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I agree with Mr. Peter Kubicek above.

My thoughts and feelings about this fairy tale gone mad of a book:

There are many things that disturb me about "The Boy in The Striped Pajamas." After reading it for the second time I decided to look into other readers' thoughts and feelings about this book. I started reading reviews of this book by Amazon customers and I found myself shaking my head in disbelief long before I reached the well over 100 reviews I ended up reading. I thought to myself that I must have read a different book from the customers who wrote their reviews. The reality that became obvious to me is that so many people do not even know the most basic facts about The Holocaust, and here more specifically about the concentration camps. This speaks to the reality of how little if anything people are taught in school about The Holocaust and that general populations around the world eat what is spoon fed to them whether they be lies or the truth. Then they continue to spread misinformation to others, or simply don't give a dam about the annihilation of millions of peoples only 65 years ago. "The Boy in The Striped Pajamas" is a historical novel. Although it is a novel it is incumbent upon the author to not cloud, twist, or change facts of history, and especially not facts about a time when the goal of human beings was the total annihilation of millions upon millions of other human beings. I suppose if people do not know the truth and the facts about The Holocaust that their high praise and lust for an emotional and unique story could be understood. What the author and publisher of this book did is an entirely different matter. When writing a historical novel research must be done by the author in order to preserve the truth and facts of history. It seems unlikely to me that this author did not do enough research about The Holocaust and the concentration camps to know that what he was writing was at best a disregard of truth and facts. It seems more likely to me that this author did do research about The Holocaust and CHOSE to ignore and disregard the facts in order to create a fantastical tale of impossibility that he knew would sell like hot cakes. One would think that a major publishing company would do its due diligence in order to not pervert verifiable facts of history, and that it would not knowingly publish a book that would make a mockery of history. One million copies of "The Boy in The Striped Pajamas" were sold as of just a few days ago. Clearly the sale of one million books took and takes precedence over not annihilating the truth and facts about the millions of human beings who were annihilated, as well as in essence, spitting in the faces of the very few who did survive. - Elizabeth Danzig

Very moving first-hand account.

Pedro wrote: "Very moving first-hand account."

Peter wishes to thank Pedro for his approval.

PS: "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" continues to sell like hotcakes.
"Memories of Evil" sells some five copies per month.
Conclusion: fiction will trump facts anytime.

Unfortunately, I agree with you.

I didn't mind the book (I have it at 3 stars) but even I was cringing at the 9-year-old (who would only have been alive then by A LOT of happenstance) apparently having no trouble stealing a pair of 'striped pyjamas' for his friend.

Not to mention how sanitized everything is - Shmuel would have been shot on the spot after the little stunt at Bruno's house, when he is accused of stealing. Don't try to tell me he not only stays alive, but is not even sent into solitary confinement or some such.

Hear! Hear, Pedro! You are one of very few who recognize the fantasy and lies represented in this book - Done so to have a bestseller while crushing the facts and dishonoring survivors and the millions who were murdered.

I agree with Mr. Peter Kubicek!!!

Must be the Jewish heritage and no-nonsense upbringing...

This is a great book i COMPLETLEY DISAGREE WITH YOU

Alexis,

Well, facts are facts and fairy tales are fairy tales. As a Holocaust survivor I can tell you facts. If you prefer fairy tales by all means that is your privilege. Just do not be under the illusion that this book will teach you anything about the Holocaust and about concentration camps.

Peter Kubicek

The sad fact is that whenever you find a list of Best Books about the Holocaust, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is right near the top, together with such acknowledged masterpieces like books by Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Anne Frank�.

While this book is just a masquerade that has no place in serious literature, when you look it up on Amazon.com, you will find 730 reviews of it, of which 470 give it 5-stars!

The reading public apparently just loves this phony tale. People seem to be afraid of reading that the Holocaust was nothing but brutality and starvation and death and they look for something to "soften" that reality.

I have no other explanation.

Peter Kubicek

Anna, Your last comment reminds me of another phony Holocaust tale: that of Herman and Roma Rosenblat. The tragic part of that one was that Herman was a genuine Holocaust survivor and invented his phony tale about 50 years after the fact, that Roma was a nine-year old girl who came to see him daily at the fence of the Schlieben concentration camp and threw him an apple over the fence, every day for seven months.

