The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

Night by Elie Wiesel

• memoir of Wiesel’s time in Auschwitz published in 1956 and first translated into English in 1960
• connects to themes of the consequences of war and children’s grasp of war (Wiesel was a teenager during WWII)
• Compare and contrast Night and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as nonfiction and fable-like treatments of the Holocaust, respectively. What are the strengths and limitations of each genre?
• SuperSummary's Night Study Guide

“September 1, 1939” by W. H. Auden

• 1939 poem inspired by the Nazi invasion of Poland, here read by Jeremy Irons
• connects to the theme of the consequences of war
• Consider its depiction of all of humanity as children and how this intersects with its treatment of war and our reactions to it.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

• 2003 novel depicting the intertwined lives of two Afghan boys of different ethnic backgrounds who are (unbeknownst to them) half-brothers
• Consider the friendship between Amir and Hassan and the former’s betrayal of the latter, and discuss this in relation to Bruno and Shmuel as mirror representations.
• also connects to the theme of the consequences of war in its depiction of the Russian invasion and the rise of the Taliban
• SuperSummary's The Kite Runner Study Guide

“The Border: A Double Sonnet” by Alberto Ríos

• 2015 poem inspired by the US-Mexico border
• Compare the various metaphors Ríos uses to describe the border to Boyne’s depiction of the fence in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas; consider what each work implies about the humanity of those on either side (connects to Bruno and Shmuel as mirror representations).

“How the children of Nazi Germany remember World War II”

• 2018 BBC article by Fiona Macdonald
• connects to the theme of children’s understanding of war
• Consider it in relation to Boyne’s depiction of Bruno and Gretel.

Other Student Resources

“’An image came into my head of two little boys sitting on either side of a fence’ - John Boyne on The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”

• 2021 article for The Guardian’s “How I Wrote” column
• Consider especially the significance of the fence to Boyne, as well as his discussion of what he sees as the novel’s place in teaching students about the Holocaust.

“Nice to Meet You”

• scene from the 2008 film adaptation of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• Discuss the movie’s portrayal of the two boys and how it compares to the book’s depiction (especially concerning their understanding of war).

“Introduction to the Holocaust”

• overview of the history of the Holocaust from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Use it to contextualize The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and deepen discussions about how the novel represents this history.

Teacher Resources

John Boyne

• official website for the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

“Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust”

• suggestions from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on how to approach the subject with students