Background: World War II 1939-1945

Young Bruno lives a wealthy lifestyle in pre-war Germany along with his mother, elder sister, and SS Commandant father. The family relocates to the countryside where his father is assigned to take command a prison camp. A few days later, Bruno befriends another youth, strangely dressed in striped pyjamas, named Shmuel who lives behind an electrified fence. Bruno will soon find out that he is not permitted to befriend his new friend as he is a Jew, and that the neighbouring yard is actually a prison camp for Jews awaiting extermination.

Definitions:Concentration camps: Prisons set up by German Nazis where Jews and other people considered “undesirable” were starved, tortured, killed, or left to die of disease.Discrimination: treating people differently because they belong to a certain race, religion, gender, or other group.Gas Chambers: buildings constructed to allow poisonous gas to be used for the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust.Genocide: the intentional killing of people who belong to a particular race, religion, culture, or other group.Holocaust: refers to the mass killing by German Nazis of six million Jews in Europe during World War 2.Prejudice: biased attitude toward individuals based solely on their race, religion, nationality, or other characteristic.Propaganda: information purposely distorted to sway people’s thinking in a particular direction.Shoah: the Hebrew word for “tragedy” that is used to refer to the Holocaust.

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Fatherland: is the nation of one's "fathers", "forefathers" or "patriarchs"(head of the family/group). It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations. German Nazis believed they could create a new “Fatherland” made up of blonde haired and blue eyed people.Auschwitz: a Nazi concentration camp for Jews in South West Poland during World War 2.

The entrance to Auschwitz. Ironically, the gate reads “Work will set you free.”

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Questions for discussion

1. What did you think of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas?

2. How did your emotions change during the course of the story?

3. Do you think Boyne was right to look at this subject from the perspective of a naïve young boy?

4. How effective do you think this was in helping you to approach the subject?

5. How did you feel about Bruno and his family when we first meet them in Berlin?

6. To what extent did you struggle to identify with them because they are a Nazi family?

7. What did you think of Bruno’s character? What did you like about him? What didn’t you like?

8. To what extent could you understand Bruno’s adoration of his father, and his struggle to come to terms with what he was discovering?

9. How did your feelings about Ralph (Bruno’s father) change during the film? Was there a turning point in your feelings? If so, when?

10. Why do you think Ralph did what he did? How would he have justified it to himself and to others?

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11. What do you think drove Obersturmführer Kotler to be so cruel?

12. Why does Gretel change? What impact does this have on Bruno?

13. How would you describe Elsa? Were you surprised that Elsa (Bruno’s mother) was unaware of the true nature of the camp? How would you have responded to this situation if you had been in her position?

14. ‘Elsa doesn’t think. She doesn’t think for herself, she doesn’t think deeply. She chooses to be oblivious, concerning herself only with the safety of her family and her position in society – everything else is beyond her periphery. She’s a sort of accomplice and assistant to her husband’s ideals, his desires, his morals and his ambitions.’ (Vera Farmiga) To what extent do you think she is morally responsible for what happens?

13. How would you describe the friendship between Bruno and Schmuel? What makes it a good friendship?

14. Why did Bruno betray Schmuel? Why was their friendship able to survive this?

15. How easily could such evil arise in our own society? What might lead to it? What could prevent it?

16. Does The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas fill you with despair or hope? Why?

17. What would you identify as the most important messages from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas?

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Directed by Mark HermanViewing Worksheet 1 (Chapters 1- 5)

1. “Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.” How does this metaphor foreshadow (gives us clues to) what the film might be about?

2. The opening sequence is a montage (where two or more events are edited together, usually with music playing and little dialogue). List the events that have been edited together in this montage.

3. What are the soldiers doing to people in this sequence?

4. Who do you think these people are and why are they being treated in this way?

5. Why is Bruno’s family moving house?

6. Why is Bruno sad about moving house?

7. How do the party guests react to Bruno’s father when he enters the room?

8. How does Bruno’s grandmother act towards Bruno’s father? Why do you think she behaves in this way?

9. When the family arrives at the new house, Bruno is sitting on the stairs. What is symbolic about his position and the architecture of the stairs?

10.How is this symbol reinforced when Bruno looks out his bedroom window?

