The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is a novel about two young boys who are living during the holocaust. The two boys are opposites, Bruno being a child of a Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jew. Though they are supposed to be enemies, because of their youth, ignorance and freedom from prejudice, they befriend one another.

The gates to a concentration camp

The prejudice in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas were mostly caused by fear, anger and humiliation. When the Germans lost the war and were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, they were humiliated and lost a lot of their wealth and power. Because of their anger, they wanted someone to blame and be responsible for the disgrace of Germany. The Germans decided that the Jews were responsible, even when they had no support or evidence on how the Jews were to blame. The majority of the people thought that they were doing the right thing but the few who disagreed were too fearful to speak up.


This novel has taught and shown me many things about prejudice and biases. In The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Bruno and Shmuel meet each other when they were both still unaware of the holocaust. They befriend one another despite the fact that they are on the opposite sides of the fence. This shows that not all prejudices are correct as Bruno and Shmuel were meant to be enemies but, because of their lack of knowledge, they were willing to get to know and understand each other. 


Prejudice and biases not only affect yourself but others too. Gretel was deeply influenced by her parents and Lieutenant Kotler to believe that all Jews were responsible for Germany losing the war. When Gretel talked to her parents or Lieutenant Kotler about the current situation with Jews, they would tell her information based on their points of view, some of which are not accurate or correct. Gretel chose to trust her parents and in result, became a supporter of the Nazis. She tried to influence and educate Bruno about the Jews but Bruno, who is ignorant and naive, did not listen to Gretel and carried on to be friends with Shmuel. This proves that it is possible to ignore what others say and just do what you believe in.


"Prejudice is a burden which confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible." - Maya Angelou 


Reference:
http://www.krakow-poland.com/i/cms/krakow_auschwitz.jpg

Treaty of Versailles

In the June of 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany. The treaty was created to punish the Germans for World War One, which, the other nations agreed Germany should take complete responsibility for starting the war. Out of the 440 clauses which the treaty consisted of, 414 of them dealt with punishing Germany. 


The Treaty of Versailles was much too harsh on the Germans. Though Germany had a big impact in the war, they were not the only country who participated in it. Countless of other nations have fought, destroyed, and killed many people as well. The treaty caused for the Germans to admit that they were responsible for the entire war but this is not true. Each country had the right to decide to stay neutral like Spain and Sweden did, but instead, many chose to get involved and in result, many died. Germany was also not the only nation who had invaded another country, the Allied Powers did as well. They are just as responsible for the war as the Germans are.

Allied Powers in green, Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey

Clause number 233 of the Treaty of Versailles had Germany pay for all damages done to the civilian population and property of the Allied Governments. In the end, The Allied Powers charged Germany $33 billion, leaving Germany in serious debt. This was unfair as there were many innocent Germans who were greatly impacted by this. There was much hardship for the Germans as many lost their jobs, money, and those who had family members injured also had to pay for the medical fees. Adding to that, the treaty caused Germany to lose a lot of land, resulting in some Germans losing their homes and having to move. The Treaty of Versailles made life in Germany very harsh and unpleasant even though some Germans did not get involved in or support the war.

Land that Germany lost after the treaty

The Treaty of Versailles was incredibly hard on Germany but not on the other defeated nations. Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey all lost some land and money but none of the punishments were as harsh as it was on Germany. This is unfair as all the nations should be sharing the blame instead of just Germany. They all had played a part in the war, including the Allied Powers, so they should all pay the debt together. It was unjust to thrust all the responsibility on Germany alone.




References:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/WWI-re.png/400px-WWI-re.png
http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/germanlosses.htm