Historical Film Evaluation: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Essay Sample)

In the emotional 2008 film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, director Mark Herman tells the story of eight-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield) after his father Ralf (David Thewlis), a Nazi Commandant, obtains control over Auschwitz near their house. Bruno ventures off their home property and befriends eight-year-old Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a prisoner in the camp. The film shows Bruno and Shmuel as they deal with the realities of the Holocaust and WWII. Although the 2008 film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas touches on the emotional aspects of WWII, the focus is on the barrier of child comprehension shown through Bruno’s experiences with Shmuel versus what he is taught to believe. Mark Herman’s film also lacks historical accuracy regarding Auschwitz’s easy accessibility and the unrealistic setting of the film, with Bruno’s home being close to the camp.

Depictions of WWII and the Holocaust are shown in several films, Mark Herman based his movie on John Boyne’s book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which received mixed reviews based on its inaccuracy and positive morals. The film, centered around Bruno and Shmuel’s growing friendship, used the Holocaust as a setting for storytelling and not one to teach about Holocaust education while humanizing characters that would appear evil.

Bruno’s comprehension of war and the Holocaust throughout the film are skewed. His instructor, Liszt, teaches him to believe that Jews are evil and not to be trusted, while his experiences with Shmuel show the opposite. In William J. Cromie’s article, What to tell children about war: he speaks with Kathleen McCartney, a Professor of Education at Harvard University. McCartney explains when children begin comprehending real war and pretend violence. “By 6 or 7, they start to see the difference. By 8-9, they know the difference.” (McCartney) Bruno, being eight years old, knows the difference between playing and war but he doesn’t understand why the Germans are targeting the Jews and why they believed the Jews were inferior to them. Shmuel’s situation is complex throughout the film, he is aware that Jews are hated by the Germans but does not understand why. Arguably, Bruno is much more naïve about the Holocaust than Shmuel as Bruno has more screen time than Shmuel, and we see more character development from him.

Bruno spies on a meeting his father is having with several other Nazi soldiers while they are watching a film that shows the conditions of the camps, the film’s narrator explains how the prisoners have good living conditions and every important amenity, whereas the reality is that the conditions were far from livable. Bruno never learns what his father Ralf does as a Nazi Commandant and his mother, Elsa finds out that Ralf is the head of an extermination camp after Lieutenant Kotler accidentally reveals this information to her, “They smell even worse when they burn, don’t they?” Elsa begins to break down throughout the rest of the film after receiving the news that her husband is massacring thousands of people. It is unlikely that Elsa would feel this way as she would believe in the Nazi regime and the antisemitism that came with it. “We see her doubt the racist beliefs of the “Fury,” despite the fact that she is unwavering in her support of her husband. She is a jumble of contradicting stereotypes: a good mother, a good wife, and a bad Nazi. (Rich and Pearcy p 7) Bruno’s home is close enough to the camp that burning flesh can be smelled and a cloud of smoke can be seen. It is unlikely that Ralf would bring his family this close to an extermination camp without them knowing what it is. Bruno does see parts of the camp through his bedroom window but believes it is a farm and not Auschwitz.

Bruno was able to leave his property several times even though it is guarded by several soldiers and surrounded by high walls. It also would have been impossible for Bruno to get close enough to the camp to put his hands through the fencing. Aerial photographs of the Auschwitz Main Camp show that the prisoner housing is surrounded by patrolled roads, railroads, or SS offices, there are also guard towers at every corner (Webb p 443). This inaccuracy is one of many reasons for Boyne’s book receiving negative reviews and concern for Holocaust education. 

Shmuel’s situation is complex throughout the film, he is aware that Jews are hated by the Germans and at war with them but does not understand why similar to Bruno not fully understanding why the Jews were hated. Shmuel would also have most likely been killed upon arrival at the camp, “Upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau and other camps, the vast majority of young Jewish children were sent directly to the gas chambers” (Wilkinson p 245). Mark Herman did give a realistic fix to this issue by making Shmuel a labor worker which many Jewish children who survived were. Another issue is that Shmuel has enough free time to sit at a corner of the camp for long periods. There is a large space of unused ground for building barracks and one can be seen under construction during the film. Shmuel would not have this amount of free time and would be working all day with the other prisoners.

Natalie Ward, the film’s costume designer, did a great job with the outfits worn throughout the film. Shmuel and the other Jewish prisoners are seen wearing a cotton shirt and pants consisting of blue and white vertical stripes with a number located on the upper left section of the chest. Some prisoners are seen with a cap as well and Bruno wears one at the end of the film to hide his hair. SS soldiers are seen in correct Nazi attire, Ralf’s uniform signifies he is a Senior Assault Unit Leader for the Staff Officers and consists of a Storm Unit Leader insignia on the left side of his collar and the SS insignia on the left which changes to a skull and crossbones to show Ralf is leading an extermination camp. His shoulder insignia is a silver woven design with a bronze button in the center. Kotler’s uniform is also correct to his rank, his insignia shows he is a Senior Assault Leader for the Troop Officers and consist of a Storm Head Leader insignia on his left collar and the skull and crossbones on his right. Both soldier’s caps show a SS eagle insignia with the skull and crossbones below. Bruno’s fate is foreshadowed during the beginning of the film when he is shown wearing blue and white pajamas, showing he and Shmuel both are the boy in the striped pajamas.

Mark Herman brought John Boyne’s book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to the big screen to show the effects of war on the characters involved. Although the film lacks many truths about the Holocaust and WWII like Auschwitz and Bruno’s home being close together. It shows the barrier of child comprehension and a magnificent costume design to add attention to detail away from the unrealistic plot. Mark Herman humanized the characters that would normally appear evil like Ralf and Kotler to show they are doing their job and have normal lives outside of work. Herman explained that the film is a work of fiction, and the events would not be possible but the story itself is told with brilliant writing and great cinematography. 

Works Cited

“Concentration Camp.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p. 1; EBSCOhost   https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=co192200&site=eds-live. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Cromie, William J. “What to tell children about war:” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 10 Apr. 2003, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/04/what-to-tell-children-about-war/#:~:text=Before%20age%205%20or%206,it%20for%20a%20short%20while. Accessed March 24, 2022.

Kim, Young-Suk Grace, and Yaacov Petscher. “Influences of Individual, Text, and Assessment Factors on Text/Discourse Comprehension in Oral Language (Listening Comprehension).” Annals of Dyslexia, vol. 71, no. 2, July 2o21, pp. 218-237. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-020-00208-8. Accessed March 24, 2022.

Rees, Laurence. “The Life of an Auschwitz Guard.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 15 July 2015, https://www.politico.eu/article/auschwitz-guard-germany-holocaust-history-world-war/. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Rich, Jennifer, and Mark Pearcy. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Critical Analysis of a Film Depiction of the Holocaust.” Social Studies, vol. 109, no. 6, Nov. 2018, pp. 294–308. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2018.1536642. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Webb, Chris. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance. Ibidem, 2018. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1781536&site=eds-live. Accessed April 14, 2022.

Wikipedia contributors. “Uniforms and Insignia of the Schutzstaffel.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel. Accessed March 14, 2022.

Wilkinson, Greg. “Auschwitz: 2. Children – Extra.” The British Journal of Psychiatry, 3 Apr. 2022, pp. 245–245., https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2021.172. Accessed April 14, 2022.