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11.Bruno thinks ‘the farmers’ are strange. His father tells him that “those people are…..” (complete the quote)

12.Who do you think those people might really be?

13.Why don’t Bruno’s parents tell him who those people really are?

14.Describe the shot when Pavol comes to Bruno after he has fallen off the tyre swing

15.What was Pavel’s previous occupation?

16.What two opposing emotions does Mother feel about what Pavol has done for Bruno that cause an internal conflict for her?

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMASDirected by Mark Herman

Viewing Worksheet 2 (Chapters 5-10)

1. What kinds of things does Herr Listz (the tutor) want the children to study?

2. Why is Bruno jealous of Shmuel?

3. The director has framed the shots so that the fence is always in front of who? What effect does this have?

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4. The writer has made the boys the same age, and they have similar opinions of each other’s names. Why has he done this?

5. Bruno goes down to the cellar to look for his football and instead finds what? How has the director made this particularly look disturbing?

6. Bruno is being made to read nationalist propaganda in his lesson. Later, Father tells us that it is what “all the children” are learning these days. Why do you think that is?

7. Shmuel can’t answer Bruno’s question about what is burned in the chimneys. What do you think is burned there?

8. Why does Bruno think the fence exists?

9. Gretel is reading about “The Jew” in their lesson. Why is Bruno confused by hearing this propaganda?

10.What does Lieutenant Kotler reveal to Mother about the black smoke? Quote from the film.

11.How does Father justify what is happening to the Jews?

12. In this scene, Mother represents how many Germans must have felt at that time. Describe how she msut be feeling.

13.What reason does Gretel give for the Jews being “evil”?

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14.Why does Bruno lie to Kotler about knowing Shmuel and giving him food and how does he feel afterwards?

15.Describe the propaganda film about the Concentration Camp and the purpose of this propaganda.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMASDirected by Mark Herman

Viewing Worksheet 3 (Chapters 11-16)

1. What has happened to Shmuel and why?

2. The director has changed the position of the fence in the shots in this exchange, compared to their first meeting. How has it changed?

3. Why has Lietenant Kotler been sent away? How does Mother accuse Father of being hypocritical (doing the opposite to what you expect others to do)?

4. Why won’t Pavil be coming back?

5. The card on Grandmother’s coffin reads “von dem Fuhrer” which is German for “from the Leader.” Who is this card from, and why does Mother say “she wouldn’t have wanted it?”

6. Shmuel says to Bruno, “I could come through to your side.” Why does Bruno reject this idea?

7. Mother discovers Bruno is not on the swing as he had said he would be. A parallel montage (two events happening at the same time are edited together, so that we go back and forth between each one) begins and continues to to the end of the film.

a. What are the two events in this montage?

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b. What effect does the parallel montage have on the viewer?

c. Describe the music (verbal techniques) during this montage

d. How has the weather been considered to aid the montage?

8. Inside the Camp, Bruno has second thoughts and wants to go home. Why doesn’t he?

9. What is symbolic about the moment when the music stops at the end of the parallel montage?

10.Describe the final shot of the film and its effect.

11.How are you personally left feeling at the end of this film? Be as detailed as you can.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

This is a story about childhood innocence, friendship, and the importance of breaking down the fences we put up around ourselves. What makes The Boy in the Striped Pajamas so effective is that rather than examining the big picture of the Holocaust and its murders, the film instead focuses on individual relationships and gives readers an intimate portrait of two innocent boys seeking the same thing: friendship. Although the film is about two eight-year-old boys, it is most definitely not geared toward this age group. The novel's devastating conclusion is not only beyond children's ability to comprehend but also in defiance of their worldview.

Interestingly, Boyne classifies The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as a fable, a story that bears a moral lesson. This is a fitting category for the novel as it imparts many lessons. The film adaptation, released by Miramax in 2008, received many independent film awards and much critical praise.

Characters

Bruno is the son of a Nazi commandant who is forced to leave his home in Berlin and move

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to a concentration where his father has been reassigned. He is reluctant to leave Berlin where he has good friends, is close to his grandparents, and lives in a lovely home. Bruno is characterized by an endearing childhood innocence, which becomes especially tragic when he meets a young prisoner on the other side of a fence near his house. Bruno remains strikingly unaffected by the war and unmoved by the Nazi beliefs and propaganda which he confronts daily. This may well be due to his young age or the result of his character. In any case, Bruno represents man's capacity for kindness and compassion.

