The Boy in Striped Pajamas

Movie-Watching Guide
1. Juxtaposition is the act of placing two different things side by side to emphasize their differences. What two things are juxtaposed during the opening credits of The Boy in Striped Pajamas?
At the very beginning you see the German children and adults laughing and playing and having fun with their friends, but right next to them there are Jewish children and adults who are being placed into small trucks and taken away.

2.

What does Brunos grandmother (the older lady in the fur coat) feel about her son (the soldier/Brunos dad) & his career?
She seems like her son being in the war is like he's only doing it to dress up to feel important. She seems like she doesn't really like the fact that he is in the army, also how he's supporting the army I guess. He makes some sort of comment about her getting into trouble if she makes her comments any louder, which probably means she doesn't support Hitler or the Nazis.

3.

Who are the kids in the pajamas Bruno sees? (Hint: The old man in the kitchen is one of them.)
The people wearing pajamas are, in Bruno's father puts it, "not really people at all..." They are probably Jews or other outcasts, and next to them is either probably a concentration camp or a ghetto.

4.

What does Maria tell Bruno their new home is? What is it really? (You might have to answer the second question later.)
Maria says their new home will be a farm, they'll get used to it, and it will be ok. They moved right next to a concentration camp. That's not a farm.

5.

What job did the old man use to have before he began peeling potatoes?

He helps Bruno clean and wrap his cut. He was a doctor before he went 'there'.
6. What does Bruno tell his teacher he reads? What does his teacher want him to read?
Bruno says he reads fictitious novels and books about adventures and knights and princesses, things he wants to learn about. But his tutor wants him to read current affairs and historical and factual textbooks and writings like journals and documents.

7.

According to Brunos dad, what is the smell from the chimneys?

He said it was only rubbish, nothing else.

8. What are some things that we hear from Gretel and the teacher about Jews?

There are no nice Jews, and if Bruno were to find one he would be the greatest explorer in the world.
9. The young soldier, Lt.1 Kohler, says They smell even worse when they burn, dont they?. Who is he talking about? What are the Nazis doing to them? I think he means that the Jews are being killed and then their bodies are being sent to the factories to be cremated or they are being sent to the factories to be cremated alive.

10. Lt. Kohlers father (a professor) left Germany 4 years earlier for Switzerland. Why is this interesting to Brunos father?
His father could have been a Jew escaping to Switzerland running away, or he was against the Nazi party. He was a soldier, and yet his father was against it, it wasn't looking good for him.

lieutenant

11. Why are the Jews in the work camp (according to Gretel)?
She says they're in the work camp because they are evil, and because they are the enemy. They are the reason that they lost WWI.

12. Bruno sees Shmuel in his house; why is he there?

He's working for them, cleaning the glass and silver because they need someone smaller, with small fingers.

13. What is the film that Brunos father and the other arm men sit through about? What is the point of it? Why is it saying that?
1. The film is about how life on the camp is absolutely peachy, and is filled with activities, and everyone has good food to eat etc... 2. It's to show the people that the people are not getting hurt, and it's very humane so that people won't worry about your government. 3. Because you can't show a video saying how awful something really is, and people will riot and stuff, so you have to show good things.

14. Bruno always brought a soccer ball with him to see Shmuel; why do you think he starts bringing other toys (e.g. tennis rackets, airplane) instead?
Probably smaller, easier to play with for both of them, tennis rackets were probably more for two people, and it was smaller.

15. Lt. Kohler leaves the camp to go elsewhere, and at the breakfast table, we find out why. What happened?
He was moved to the front lines because he failed to tell Bruno's father that he was a Nazi hater.

16. What does Brunos mother try to do at the grandmothers funeral? Why does Brunos father prevent that from happening?
She tries to remove the letter with Hitlers name off of the coffin because the grandmother didn't like Hitler, and she wouldn't have liked his name on her coffin, buried with her.

17. Brunos mother and father have an argument, and the next morning, their father gives the children some news. What is it?
They're moving away with their mother to Heildenberg to live with their Aunt because she doesn't think it's an appropriate way to spend their childhood.

18. What is Bruno and Shmuels big plan for Brunos last day there?
He is going into the work camp to help Shmuel find his father.

19. PARAGRAPH: At the beginning of the movie, there was a quote: Childhood is measure out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. What does this quote mean? What does it have to do with this film? (4 points)
It means that as children we don't really look for deeper meanings in things, we don't really look beyond what we see, we don't look for ulterior motives, and everything is measured by sights, smells, and sounds, but not really by our minds. As we grow older the darker we see the world, and we become more suspicious of our surroundings. I think this took place a couple of times in the movie. One, the obvious, with Bruno, and the lesser obvious one, with Bruno's mother. Bruno had no idea that his father was the "bad guy", he thought his father was helping people, which he wasn't. He didn't know that then the Nazis thought Jews were bad, and him and Shmuel were just innocent friends, that is what he thought. But the war was being fought because of Jews, so he was just ignorant. For Bruno's mother I think she was sort of like a child, she knew very well that they were living next to Auschwitz, and that there were Jews and other outcasts being held in there, but she didn't know that life for them in there was terrible, those propaganda videos made her think otherwise. She also didn't know they were being killed, especially the burning and stuff, she really wasn't happy with that and wanted to leave after. Igorance was bliss.