History Headscratchers / TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas

*** Well, yeah, but they still aren't just gonna let a little kid go around sneaking past the guards.

** This troper found the inaccuracies too much for "suspension of disbelief". The Jewish kid who is left alone next to a fence which he could easily cross under. The proximity of trees, rocks, etc, to the camp. The apparently inexistent guards around the perimeter. The MC deciding to help find his father in a place he doesn't know, that the Jewish kid has made clear is scary... This is Rule of Drama for cheap tears.

** No, it does. It takes place between April 15 1943 and the spring/summer of 1944, with the father's epiphany happening in the spring of '45 right in time for the surrender. Probably Bruno's father spent most of his time at work, and Bruno was raise mainly by his mother and grandmother, who had nothing against Jewish people as far as I noticed. It ''is'' implausible that he didn't know who Hitler was. The best explanation I can come up with is that Gretel knew and it made her a real bitch so they (mother and grandmother) decided to shield Bruno a bit longer. Only about ten percent of Germans actively agreed with Hitler anyway.

* Why does Bruno know absolutely nothing? Not knowing what Auschwitz is I can buy. Not knowing Hitler? Not knowing what a Jew is? I don't think the book says when it takes place but let's say 1942, the year that the policy of the "Final Solution" was formulated, which would put Bruno's birth year as 1933. The Nazis had been persecuting Jewish people for nearly 10 years by '42; in Berlin, Bruno would probably have grown up in an environment very hostile to Jewish people, especially if his father is a high ranking official in the German army. Am I honestly meant to believe that Bruno, a boy born and raised under Nazi control, would not only have no idea what a Jew is but would also not view Jews as a subhuman evil that crippled Germany? Really? It might just be my real dislike of this story shining through but this seems to go past mere contrivance and diving headfirst into Viewers Are Morons territory.

* Why does Bruno know absolutely nothing? Not knowing what Auschwitz is I can buy. Not knowing Hitler? Not knowing what a Jew is? I don't think the book says when it takes place but let's say 1942, the year that the policy of the "Final Solution" was formulated, which would put Bruno's birth year as 1933. The Nazis had been persecuting Jewish people for nearly 10 years by '42; in Berlin, Bruno would probably have grown up in an environment very hostile to Jewish people, especially if his father is a high ranking official in the German army. Am I honestly meant to believe that Bruno, a boy born and raised under Nazi control, would not only have no idea what a Jew is but would also not view Jews as a subhuman evil that crippled Germany? Really? It might just be my real dislike of this story shining through but this seems to go past mere contrivance and diving headfirst into [[ViewersAreMorons Viewers Are Morons]] territory.

** He wouldn't be able to. More likely, his parents wouldn't let him near it. My biggest question is why Shmuel is allowed to dodge work and sit by the fence to chat with Bruno. That would not have happened. At all. This is [[ArtisticLicenseHistory]] taken to the extreme.
* Why does Bruno know absolutely nothing? Not knowing what Auschwitz is I can buy. Not knowing Hitler? Not knowing what a Jew is? I don't think the book says when it takes place but let's say 1942, the year that the policy of the "Final Solution" was formulated, which would put Bruno's birth year as 1933. The Nazis had been persecuting Jewish people for nearly 10 years by '42; in Berlin, Bruno would probably have grown up in an environment very hostile to Jewish people, especially if his father is a high ranking official in the German army. Am I honestly meant to believe that Bruno, a boy born and raised under Nazi control, would not only have no idea what a Jew is but would also not view Jews as a subhuman evil that crippled Germany? Really? It might just be my real dislike of this story shining through but this seems to go past mere contrivance and diving headfirst into [[ViewersAreMorons]] territory.

** He wouldn't be able to. More likely, his parents wouldn't let him near it. My biggest question is why Shmuel is allowed to dodge work and sit by the fence to chat with Bruno. That would not have happened. At all. This is [[ArtisticLicenseHistory]] taken to the extreme.

* The idea that anyone would be able to tunnel under the fence of a concentration camp, let alone a little kid digging with his bare hands. I love this book, but that's the spot where my suspension of disbelief just breaks down.

** Agreed with above troper. Regardless of how much he paid attention to anything at all, he would have known who Hitler was. Goebbel's propaganda machine would've made sure every German alive at the time would know.

*** Well, yeah, but they still aren't just gonna let a little kid go around sneaking past the guards.

*** Remember Bruno has no idea what's really happening. That's why the title's called ''Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'' because he genuinely believes that "Auschwitz" is just some weird camp called "Out With" and it's where a bunch of people wear strange looking pyjamas... and he wants in on it. It takes simple childhood wonder and turns it into NightmareFuel.

** Or, more FridgeHorror and/or TearJerker, Bruno actually was a bit mentally impaired and...well... I think we all know what the Nazis did to those with mental disabilities...

*** Remember Bruno has no idea what's really happening. That's why the title's called ''TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'' because he genuinely believes that "Auschwitz" is just some weird camp called "Out With" and it's where a bunch of people wear strange looking pyjamas... and he wants in on it. It takes simple childhood wonder and turns it into NightmareFuel.