Shmuel is a young Polish Jew who is a prisoner in the camp. Bruno meets him at a fence while exploring near his house. Shmuel is as innocent as Bruno and seems not to quite understand why he is a prisoner. Shmuel becomes worried once his father goes missing in the camp and asks for Bruno's help in finding him. We learn very little about Shmuel’s background but it is clear that he loves his father and comes from a close family. Bruno's willingness to help his friend results in both of them dying at the merciless hands of the Nazis.

Bruno and Shmuel seem to lead parallel lives. They share common interests, the same birthday, and a similar perspective on life. Their friendship is not just unlikely; it defies possibility. In a world and a time where people were being told what to think, who to hate and what relationships were acceptable, Bruno and Shmuel demonstrate how resistant and resilient children can be and how important kindness and compassion are.

Gretel, Bruno's older sister, annoys him a great deal. Gretel fancies herself far more mature and worldly than Bruno, despite her doll collection which would seem to symbolize her childishness. Gretel is increasingly interested in the beliefs and activities of the Nazi party and, after their move to the camp, befriends one of the Nazi camp guards. In an effort to demonstrate her devotion and dedication to the ideals of the Hitler Youth, Gretel gives up her doll collection for Nazi propaganda posters and literature. Gretel may represent those in German society who were aware of the horrors of the Holocaust but made a conscious choice to do nothing to help others. Bruno's twelve-year-old sister, Gretel, is an all-too-eager believer in the Nazi rhetoric being espoused to German youth. Her zeal for Nazi ideology increases when the family moves to the camp and she develops a crush on a Nazi soldier, Lieutenant Kotler, who is a frequent visitor to the family's home. Bruno instantly dislikes Kotler, who patronizes him. Gretel is an all-too-eager student of Herr Liszt, the tutor hired by the children's father to home school them. He unabashedly promotes Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitism of which Bruno is skeptical.

Bruno's mother faces the difficult task of supporting her husband and shielding her children from what he does. When she learns that prisoners are being put to death upon his command, she demands that she move away with the children because the camp is clearly not a good place to raise the children. Her costume, hair and makeup reflect her increasing distress as realizes what is happening in the camp.

BRUNO’s character

It is not stupidity that caused Bruno to react the way he does. It is naivety. The dictionary states that to be naive you would display qualities such as; Lacking experience, wisdom, or judgement;

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1. What do you think that innocence and naivety mean when used to describe children? Think of the quote at the start of the film.

2. Although Bruno and his family have moved to a desolate place, Bruno continues to display his strong sense of adventure and creativity. In what ways?

3. How does the opening scene of Bruno and his friends represent their innocence?

4. Can adults be naive? In what ways can they be naive? What adults in the movie seemed naive?

5. Does Bruno and Gretel’s tutor take advantage of the children’s innocence in what he teaches them? How? What were these ideas?

6. Although the story takes place during a tragic time in history, there are moments of humour in the story. How does this affect our perception of Bruno?

7. What events and experiences lead Bruno to gradually give up some of his innocence and see things so differently?

8. Why was it so hard for him to believe that his father could be involved in hurtful acts?

9. Neither Bruno nor Shmuel really know what is going on at the concentration camp. Why is that, and what allows them to keep their innocence?

10.Why do you think the movie ended the way it did?

11.Bruno told a lie that lead Shmuel to be beaten and cast back into the concentration camp. What biblical story is this alluding to?

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12. Bruno tried to help Shmuel find his father even though he was frightened and wanted to go home. What does this say about his character?

13. At the end of the movie Bruno’s parents are in a panic because Bruno is lost. Do you feel sympathy for them?

Important Quotes

Who said it? Theme it relates to

“Think of it as an adventure, like in one of your books”

“Care for children sick and poor, grant them Lord thy blessing more

And this I pray in Jesus name, Care for my family just the same “

“They look a bit strange”

“They wear pyjamas”

“Those people, well you see they’re not really people at all”

We’re working hard to make this world a better place

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for you to grow up in”

They’re a bit strange, well they’re a bit different”

“There was one of them in our kitchen”

“Die, Die, Die”

Have you got lots of friends over there?”

