The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Would you go to the other side of the fence with the friend?
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I would cross the fence for a friend, but maybe not for the dangers it would bring me into.

that all children should have.
Never forget.....and Never again




1. You are Bruno and you know only what Bruno does. Bruno believed it was a fun happy place on the other side of the fence when really it was the complete opposite. Bruno believed what the Nazis wanted him to believe like many other people of the time. With that said if I was as under informed as Bruno and I had met the kid on the other side and was a friend to him. As a curios little kid with endless possibility on the other side. I can guarantee I probably would have been sucked in.
2. You could be Shmuel the boy on the bad side of the fence the poor Jewish boy that did nothing wrong. If I were him and had figured out people were going on marches and not returning, I wasn't getting feed, and I was under poor living conditions I would run to the other side of the fence. Unlike Shmuel who wouldn't leave his side I would have to get away from all the killing and horrible treating taking as much of my family with me.
3. I could be myself at the age I am at and with what I know now. I have studied WWII and all of the horrible things that went on in concentration camps. I also would know that what they were doing was not only wrong but in human on the other side of the fence. As the person I am I would know that I would face horrible scene on the other side of that fence, I know I would have to face the cruel people who brought and did horrible things to them there but I would still cross the fence. My reasoning would be who in their right sane mind would think this was ok. Once on that side of the fence I would help as many people from the camp as possible, even if it meant my own death. It is better to be someone who helps rather than someone who stands by
To answer your question truthfully you need to know perfective because sadly peoples actions chance when their perspectives change.
For example this quote
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.
You have posed an excellent question which really makes you think
Thank You



This is just a different perspective. It doesn't negate the horrors of the Holocaust in any way but is (in my opinion) a very clever book. It does focus on just one German child but by doing that it shows how a child's innocence and naivety coupled with propaganda can have terrible consequences.


Personally,I think the point the author wanted to make was to show that the Germans did not just erase whole families, kill innocent people in order to achieve the fanatic and, frankly, utterly mad idea to create a new, pure race and hence eliminate the "unclean" "races" and also, find a scapegoat for the deplorable state of affairs in the German Economy; but they also punished and killed their own people. The book erases the differentiation between Jewish and German people by letting both a Jewish boy and the son of a German officer die together, as both boys are utterly innocent. Thus, this is not just a heart-breaking, tragic ending to the book, but the author also incorporates a deeper meaning. This does, however, not mean that the deaths of the Jewish people are belittled, I think this book is not so much about the tragedy of Holocaust but rather a critique of the Nazi regime and at the same time, a tribute to humanity, a reminder of the fact that everyone who died during the atrocities of Holocaust is to be mourned and remembered. It does not matter who you are, where you are from, the death of a human, any human, is a tragedy.



But as me (in Bruno's body)... I would try and distract the guards while the prisoners escaped. Hopefully they wouldn't shoot me because they can't just shoot the big-shot officer's son.
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I don't want to spoil things to you, don't know if you finished the book, but Bruno is very innocent, and he just wants to play with his friend. He doesn't get what is going on. For him, he is alone and Shmuel has company - hundreds of other children, for all he knows. If I had the innocence Bruno has, I'd surely want to go to the other side.