Historical Events
The historical event which takes place in the novel is the Holocaust from World War 2. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is set in and around the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in contemporary Poland. The book explores the way the Jewish were treated and the ideals of the German Nazi’s during 1939-1945. Jewish people were forced from their homes and rounded up on trains and sent to prison camps where the Germans would exterminate them. Auschwitz was the largest of all these camps where over 1.1 million people were killed.
When the prisoners had arrived at Auschwitz they were taken from the train and split into two lines. The left line was for the children, women and old men and the right line was for young-middle aged men.
Those in the left line were told to leave their luggage behind while they went and cleaned themselves in shower blocks. The people were told to remove all their clothing and wait for further instructions. Soon after this the Soldiers would lock the doors and use Zyklon-B pellets to poison and kill the prisoners. The clothing was then looted and the bodies were sent to the crematorium.
Those in the right line were sent to the main prison camp where all their belongings were taken. They were forced to wear a blue and white striped uniform. The prisoners were tattooed with a number and their head was shaven. They were forced into hard labour such as mining and construction work. The majority of men who made it to the prison camp would eventually die of starvation or torture. When the camps began to get overcrowded the soldiers would round up a group of prisoners and take them to the gas chamber in a Death-March.
Very few escaped these camps and the lucky ones of higher social status were given jobs as chefs, waiters or musicians. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp was liberated by the allies in 1945.
When the prisoners had arrived at Auschwitz they were taken from the train and split into two lines. The left line was for the children, women and old men and the right line was for young-middle aged men.
Those in the left line were told to leave their luggage behind while they went and cleaned themselves in shower blocks. The people were told to remove all their clothing and wait for further instructions. Soon after this the Soldiers would lock the doors and use Zyklon-B pellets to poison and kill the prisoners. The clothing was then looted and the bodies were sent to the crematorium.
Those in the right line were sent to the main prison camp where all their belongings were taken. They were forced to wear a blue and white striped uniform. The prisoners were tattooed with a number and their head was shaven. They were forced into hard labour such as mining and construction work. The majority of men who made it to the prison camp would eventually die of starvation or torture. When the camps began to get overcrowded the soldiers would round up a group of prisoners and take them to the gas chamber in a Death-March.
Very few escaped these camps and the lucky ones of higher social status were given jobs as chefs, waiters or musicians. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp was liberated by the allies in 1945.