In 1958 I worked with other researches to expose this fabulation. The public, both Jews and Gentiles absolutely loved it. They felt that it somehow showed the hand of God in the concentration camps. After it was debunked at the very end of that year I received some e-mail from a few evangelical women who told me that they did not care whether it was true or not; that they believed it anyway, in the same way they believed in Jesus. I still remember that one of them wrote me at the end her letter, "I will pray for you, Peter." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Do you think this is relevant to the feeling "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" generates?

i disagree with you

Peter, your review appears just below mine (also one star) and I think you put it better. I don't mind the sanitised version of the Holocaust. We want to shock and upset students studying it for the first time, not traumatise them. Is that wrong? Possibly but I think nicy-nice Holocaust tales do have a place.

However, this one had no research at all. I have only visited the camp and seen photos, but I could see that the idea of crawling underneath is stupid. The way this is presented makes me wonder what the Jews were moaning about -plenty of rest, conversation and spare clothes available for your visiting mates.

The funny thing is it would work as a good novel if it was set in the future, space, fantasy, magical realm, 10,000BC or anything except Auschwitz. If it's a fable, don't touch the Holocaust then. If you mention Auschwitz, make sure it's correct and accurate as it upsets people otherwise and clouds the real truth.

Shame as we are crying out for novels on this subject and I wanted this to be ideal...

Alexis wrote: "This is a great book i COMPLETLEY DISAGREE WITH YOU "

How can you disagree? Were you there?

I -- thank God! -- haven't been in Auschwitz, but I read enough Holocaust memoirs to know that the contents of this book are ridiculous fantasy. Climbing over the fence in Auschwitz! If the subject wasn't so sad, I'd have a good laugh.

If you wish to read fairy tales, why don't you read "Grimm's Maerchen"?

I think the Holocaust is too grave and serious a matter to fool around with.

I just read the review and the following comment thread. I can only say I agree with Peter Kubicek in every respect.

And guess what! I saw a documentation (or a movie???) of this fairy tale with the daily apple thrown over the fence. I think it was in the 1990s, in Germany. And knowing very little about the Holocaust and Auschwitz, at the time, I believed the story. Now, I don't consider myself belonging to the stupid masses who form the majority in every population, yet I still believed it. So if I believed it, you can be sure the stupid masses would believe it.

And why did I believe it? I believed it because there had been very little info about the Holocaust in Germany, at the time. When I attended Gymnasium (= high school and college combined), our history teachers started 3-times with the old Greeks and stopped around 1900. They avoided the Third Reich, WWII, and the Holocaust like the plague. I never saw any related books in bookstores. (They must have been hidden on upper or lower shelves.) And the Third Reich and the Holocaust were a conversation tabu (and might still be to this day). I could see that the (former) Nazis liked it this way, but I never understood that the non-Nazis let them get away with it.

As a result of this, all I knew was that a huge number of Jews had been murdered in gas chambers. And I had seen some newsreel clips of the liberation of some concentration camp (probably Dachau). My first half-ways solid info came from the Holocaust TV series, which I probably saw in the 1990s. Yet this was definitely a "castrated" version, as the actual atrocities could not possibly be shown on TV.

I wish true Holocaust memoirs would have been available (and easy to find) in Germany, in earlier years.

Books like the above falsify history. And it is dangerous to falsify history. I think it is even wrong to feed juveniles with such fairy tale versions. You cannot give any true Auschwitz memoirs to children. That's for sure. Yet this doesn't mean that we should tell them fairy tales about Auschwitz.

I did not quite understand K's

"We want to shock and upset students studying it for the first time, not traumatise them. Is that wrong? Possibly but I think nicy-nice Holocaust tales do have a place."

Did this contain a typo by any chance? I do NOT think that nicy-nice Holocaust tales have a place.

I absolutely agree with K's

"If it's a fable, don't touch the Holocaust then. If you mention Auschwitz, make sure it's correct and accurate as it upsets people otherwise and clouds the real truth."

I don't think we need any Holocaust fiction. There is enough non-fiction available. And non-fiction should, of course, stick with the facts and not drift off into fiction.

