The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Film)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the story of a 9 year old German boy named Bruno, who befriends Shmuel, a 9 year old Jewish boy, during the Holocaust. They meet when Bruno goes to explore the forest surrounding his new home and stumbles across the concentration camp that his father was managing. The lack of knowledge for both Bruno and Shmuel about the anti-Semitism and horrors of the camps bring the two close and they meet almost daily to play games and share food that Bruno brings. As the story progresses, the bond between the two grows stronger as Shmuel forgives Bruno for not standing up for him during a confrontation with Lieutenant Kotler. In an effort to redeem himself, Bruno decides to help Shmuel find his father, who never returned from a "march". The day Bruno and his sister are supposed to leave to a relative's house, he goes to the camp, digs under the fence, and dresses in a pair of striped pyjamas provided by Shmuel. At the same time, his mother realizes he is missing, alerts her husband, and their search leads them to the camp, where they see Bruno's discarded clothes and the hole under the fence. However, by the time they arrive, Bruno is in the gas chamber with Shmuel, unable to be saved.

The story reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. In the play, Romeo and Juliet are enemies, unbeknownst to each other, and fall in love. Even after finding out about their families' feud, their bond is still strong. Similarly, in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Bruno and Shmuel also grow very close, despite being enemies. Throughout the movie, Bruno is exposed to Nazi propaganda by his sister and his tutor, however, this does not change his view of Shmuel as a person. He does not conform to his family's anti-Semitic views. Furthermore, the characters die for each other, the only difference being that Bruno and Shmuel were unaware that a "shower" meant being gassed. 

Another similarity between these two would be the families realizing that their actions killed their children. "Where be these enemies- Capulet! Montague!/See what a scourge is laid upon your hate/That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!/And I, for winking at your discords, too/Have lost a brace of kinsmen..." (V.iii.308-312). Essentially, the Prince's statement of the deaths leads to Capulet and Montague realizing that their rivalry caused the deaths of their children: "Poor sacrifices of our enmity" (V.iii.320). When Bruno's father realizes his son is killed in the gas chamber, the look on his face portrays guilt and horror. He realizes this his actions indirectly killed his son.



Before watching the movie, I was unaware of the extent of Nazi propaganda. It is quite interesting and shocking to see how these anti-Semitic views are imposed on children as young as Bruno, as well as, the fact that propaganda was used in various forms to reach these children- educational books and stories. It was also just as shocking to see how easily people believed it, a prime example being Bruno's sister. At the same time, this movie did an excellent job at portraying the confusion a child around Bruno's age would feel because they are constantly told that Jews are bad and they shouldn't exist, but they're not given a proper reason why. They are just expected to believe what they are told.

Personally, watching this movie had a huge impact on me in the sense that the Holocaust felt a lot more real. The movie didn't need mass killing to prove a point. The treatment of Jewish servants, brainwashing propaganda, and curiosity of young minds said enough. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was the fact that despite being treated cruelly by Germans, the Jews were still genuinely kind. Shmuel was a great example of that- he forgave Bruno despite him not speaking the truth, which led to Shmuel being beat up.  Another example of this would be the servant, Pavel, who serves the family without saying a word and even helps Bruno when he falls off the swing and hurts himself.