“I like being out here, I can be on my own”

It’s not fair me being stuck over here on my own while you’re over there playing with friends all day”

Its funny how grownups can’t make their minds up about what they want to do… like Pavel, her used to be a doctor and gave it all up to peel potatoes”

“My dad's a soldier, but not the sort that takes people's clothes away”

“Perhaps you can come and have supper with us sometime.”

“Why what have you done?”

“I’m a Jew”

“I think they just burn rubbish there sometimes”

“My dad's a soldier, but not the sort that takes people's clothes away. “

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The Jew corrupted us…, he mocked our music and our books…everywhere his influence was destructive…”

The nation’s collapse was down to one man?”

There is such a thing as a nice Jew isn’t there?

I think if you were to find a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world”

“The aim of the Jew is to become the ruler of humanity

The Jew is not creative but destructive

He is the enemy of culture

Thousands of Germans have been made poor by the Jew”

Do you not like playing?

“They smell even worse when they burn don’t they?”

“But surely you knew?”

“Elsa you believe in this too, you want this country to be strong”

“No Ralph no not that”

“That isn’t war.”

“Bruno you don’t still think it’s a farm do you?”

“It’s a camp… for Jews…”

“Because they’re the best workers?”

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“They’re not in there because they’re good silly, they’re in there because they’re evil… the enemy”

“Evil dangerous vermin.”

“They’re the reason we lost the great war.”

“Dad’s a good man, but he’s in charge of a horrible place.

We should be proud of Dad now more than ever before”

We’re not supposed to be friends you and me. We’re meant to be enemies. Did you know that? DO you want some?”

“Is your Dad a good man? And you’re proud of him?”

“Aren’t you proud of yours?”

“He’s my friend”

“Little man, do you know this Jew”

“NO, I just walked in and he was helping himself. I’ve never seen him before in my life”

“When I come back we’ll have a little chat about what happens to rats who steal”

Grandmother’s death

“They had to go to a hospital as soon as we arrived, we didn’t see them again”

“The man I married is a monster …Even your own mother couldn’t love you”

“Mum says this is no place for children, which is just stupid”

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You can come on holiday to Berlin if you like, when everybody’s getting on again”

“That would have made up for letting you down like that … that would have been like a secret mission”

You don’t want to come over here

I could come over to your side

What’s the point in that?

Would you dare do it though?

Would I let you down?

In some ways, Bruno and Shmuel seem to lead parallel lives. List the similarities.

Bruno Shmuel

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Music and Sound EffectsDiegetic sound 

Sound that is present as an actual part of the scene

voices of characters  sounds made by objects/character in the story  music played by an instrument or other source seen in the film eg a character

singing or playing an instrument

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 Non-diegetic sound 

Sound that is added later and not part of the actual scene

narrator's commentary sound effects which are added for the dramatic effect mood/background music

MUSIC in BISPThe musical elements in this film were mainly string instruments. The violin and cello are very noticeable but above all of them is the piano. The piano is the one instrument that is used to shift the mood of the film. The piano also becomes a part of the overall feeling that when it is missing, you know that something is wrong. It could almost be said that the piano is a character in the movie in the way that it sends hints that something isn't quite right. Music in this movie brings the emotion out of the viewer.Mark Herman (director)

Scene Analysis

Aspect Scene: The opening sceneMusic

(Non-diegetic)How does it make you

feel? Can you describe

Piano and orchestral music, tempo is slow with simple rhythm. Tone is

dramatic and building in volume. Key changes to minor when Jews are

shown to suggest menace and foreboding and less piano, more string

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it? Is it fast or slow?

What mood is it?

Other Sound effects

(Diegetic)

(violin) which is sadder in tone.

DRAMATIC IRONY is when the audience knows more than the

characters.

Dog’s barking, and guards shouting

ColourWhat colours are used?

What are the

associations? Are they

similar or do they

change?

Golden brown, the house is warm and cosy looking (obviously wealthy

and luxurious) it looks like a happy home. Contrast to the grim greyness

of house at camp.

LightingHow is light used? Is it

constant or does it

change?

Golden filters to give warmth, water on ground suggests rainy weather in

contrast to summer scenes at camp.

