Bruno And Shmuel

Through the lens of an eight-year-old boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II, we witness a forbidden friendship that forms between Bruno, the son of Nazi commandant, and Schmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp. Although the two are separated physically by a barbed wire fence, their lives become inescapably intertwined. The imagined story of Bruno and Schmuel sheds light on the brutality, senselessness and devastating consequences of war from an unusual point of view. Together, their tragic journey helps recall the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust and the horrific treatment to those involved. Bruno’s innocence shines throughout the film in comparison to Schmuel’s knowledge. It is however the lack
Bruno is the naïve child who reads adventure stories and wants to be an explorer, despite being unaware of the tragic events that are occurring in his own backyard. He’s contrasted with his twelve year old sister, who quickly buys into the propaganda her tutor feeds her, and begins to plaster her room with swastikas and pictures of Hitler. Almost everyone in the film had either given in completely to the Nazi plan or was ignorant of its reality. Bruno was a significant victim of this injustice. Bruno’s view of this unimaginable evil makes it all the more grotesque. Most would be aware of the horror that was inflicted at Auschwitz. By considering how the extreme barbarities of the Third Reich would look to a child brings the viewers to rethink the purpose of the Holocaust and human nature in it’s self. Herman manages to connect the divide between the two boys In hopes of showing the strong difference between the two religions, except one is punished for it. One could argue that the fence separating them symbolises the feud between the two religions. Mark Herman has chosen Bruno and Schmuel’s friendship as another form of the holocaust in order to connect with the viewers. It allows them to become emotionally attached, which would be less affective if he were to use adults. Their friendship is strongly bonded yet inescapable,
Although Bruno and Schmuel share a certain childlike innocence, the reality is that Schmuel is a prisoner in Auschwitz and has certainly seen horrific sights. Bruno on the other hand, has his parents fiercely protecting him from the horrors of the reality that is the Holocaust. In particular, they go to great lengths to keep the details of Bruno's fathers job a secret from him. The father says, “You see Bruno, those…people, aren't really people at all.” (father movie) This implies that the Jews are viewed as a foreign type of object and this is what Bruno is growing up to believe. He is being raised to treat anyone different with hatred and ignorance. The upsetting fact is, all the Germans honestly believe the Jews are evil. The reasoning for this is that the Jews were supposedly the reason that the Germans lost the Great War (Sister). The theme of innocence reinforces the idea that hatred and prejudice are behaviours not decided, but learnt. Bruno’s tutor says, “I think Bruno, if you were to ever find a nice Jew, you would be the best explorer in the world” (Movie). He has had the idea engraved in his head that Jews are the enemy and yet he continues to visit Schmuel at the fence. One could also argue that when looking at a theme of innocence you could also turn to the fact that Schmuel along with all the other men in Auschwitz did not deserve the treatment they got. They were merely caught in the crossfire. Schmuel’s