I ordered Peter's memoir 2 days ago. It should arrive soon, and it will be one of my next reads. In case anyone is interested, here is Peter's book:



Memories of Evil: Recalling a World War II
Childhood

P.S. Fantasy type Holocaust books should definitely be written as science fiction and set in the future.

Thank you for writing this.

I do not share your memories but I hated the book. I did not buy it. It was given to me.

Knowing the existence of books like this must rub salt hideously....and your point about it being a money-spinning exercise is utterly, and sadly, accurate.

Thanks to hearing so many negative comments about this book I have avoided it and am doubly glad after reading this thread. Thank you Peter for your thoughts and comments.

Hi Lilo, by "nicey-nicey holocaust" stories, I mean more sanitised for a young audience. The holocaust was the lowest in human history and the details would be too much for a young audience. I wouldn't mind something that showed the horrors and then allowed for conversation regarding the subject...

This book was so dumb I nearly rooted for the Nazis. The jews horror was reduced to they had to work like a miner for a few hours a day and clean a few plates here and there. It's literally better than most prisons operating now.

I don't mind the holocaust being watered down slightly to make it more accessible to a younger audience BUT I do mind complete fabrications based on no research. Why bother setting it in Auschwitz then?

Really agree with K. I believe teaching the Holocaust as early as possible. I do NOT want my children/younger siblings to hate others or to be a bystander. At the same time, I'm not letting my 6 year old sister read "Night" to learn this. The very first Holocaust testimony I heard was over the radio, and it was David Faber speaking. David had been in 9 camps and partially worked as a Sondorkommando in Auschwitz. he was talking about babies being smashed into walls and thrown into fires and I couldn't take it. I was 10.
Perhaps a story of a child in hiding, such as the true-story children's book Twenty and Ten, would have been better.

Interesting comments. I particularly thank Lilo for her always intelligent contributions.

As for Holocaust education, here is my view. If you teach about the Holocaust you have to teach it honestly and factually. From my experience, there were no "benign" concentration camps; no "cute" meetings, or incidents. It was all about brutality and death. Obviously, you do not teach that to young children. I think a child must be about sixteen before you expose him/her to the historic facts. And make sure that all your facts are true and historically verifiable.

Peter wrote: "Interesting comments. I particularly thank Lilo for her always intelligent contributions.

As for Holocaust education, here is my view. If you teach about the Holocaust you have to teach it honest..."

I'm 15, and have heavily been researching the Holocaust (biographies, memoirs, documentaries, articles, testimonies, etc.) since I was 11...Night was the first Holocaust memoir I had read. (at 11) I think that is WAY too young, but I had learned about it and I am very analytical thinker, I think about everything...I had to figure out WHY it happened, and who could allow it to happen. I just now have a passion for the Jewish people and the fact that many Christians knew about the Holocaust but didn't do anything just ticks me off. I don't know...I just don't want 11 million people to die and we learned nothing from it.

I don't believe in falsely teaching the Holocaust, but I do think K had a point when he said there is a way to introduce it. It can still be 100% accurate, just not graphic. For example, two of my favorite picture books that I would consider giving to a 10 year old (depending on their maturity) are about my hero Irena Sendler. She rescued 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto in less than two years.

I don't know...I just hate to see hatred, and especially indifference and I think the younger the better... I don't know...maybe I'm just upset about the lack of courage (from Christians) and am going the other way too much by teaching 10 year olds about it... Please don't take my opinions to heart or anything.

Hi Anna, better put than me! I teach it to Year 7-9 and Irena Sendler is a great introduction. It's a partial happy story of someone standing up against the cruelty.

Either way, if you have any interest in facts, the holocaust or overcoming adversity, give this one a miss. It's a fairy tale and would be more accurate if a dragon operated the gas chambers or the jews were actually transported to a homeworld on one of the moons of Jupiter.

And if you want to see something really wrong Anna, you are just 500 or so days older than the main character when you showed an in dept interest in the topic. I would think by that age you, me and EVERY kid ever would know basics of what was going on i.e. who was the prime minister/president and what countries were next door and how to repeat words and phrases when heard repeatedly...

Our point is all the same. Holocaust should be taught but not with this book!

I just carefully read all the last comments. And I agree with all of you.

I think the Holocaust should be taught early on, but it has to be done the right way. No cutesy, falsifying stories! This doesn't mean that young children have to be told every horrific atrocity that took place. This should come later.

