to help him.