This narrative is told from the perspective of a boy named Bruno, who along with his family lived in a place called Berlin, but everything changes quickly when they have to go live in a place called Auchviz since his father begins to command a concentration camp in that place and also, he was a servant of Hitler. Bruno totally disagrees with this since he would miss his grandparents, his friends and his giant house which did not compare at all to the one in Auchviz. They were totally far from civilization so they had to take private classes at home, which were only about history.
The protagonist could see many people and their “houses” in the distance on the other side of a wire fence from which sometimes a very unpleasant smell came from. Bruno loved to explore so he took it upon himself to go there and met a little boy named Shmuel whom he became best friends with and went to visit every afternoon. But the problem was that his friend always seemed sad and was always hungry, too, he always complained about the soldiers and Bruno couldn't understand why there was so much resentment towards his dad's job.
One day, Bruno heard his parents arguing and from what he heard they were going back to Berlin. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to his friend, so he went to look for him. When he arrived, he saw him sad, with his gaze fixed on the ground as he did at the beginning. Bruno asked Shmuel why he was so worried, to which he told him that it was because he couldn't find his father; Since they had been really wanting to play for a while while they were both on the same side of the fence, they decided that Bruno would pretend to be a Jew to help Shmuel look for his father, since he was a great explorer. The plan was carried out until the next day. Bruno put on some dirty, striped pajamas that his friend brought him and they went into the rooms.
Upon entering, Bruno realizes that nothing is as he imagined, he found many emaciated, very thin and crestfallen people, at which point the protagonist realized that he would not be able to play with the children there as he had thought, they spent an hour looking for Shmuel's father and were unsuccessful. After a moment, the soldiers began to call them telling them that they were going to the showers, they ordered them to line up and march until they reached a completely closed room and suddenly everything went dark. In reality, all those Jews along with Bruno and Shmuel entered a gas chamber, in which they murdered the Jews by releasing a toxic gas.
Bruno's parents remained looking for him for several days until his father found his clothes on the edge of the fence. They immediately knew that he had crossed paths and mixed with the Jews and that he was definitely no longer alive.
I would have regretted it instantly, because the father finally felt the pain of those who lost loved ones there. I think in a way it was karma, but not that he deserved it like that, with an innocent child and the pain that his wife and daughter went through too.
Sources: book and movie.
How would you have felt if you were in Bruno's father's place?
Do you think what happened was karma for Bruno's dad or that he deserved it?
If you had been Bruno, would you have continued in that place after seeing the situation?
Replies
I agree, Bruno's father was so involved in his work that he ended up neglecting his family in that horrible place.
I would have felt terrible if I were Bruno's father. I think it was totally karma and he totally deserved what happened to his son. If I were Bruno, I probably would not have continued into the camp because it would have been very scary.
I would feel guilty and very sad if I were in Bruno's fathers position. I think that it could be some sort of karma for what his father is doing to the Jews. If I were Bruno I wouldn't have stayed after I saw what the people were going through, but he also was just a child and didn't know what was going to happen.
If I were in Bruno's father's place, I would feel absolutely awful. It would really put into perspective what he stands for and how it can effect him and his family. I think it was very much karma, but Bruno didn't deserve to be punished for his dad's actions.
I would feel horrible, and really guilty. For once, Bruno's dad can see how everyone in the concentration camp feels. He goes through what other parents went through when their children were taken away, killed, and stolen from them. I don't think that Bruno understood the situation, he was only 9 and just excited to be around new kids and different people.
Exactly, this could at least work so that he could finally understand the damage he had been doing to many families and children like his son or even younger.
I would feel scared and I think I would be a little mad at my kid for putting the family in that bad of a position. I don't think Bruno's dad deserved what he got just because his kid did what he did. I don't think I would have kept doing what he did.
I think Bruno's dad finally realized that his actions were affecting other people. I would have chosen to leave the concentration camps and move away. His father did deserve the situation that happened though.
I think that Bruno's Dad finally felt the effects and the reality of his actions that he was inflicting on other people. Morally, I would have chosen to back out of the concentration camps and move away. However, I know that it would've been very difficult to resign from that line of work given the circumstances.
It is a very logical decision, I really don't know what happened to Bruno's father afterwards, but he was always very faithful to his work.
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