The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas

The boy in stripped pyjamas.

Last evening as I was channel surfing I came across the movie the boy in stripped pyjamas. Now I wont argue the historical inaccuracies or how evil the Nazis were. What struck me were the boundaries that separated the characters in the movie. Here was a German family, the father the commandant of Auschwitz , the wife unaware of what her husband did, the daughter an admirer of the Nazi regime. It’s only the son, the protagonist in the movie who explores his boundaries.

The father is following orders to rid Germany of its Jewish menace and restore it to its glory. The family is unaware of the real horror of the concentration camp. When the wife comes to know she has a breakdown. It’s only the little boy who understands there is no difference between Jews and Germans.

Lets take this further. What is it that maintains the boundary of ‘the self’ and ‘the other’? Can dialogue exist between groups that think of themselves as different? The little boy didn’t think there were differences; he worked around the differences in this case by ignoring the wire fence and even digging under it- to help his friend.

The Nazi regime skilfully created the enemy- the Jew, and then went onto exterminate them. This of course was a large and political demonstration of hatred, yet boundaries exist even within those who claim to be secular. A distinction of ‘‘them’, rational irrational exists. Our boundaries prevent us from exploring beyond what we know. Those who accepted what the state told them were already in some way convinced that Nazisim was right and allowed the atrocities to be committed by not opposing the regime and also by not offering their opinions.  The two boys broke the rules they were friends. They didn’t understand their differences.

Unfortunately both the boys end up dying in the gas chambers. It’s a small but poignant scene both the boys hold hands as death approaches. The movie ends in silence because to say anything at a time like this would take away from the pain the characters feel. The other characters are never shown this happy or connected each on of them is disconnected from someone, family members or the reality of their situation.

Perhaps it is the alienation we feel not just from others but also from ourselves that touches us throughout the movie. The boy in the stripped pyjamas transcends that boundary.