The Boy In the Striped Pajamas

A Novel

Title : The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Author : John Boyne
Sort : Fiction Novel
Chapter : 20
Pages : 131
Point of View : III

Characters:

• Bruno. He is the main character. He was born on April 15th 1934. He is a nine-year-old German Boy. He loves exploring and adventures.
• Gretel. She is Bruno’s sister. She is a twelve-year-old German girl. She loves dolls.
• Shmuel. He is a nine-year-old Jewish boy. He was born at the same day as Bruno. He lived actually in Poland. His family was taken to “Out-with” (Auschwitz). He could speak German, his mother taught him.
• Ralf. He is Bruno’s father. He was a firm and loyal person. He served as a German soldier—even though his mother didn’t allow him to be a soldier. He was assigned by the Fury to move to Auschwitz.
• Matthias. He is Bruno’s grandfather. He was 73 years old. He was running a restaurant in the centre of Berlin.
• Nathalie. She is Bruno’s grandmother. She was 62 years old. She was a great singer and pianist.
• Maria. She is a maid and worked for Bruno’s family. She had worked for Bruno’s family since Bruno was 3 years old. Maria’s mother worked for Bruno’s grandmother as a dresser.
• The Fury. He is the man who ruled German at the time. Based on history, he must be Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi during war (1934-1945).
• Eva. She is the Fury’s wife. Based on history, she must be Eva Braun, Hitler’s wife.
• Pavel. He is an old polish man. He worked for Bruno’s family in “Out-with” (Auschwitz). He came every afternoon to clean the vegetables and peel the potatoes. He was a doctor long time before he was taken to the camp. He served in Bruno’s house in Auschwitz and was not allowed to be a doctor.
• Lieutenant Kotler. He is a German soldier. He served in “Out-with” (Auschwitz). He is a rude and unfriendly person. His father is a professor and moved to Switzerland during war (1938).
• Sergeant Hoffschneider. He is a German soldier. He served in “Out-with” (Auschwitz).
• Herr Liszt. He was a private teacher for Bruno and Gretel in Auschwitz. He only taught Geography and history.
• Lars. She is a butler and worked for Bruno’s family.
• Hilda. She is Gretel’s friend in Berlin.
• Isobel. She is Gretel’s friend in Berlin.
• Louise. She is Gretel’s friend in Berlin.
• Karl. He is Bruno’s friend at school in Berlin. His father is a greengrocer.
• Daniel. He is Bruno’s friend at school in Berlin. His father is a teacher.
• Martin. He is Bruno’s friend at school in Berlin. His father is a chef. He worked at Bruno’s grandfather’s restaurant.
• Herr Roller. He was a soldier during World War I. He lived near Bruno’s house in Berlin.
  A Brief Summary
  Bruno was a nine-year-old German boy. He lived in Berlin with his family. His father was a loyal German soldier—even though Nathalie, father’s name didn’t agree with what her son decided to be. Bruno’s mother was a housewife. Bruno’s sister, Gretel, was twelve-year-old German girl.
  Bruno loved exploration and journey. He loved reading the adventurous books, instead of sitting down in bedroom as Gretel did. Gretel didn’t like exploration. She played dolls in her room. Bruno played with his friends, Karl, Daniel, and Martin.
  His house in Berlin was a big house. It was so luxurious that anyone who saw it would be spellbound. It was a fourth-floor house. The first floor was the basement. The 2nd was its ground floor. The 3rd was where Bruno's and Gretel's rooms were. The 4th floor was where the father's and mother's room was.
  One day, Bruno’s family had to move to “Out-with” (Auschwitz), Poland—Bruno even did not know how to pronounce Auschwitz correctly in Polish. The Fury and his wife had come to their house some days ago. He discussed something with Bruno’s father during dinner time. Bruno didn’t know who the guy was, but Gretel did. Gretel told that the Fury was the man who ruled the country. The fury assigned Bruno’s father to work as a commandant in Auschwitz.
  Bruno’s family’s new house in Auschwitz looked simple. It was just a third-floor-house. The 1st floor was the basement and where the servants slept including Maria, the maid who worked
  for Bruno’s family since Bruno was 3 years old. The 2nd room was the ground floor and where father’s office was. The 3rd floor was where bedrooms were.
  It seemed different for Bruno to live here. There were no friends to play with. There were no shops to visit. There were no other houses around his new house. All things looked so boring. Especially some soldiers who always everyday came to father’s office than did commotion made Bruno frustrated. One of them was Lieutenant Kotler and Bruno hated him. He was an arrogant and rude soldier. Bruno hated to see how Gretel was so happy to talk to Kotler. Bruno hated to see how Kotler greeted him, “Little man.” He hated what Kotler did to Pavel, a man who worked for Bruno’s family every afternoon.
  The main story began when Bruno tried to go outside his house in Auschwitz. He explored. He wanted to see what he had seen at the first day in Auschwitz. At that day, he saw many huts, wooden posts, and the big and high fence with barb through his window. He saw people in the striped pajamas. He saw old men and young men. He saw boys—that was he wanted to play with them. There were also soldiers but they didn’t wear pajamas. Gretel told that it was a village, but Bruno was still confused. After the lesson with his and Gretel’s private teacher, Herr Liszt, Bruno took a walk closer to the huts. He knew father and mother didn’t allow him to go to that area. Near the plague that was written “Presented on The Occasion of the Opening of Auschwitz camp”, Bruno still walked. It was too far from home. Near the fence, he saw a boy. They saw each other and said hello. The boy wore the striped pajamas, a cloth cap on his head, no shoes, and no socks. He wore an armband with a star on it.