The question is HOW you teach it to children. Well, they have found a way to teach sexuality to children without making a fairy tale out of it, and at the same time not to be too graphic or go into too much detail. Maybe some similar approach can be found with the Holocaust

In general, I would say age 16 might be right to read "Night". But there are exceptions in both directions.

Anna, you poor soul! Reading "Night" at age 11 must have been traumatizing. You say:

"I just now have a passion for the Jewish people and the fact that many Christians knew about the Holocaust but didn't do anything just ticks me off. I don't know...I just don't want 9 million people to die and we learned nothing from it.

I don't believe in falsely teaching the Holocaust, but I do think K had a point when he said there is a way to introduce it. It can still be 100% accurate, just not graphic."

I agree with what you say 100%. That's exactly how I feel about it, too.

@ Anna: I think it is about time to tell you that you give me hope. You are proof that there are, at least, SOME young people who are intelligent, decent, and compassionate. -- After reading so many thoughtless, ignorant, derogatory, and (especially for Jews) hurtful 1- and 2-star reviews on "Survival in Auschwitz", written by students much older than you (who had read this book as required reading in college), I was about to despair.

As a grade seven teacher, I have several novel sets which the students read in groups and then meet weekly with me helping to facilitate discussion. Depending on the group, I will direct and ask questions or I will simply listen. With this book, I will ask the same question each week -- is this realistic? And the students agree its not. And the next question is why would the author write an unrealistic novel about the Holocaust? This sets off a discussion about author's purpose and theme which in this book, for the students, seems to be that hate is taught or a learned behavior, as children we know we are more alike than different, empathy is a natural reaction, etc. On this level, the book has some value.
Interestingly, I also have a set of "Night". Some of my students read both books and all agreed "Night" was a better book. A far more serious approach to the subject.
On a personal note, I wandered through Auschwitz in mid-December as the sun set. Not a pleasant experience and one in which helps me set both "Nigh" and "The Boy" in proper context.

H wrote: "As a grade seven teacher, I have several novel sets which the students read in groups and then meet weekly with me helping to facilitate discussion. Depending on the group, I will direct and ask qu..."

I think Peter Kubicek's memoir "Memories of Evil" would also make a great school read. Here is the link to my review of this book:

/review/show...

First of all, I thank my great supporter, Lilo.

To H: I consider "The Boy�" a terrible book. As I say in my original review, its only purpose is to make a lot of money for the author and the publisher.

I am actually allergic to fiction about the Holocaust. There are so many authentic Holocaust memoirs available that fiction on that topic is hardly necessary. The only fictional Holocaust book I can recommend is William Styron's brilliant "Sophie's Choice."

You are welcome, Peter. It is my strong conviction that your book would make a great school read. This is for the following reasons:

While some teenagers have the strength and the "stomach" to digest "Night", by Elie Wiesel, this book may not be the right read for youngsters battling with depression or other psychological/mental disorders.

As a teacher, I would feel much more comfortable to make YOUR book a mandatory read. It is just as honest as "Night", yet it does not linger on the worst of horror. It is written in clear, easy to read language, and it gives statistic info on a smaller scale. This info illustrates the Holocaust better than mere, general figures. For instance: If one reads that from your school class only so and so many students survived, the tragedy behind this is more relatable for a human brain than the tragedy behind 6 mio dead. The human brain is not designed to visualize the tragedy behind 6 mio dead. It does better with imagining the tragedy behind smaller groups of people murdered.

Further reasons why I consider your memoir ideal for school purposes: Your book is a short read that fits the attention span of most young people. Your book contains family photographs, which makes the memoir even more conceivable. And the fact that not only you but both of your parents survived leaves young readers less depressed than most other Holocaust memoirs would. (There are still enough dead in any Holocaust memoir for the reader to get the picture.)

Re Holocaust fiction: I feel exactly as you do. I can't see any reason to write Holocaust fiction as long as plenty, authentic non-fiction is available that shows the Holocaust from different angles. Just as you, I consider "Sophie's Choice" an exception from the rule.

There is another reason why I dislike Holocaust fiction: I can stomach reading non-fiction horror. This is because I feel that if the victims had to suffer it, I should be brave enough to read about it. But why read fiction horror? I see very little good reason for it.

