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Ella Han
Mrs. Scott
7A Language Arts
November 8, 2011
If the People Just Left Everything Alone
The Holocaust is a terrible history about Jewish discrimination. It cause so many
deaths and unfortunate, uncomfortable events for Jews and Germans. People sometimes
do not notice that Germans were victims as well. However the book The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, lets the reader feel the agony and sadness unleashed by
Adolf Hitler’s policies through the eyes of a German boy Bruno, and a young Jewish boy,
Shmeul. “And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that
followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmeul’s hand in his own and nothing in
the world would have persuaded him to let it go.” (Boyne 212)
During the Holocaust, the Jews were clearly targeted mentally and physically.
The Jews were happy until the Nazis took over and took their justice. ““Where I came
from is much nicer than Berlin.” Said Shmeul, who had never been to Berlin. “Everybody
is friendly and we have lots of people in our family and the food was a lot better too.””
(page 114) The Nazis took families and separated them to different camps or sometimes
even death.
“When the train finally stopped,” continued Shmeul, “we were in a very cold
place and we all had to walk here.”
“We had a car,” said Bruno, out loud now.
“And Mama and was taken from us, and Papa and Josef and I were put into the huts over
there and that’s where we’ve been ever since.”” (Boyne 30)
Even after all those oppressions from the Nazis, the Jews had to go over more
aggressions that were done to them physically. ““It’s all right,” said Shmeul, looking up
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at him now. There was lot of bruising on his face and Bruno grimaced and for a moment
he forgot about his apology.” (Boyne 174)
Holocaust left unhealed scars to the Jews.
Germans were not always aggressors or by-standers; they were sometimes or even
often resistors or victims. Germans knew that Holocaust; race discrimination is wrong but
they couldn’t do much about it.
“I wonder- is this where I went wrong with you Ralf?” she said. “I wonder if all
the performances I made you give as a boy led you to this. Dressing up like a
puppet on a string.”
“Now mother,” said Father in a tolerant voice. “You know this isn’t time.”
“Standing there in a uniform.” She continued, “as if it makes you something
special. Not even caring what it means really. What it stands for.”
“Nathalie, we discussed this in advance.” Said Grandfather, although grandmother
said everything she wanted to say, no matter how unpopular it might prove to be.”
“You discussed it. Matthias.” Said Grandmother. “I was blank wall to whom you
addressed your words.” (Boyne 93)
Also, Germans had to change how they lived and sometimes move because of the
concentration camps. “One day he was perfectly content, playing at home, sliding down
banisters, trying to stand on his tiptoes to see right across Berlin, and now he was stuck
here in this cold, nasty house with three whispering maids and a waiter who was both
unhappy and angry, where no one looked as if they could be ever cheerful again.” (Boyne
15) However, the biggest pain for the Germans would having to betray their dear friend.
“Do you know this boy?” repeated Kotler in a louder voice. “Have you been
talking to the prisoners?”
“I… he was here when I came in,” said Bruno. “He was cleaning glasses.”
“That’s not what I asked you,” said Kotler. “Have you seen him before? Have you
talked to him? Why does he say you’re his friend?”
Bruno wished he could run away, he hated Lieutenant Kotler, but he was advancing on
him now and all Bruno could think of was the afternoon when he had seen him shooting a
dog and the evening when Pavel made him so angry that he“Tell me Bruno!” shouted Kotler his face growing red. “I won’t ask you a third
time.”
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“I’ve never spoken to him,” said Bruno immediately. “I’ve never seen him before
in my life. I don’t know him.” (Boyne 171)
The German couldn’t raise their voice and fight for the Jews’ rights because they were
victims too. “We don’t have luxury of thinking… Some people make all the decisions for
us.” (Boyne 40)
The people- Jews and Germans were targeted during the Holocaust. People lost
their family members or friends. People felt guilty for not being able to suppress the
discrimination and keep everyone safe from it. “Gretel returned to Berlin with her mother
and spent a lot of time alone in her room crying, not because she had thrown all her dolls
away, and not because she left all her maps behind at Out-With, but because she missed
Bruno so much.” (Boyne 215) The people were hurt and sad. They even lost their mind.
Father stayed at Out-With for another year after that and became very disliked by the
other soldiers, who he ordered around mercilessly. He went to sleep every night thinking
about Bruno and he woke up every morning thinking about him too. One day he formed a
theory about what might have occurred and he went back to the place in the fence where
the pile of clothes had been found a year before.(Boyne 215)
People regretted a lot and felt very guilty. The people felt guilty for letting Adolf Hitler to
do such horrible things.
Whenever you read a history book, there is always war, discrimination, and
sadness even though it might be a small part of it. If you read closely enough, everyone
can realize that not many people benefitted much from it. Sometimes people wish that
discrimination was never happened. If the Nazis left the Jews alone, maybe it would have
been fine. It could have been fine if people thought everyone, including themselves can
get affected. “The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing
you’ve found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own
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business, waiting to be discovered. Like America. And other things are probably better
off left alone. Like a dead mouse at the back of the cupboard.” (Boyne 114)
Work Cited
Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: a Fable. Oxford: David Fickling, 2006
I know that plagarism is the unacknowldged us of someone else’s words and ideas, and I
pledge that this paper is not plagarized.
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