Gandhi assumes a moral equivalence between the Nazi and British imperialists, naively dismissing reports otherwise; the story makes clear that this is a lethal mistake stemming from Gandhi's reluctance to entertain the idea that his moral and ethical assumptions are not shared in common among all human groups. Loyalty is explored as a powerful but amoral force. Gandhi is loyal to his concepts of passive resistance, however poorly they fit the situation or inevitably they lead to violence; the Indians are loyal to Gandhi, and some die for it; Model is loyal to his rank and volk; the British are loyal to their ideas of decency and mercy and defend them to the last, through the medium of war.
The story illustrates the weakness inherent in Gandhi's – and later Martin Luther King Jr.'s – nonviolence movement, the success of which depends on a reasoned appeal to the enemy's conscience—that is, on the ability to arouse shame and remorse in the oppressor, who eventually relents. This was a plausible strategy against British imperialism or American institutional racism, as the notion of oppression clashes unpleasantly with the values espoused by these nations. Historically, ideals of freedom, justice, and equality for all citizens are at the root of the British and American political system and, perhaps more important, the religion and national self-image of the people. The story explores the strategic difference between opposing a tolerant competitor, such as the British, and opposing a remorselessly violent foe, suggesting that violent resistance to malign forces like Nazism, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, is more likely to succeed than a pacifistic approach. Violence does not guarantee success, however; the Warsaw uprising is indicated as a failure.
Field Marshal Model compares the Nazi empire with the Roman Empire facing the early Christians, pointing out that Rome's collapse came as a result of its tolerance of a force that sought to undermine it. The story does not characterize Model as a bloodthirsty savage; rather, he is a merely a professional doing his job. Turtledove provides an appearance by Jurgen Stroop, the SS officer responsible for the Warsaw Ghetto massacre, to contrast Stroop's mindless savagery and Model's workmanlike, impassive decimation of the Indian resistance.
