Set in the time of the Nazi reign, the Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a story of a young German boy Bruno and his life as the son of a high ranking General. As Bruno's father takes on new responsibilities as the Chief of a concentration camp, their family then moves off to a new residence in the countryside, well within sight of the camp itself. Upon reaching the new place, Bruno looks out his window and sees the camp, then quizzically asks why the "farmers" were all wearing pyjamas - unknowing that those people were not farmers, and neither were they wearing pyjamas.
Through a series of events, Bruno makes a friend, Shmuel, through the wired fences. While his family desperately tries to shield him from the realities of the war, Bruno faces an internal strife, struggling to reconcile what he is taught in academia, and the events that take place before his very eyes. Being subject to the manipulation of Nazi propaganda, the irony is stark in the friendships he forges with the Jews in times of his solitude and despair, and the dysfunctional relationships within his German community.
There is such thing as a nice Jew, though, isn't there?
I think, Bruno, if you ever found a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world.
So the stage is set, as Bruno the Explorer explores the realities on his own. The boy soon places the pieces together, and begins to understand the enemity between the Nazis and the Jews. As thick rancid smoke billows from the chimneys in the camp, the plot builds toward an omimous sense of doom.
We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?
At some point in time, he finds himself subject to the terror of the Nazi reign, and an inability to acknowledge his friendship with Shmuel in face of punishment. As a result of his cowardice, Shmuel is dealt with physical wounds and unseen torment. Yet, the betrayal is quickly forgiven, with a firm handshake through the wired fence. A guilt ridden Bruno then decides to return the favour, by taking on the identify of Shmuel within the camp to look for Shmuel's father who had gone missing. Both boys hadn't known that too many had gone missing already.
The story ends in the gas chamber, with Shmuel's and Bruno's hands clasped together, their naked bodies shivering against countless others. They were told it was just a shower. I quote from
Kim (from whom I got to know of this show) - "Only when his own son wandered into the concentration camp and died in a gas chamber, does he realize it’s not only the death of his son, but also that of all the Jews who died with him. The movie ended with him standing outside the gas chamber, with deathly silence resonating. Then the chillingly-happy theme song plays, as though celebrating the ironic success of his extermination plan."
* * *
Beyond the atrocities of the Nazi reign, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas depicts an untainted view of the war through the eyes of a child. It illustrates the sensing, feeling and unjudgemental instincts of a child and the simple conclusions that demand no reason - reciprocating kindness, loving others and being friends who those who were nice. At the human core, there is a sense of morality, and knowingness of what is defined as right and what lies beyond that line of morality. Bruno was taught that all Jews were evil and that they were against the Fatherland, yet he trespassed across the boundaries that were set for him. He experimented, he explored, he betrayed his conscience. Yet his heart could not bear the guilt that it bore, and he risked it all to venture into what he believed in - friendship.
The responses of the various characters in the story are measured out against one another, and the wretchedness that comes along with reason, societal and relational constraints is grossly apparent against the innocence that comes with life. Once again, I am reminded of the corrupt state of Man; the insidious ways that we fool ourselves into believing that we are but products of circumstance; a depolorable state that can only be redeemed through God's grace. My heart is heavy, as it is watching such shows. In my state of disrepair, only Christ can make me whole again.
"Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows"
British poet John Betjeman
* * *
Dachau Concentration Camp, Munich June 2008
1. Brausebad- Shower, or so they were told.
2. Chambers in which the Jews were gassed to death.
3. The source of the rancid thick black smoke billowing from the chimneys.