  After a long time, Bruno had someone to talk to. The boy across the fence was Shmuel. He told Bruno that he was still 9 years old. He looked pale and thin. When they talked more detail, Bruno was so happy that both boys were born at the same date. Bruno shared how bored he was to live in Auschwitz. He didn’t have friends to play with. He had no someone to talk to. He shared how comfortable he was to live in Berlin. There were many houses; there were friends; there were shops. All he felt comfortable with were gone. In Auschwitz, he had nothing to do except reading his exploration book even though Herr Liszt had told not to read that book because he had to learn history and geography. Shmuel told how he got here. The soldiers came to their house and picked them up. They brought Shmuel, his father, his mother, and his brother to this place where they were treated severely by soldiers. He told also, he didn’t see his mother
  since the day they arrived. Men and woman were separated. After a long conversation, they made a promise to meet here at the day come.
  Almost every day, after the lesson with Herr Liszt, Bruno went to the place where he and Shmuel met. He brought with him breads, chocolate, and cheese. Sometimes, Bruno brought some slices of chicken. He knew Shmuel was really in need. The boy was so hungry. When they met, Bruno gave him foods—sometimes Bruno ate too, he was tired to walk. It was so far from home for a nine-year-old boy. Day by day, Bruno noticed that Shmuel was going thinner and thinner. He looked so pale than before. Bruno never asked why.
  Shmuel had visited Bruno’s house when Kotler brought him to Bruno’s father’s birthday party. Kotler ordered him to do the dishes. When Bruno saw him, he was so happy. The boys shook hands one another for the first time. It was seen by Lieutenant Kotler. He got angry with Shmuel even though he didn’t make any violence at the time, but later on. Bruno knew it when he met Shmuel two days later that Shmuel's face was full of bruises.
  Almost a year, Bruno’s family had moved to Auschwitz. All things changed. Kotler was moved to another place, not here in Auschwitz. It made Bruno felt comfortable. The thing that made Bruno felt more comfortable was that Shmuel was a friend of his and nobody even father knew it—not Gretel because he had told to Gretel that Shmuel was his imaginary friend. Gretel had kept all of his dolls to a box. She didn’t play them. She spent time looking at the map of Europe and learnt it. That made father was proud of her.
  It was different with mother. Mother felt mad to live in Auschwitz. After a long argue with father, she told that Auschwitz was not place to bring children up. What they needed was to go back to Berlin. That’s why father decided, Bruno, Gretel, and mother, had to go back to Berlin. Gretel was glad to hear that. Bruno was glad too that they’d go to Berlin for a year in Auschwitz. He was sad too that he had to say bye to his only friend here in Auschwitz, Shmuel.
  That day was Thursday. As usual, Bruno went to meet Shmuel. He wanted to say goodbye to his only friend before Saturday, they had to go to Berlin. Shmuel looked so sad that day. His father was lost. He told that his father went with some men and soldiers to do some work outside the camp. Unfortunately, he never came back. Bruno was sad at the time, but he had to say what he planned to say. Bruno told that he would go to Berlin on Saturday. That made Shmuel sad. He told that he wouldn’t have anyone to talk to anymore. Bruno wanted to make their last meeting impressive. Bruno planned to look for Shmuel’s father tomorrow. He promised.
  Tomorrow was a rainy day. It made Bruno gloomy that he would never see his only friend in Auschwitz. Fortunately, the rain stopped just after the lesson. Bruno went out. When he arrived, he saw Shmuel. Bruno wore the pajamas Shmuel gave him. He was ready for this. He passed under the fence. It was enough for a little boy as Bruno. They went together to the camp.
  Not as Bruno thought, people here looked so poor. They didn’t have other clothes to wear except the pajamas. There were no girls and woman, man only. Some people were crying. Some people looked so pale. He might be sick, it was what Bruno thought. There were many soldiers too. They were everywhere.
  Bruno and Shmule had looked for Shmuel’s father. They sought camp by camp, hut by hut. They didn’t even find a sign. It got darker. It was the time to go back. Bruno thought it was going to be the last chance to see his friend, Shmuel. Suddenly a whistle sounded. They wanted all of them to march. Bruno and Shmuel marched. Bruno didn’t know what happened. He imagined that it wouldn’t have happened if he had gone some minutes ago. The soldiers moved all of them to a room. It was a large room. Shmuel didn’t what the room is. He never came here. A shout sounded. Some people started to rebel. It was so dark after the door was closed. Bruno couldn’t see. He only heard people cried and shouted. It went darker and darker.
  It had been one year since Bruno was gone. Father didn’t know where his only son went. He was so sad. Even though he ordered his soldiers to look for Bruno in Auschwitz, they didn’t find Bruno. They found only Bruno’s clothes and gave it to father. Mother was so shocked. She felt guilty. Gretel had moved to Berlin. He missed his only brother whom he cried all day long. At the last day father worked in Auschwitz, he didn’t find Bruno.

HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” was a novel written by John Boyne. Even though it was just a novel, Mr. Boyne adapted the historical event into his novel. Its story happened during the Second World War in Europe—especially in German and Poland. If Bruno was born in 1934 and he was 9 years old, the story must be in 1943, during the war. He also told the greatest racial atrocities and genocide in human history, it is called, Holocaust.

Holocaust
Holocaust encyclopedia.com told that “the holocaust (1933–1945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators… The Holocaust-era began in January 1933 when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. It ended in May 1945, when the Allied Powers defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. The Holocaust is also sometimes referred to as “the Shoah,” the Hebrew word for ‘catastrophe’.”
The Holocaust occurred due to anti-Semitism. Germany through Nazi—was the only party that leads Germany during the war, and believed that the Jews are their problem. Thoughts and views of Jews made German couldn’t develop its country. They believed that the Jews were the only reason why they were defeated in the First World War. All of that reasons caused the anti-Semitism.
Bruno’s father was assigned to move to Auschwitz. During the holocaust era, Auschwitz—was in Poland, was a place where three concentration camps for Jews, close to Krakow (60 km). The Jews were taken to that place by soldiers. They wore striped pajamas. Men (including boys and children) were separated from women (including girls and children). Men were ordered to work. Sometimes, the soldier was persecuted. Women were killed. The soldiers (Nazi)—commonly known as The Einsatzgruppen (soldiers who worked to kill the Jews) used a kind of gas that people used to do euthanasia. Women were collected to a large room. Then the gas (Zyklon B) entered the room. It was clear that Bruno entered the room with Shmuel and the Jews. The soldiers used this gas to kill all of them. Bruno was gone. His family
never saw him again.

Why the Auschwitz camp was in Poland, not in German?
Based on Holocaust encyclopedia.com, German invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Hitler claimed some territories in Poland: Prussia, Poznan, Silesia, and Danzig. Some important cities Hitler claimed: were Warsaw—the recent capital city of Poland, Krakow, Radom, and Lublin. Auschwitz camp was included in the territory Germany invaded. That’s why the camps belonged to German (Nazi) at the time.

Why did Kotler get angry?

The UK and France declared war on Nazis due to the invasion of Poland. That made sense why Lieutenant Kotler got angry with Bruno when Bruno told him that his book was written by a British. During the war, people hated one another. Soldiers hated one another. The UK was an enemy of German.

Why did they study geography and history only?
Bruno and Gretel were taught geography and history. Even though Bruno didn’t like it, father forced him to do it. Father was happy to see Gretel learning the European map. At the time, German tried to conquer Europe. They invaded many territories including France, Poland, etc. It made sense how important geography is to be learned. The history was important too. Children had to know German history, especially why they were defeated in World War I.

Who is the Fury? Hitler?
When the Fury visited Bruno’s house to meet with father, Bruno didn’t know who this person was. Father had told me that he was an important person to meet. Gretel told him that the Fury was the man who led the country. It can be concluded that the Fury was Adolf Hitler. That’s why the fury called his wife, Eva. Based on history, Hitler got married to Eva Braun. Especially Bruno told that the man had a small and tiny mustache and neatly combed hair. It was the same as Adolf Hitler.