Camera

angles/editingHow does the camera

work? Is it close or far

away from the

characters? Does it stay

the same or does it

change?

Crane shot panning down to ground level then tracking shots of Bruno

and friends playing innocent “war games” in montage. Cut in are close-

ups of hands polishing glasses and house being prepared for party,

many low angle shots which would have been Bruno’s angle. Shots of

Jews being taken away cut in as a contrast.

CharactersWhat do you notice

about the way the

characters look? How

do they move? What do

you learn about them?

Bruno happy and carefree. Gretel childish, obedient, proud of father.

Elsa, proud, social, caring mother. Ralph, dressed like Bruno, sitting

close to family to show close relationship.

Bruno positioned on other side to show he’s against the move. Contrast

to end when he’s the one who doesn’t want to leave the camp because

of Shmuel.

Aspect Scene:Diegetic sound

Non-diegetic sound

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How does it make you feel? Can you describe it? Is it fast or slow? What mood is it?

ColourWhat colours are used? What are the associations? Are they similar or do they change?

LightingHow is light used? Is it constant or does it change?

Camera angles/editingHow does the camera work? Is it close or far away from the characters? Does it stay the same or does it change?

CharactersWhat do you notice about the way the characters look? How do they move? What do you learn about them?

IDEAS/MESSAGES/THEMES VisualWhat do we see?

VerbalWhat do we hear?

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Loneliness – Bruno and Shmuel are both alone

Bruno and Shmuel seem to lead parallel yet contrasting lives.

Bruno and Shmuel demonstrate how innocent they can be and how important kindness and compassion are.

Secrecy – Bruno is protected by his parents who do not want him to know the reality that is the Holocaust; Both boys know that they would be in terrible trouble if anyone were to find out about their friendship so they keep it a secret.

Contrast/juxtaposition of innocence and evil

Hatred/prejudice and stereotyping

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Betrayal -When Shmuel is brought to Bruno's house to work as a servant, , Shmuel is punished for stealing food (which Bruno had given him).

Forgiveness – Shmuel forgives Bruno for his betrayal, showing strength and humanity in a time of hatred and blame

The desire for friendship is universal and at no time is it more important than during childhood. Bruno and Shmuel exist in two completely different worlds both have desire for companionship during a difficult time. In spite of their remarkably different circumstances, Bruno and Shmuel create a meaningful friendship.

Propaganda and conformity – Bruno’s father, grandfather, tutor and sister believe the Nazi messages of hate.Choice – people have the choice whether they treat others decently and see the humanity in people or notQuest for adventure

Foreshadowing of what is to come

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Aspect The Final SceneDiegetic sound

Non-diegetic soundHow does it make you feel? Can you describe it? Is it fast or slow? What mood is it?

ColourWhat colours are used? What are the associations? Are they similar or do they change?

LightingHow is light used? Is it constant or does it change?

Camera angles/editingHow does the camera work? Is it close or far away from the characters? Does it stay the same or does it change?

CharactersWhat do you notice about the way the characters look? How do they move? What do you learn about them?

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Bruno, leaving behind all of his friends and restricted in his new home was obviously lonely and inquisitive of the mysterious "farmers" in the pajamas, and the "chimneys" from the view of his bedroom window. Overcome with curiosity, he sneaks from his extravagant home to the dirty slums of the camp where he meets Shmuel, a prisoner of Bruno's age inside the camp. Alight to have finally found a friend, he continually visits this boy in the striped pajamas. Bruno was innocently aware and ignorant of this poor boy's circumstances: he worked in pajamas, he couldn't play with balls, he ate funny, and he was unusually jumpy at the sound of a whistle. But still, why was he behind a barbed wire fence? Where were the elegant things that Bruno had so long lived with? And, Shmuel was his friend, and a Jew, but he wasn't evil at all. And neither were the other Jews that Bruno lived around. After a misunderstanding of substance with a young Nazi soldier that landed Shmuel with a nasty injury to the face, Bruno is more than determined to help out his young friend. When Shmuel's father goes missing, Bruno seizes the opportunity to look for him; dressing up in striped pajamas, Bruno slips into the camp, where in the crowd of unlucky prisoners, they are both forced into their premature deaths in the gas chambers.

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