In 1899, Joseph Kolaizcek, the grandfather of Oskar Matzerath, the main character, is being pursued by the police through rural Kashubia (located in modern-day Poland). He hides underneath the skirts of a young woman named Anna Bronski, with whom he later has a daughter – Oskar's mother. He evades the authorities for a year, but when they find him again, he either drowns or escapes to America and becomes a millionaire.