I read a Holocaust novel last summer (because the author is my GR friend). I found it terrible and am afraid it might only appeal to sadists. (I did not review it and must admit to my shame that I keep putting off to tell the author why I didn't.)

IMO, a historic novel only makes sense when it illustrates something important/significant about the era for which no (good) non-fiction writing exists. (This applies to "Sophie's Choice".)

Hear! Hear!!!

I have just returned from a vacation in Amsterdam. Among the most interesting sites, I discovered a Jewish Historical Museum. Its bookstore featured only two books devoted to the Holocaust. One was called "Anne:" a new book about the entire life of Anne Frank, through her death In Bergen-Belsen; the second was "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," translated into Dutch.

Further words fail me.

Peter Kubicek

Unbelievable, yet totally believable...

Further words fail me too.

~ Elizabeth

Who on earth is the buyer for this bookstore? I don't think he or she could possibly be a Jew.

Wouldn't this aggravate your gall bladder?!?

I hope you write the museum director a letter.

My gall bladder also got aggravated today. I'll write you two a private GR message.

Thank you for sharing something factual and so personal. It really does interest me to hear the facts straight from the source. I am going to take your recommendation and read Memories of Evil by Peter Kubicek. I have added it to my to-read list. Do I have the correct author?

This is Peter Kubicek. Yes, I am the correct author. I am gratified that you wish to read my book. You can find it on .
It will set you back 12 bucks.

Oh my goodness. My apologies. I happened to be doing two things at once and did not read your last name in the comments. Do I feel silly or what?

Mr. Kubicek, I thank you deeply for your insightful review on this book. I was looking forward to beginning reading this book today because I enjoy learning about the Holocaust. I am still going to read this book but now simply out of curiosity; however, now I will do so knowing it is an incredibly fictionalized historical fiction. I am looking more forward to reading your book, Memories of Evil, so that I have a better understanding of what really happened during this period of time. And because I am not allergic to fiction, I will also add William Styron's Sophie's Choice to my list of books to read. Thank you again, Sara.

Hi, Sara,

While I am definitely allergic to Holocaust fiction -- with John Boyne's dreadful book topping my list -- I must admit that "Sophie's Choice" is an excellent book (and was also a great movie starring Meryl Streep as Sophie).

When writing my modest memoir, I was scrupulous in adhering to verifiable historical facts. As one of my readers (Elizabeth Danzig Teck) commented, "There is not an ounce of fat in it."

Sara wrote: "Mr. Kubicek, I thank you deeply for your insightful review on this book. I was looking forward to beginning reading this book today because I enjoy learning about the Holocaust. I am still going to..."

While I understand that you are now eager to read this book out of curiosity, you might reconsider supporting an author (with a book purchase) who falsifies history. (Even checking out the book from the library will support the author but, maybe, a little less.)

There are so many authentic books about the Holocaust. So why read one that's not worth reading? I assume your time is valuable. Why waste it?

I would say Peter Kubichek's memoir "Memories of Evil" is a very good start. If you need any other recommendations of Holocaust memoirs, let me know. I can give you some.

I agree with you, Lilo.

Lilo, maybe you didn't realize, but I was actually addressing my message to Mr. Kubicek. I suppose it was my mistake in thinking that I could send a message to one specified person without eliciting a response from someone else. The author of this book actually calls his story a fable on the title page, so I don't necessarily agree with you that he is "falsifying" history. If he claimed that this was a work of nonfiction, then I would certainly agree with you that he is falsifying history. One of the many joys I experience as an adult is supporting any auther I choose to support and reading any book I choose to read. I have read authentic books about the Holocaust, I've also read historical fiction books about the Holocaust, and now I am currently reading a fable about the Holocaust. It is your opinion that this book is not worth reading, but obviously, to me, it is worth reading. My time is very valuable to me, and I imagine I will spend a total of less than two hours reading this book written for children, which is probably much less time than you have spent responding to people who have written messages not intended for you.

And on another note, I do actually appreciate your response because it has reminded me why I do not choose to participate in any type of social media. My comment to Mr. Kubicek was my first venture into social media in many years, and you single-handedly and quickly reminded me of how much I despise it. Therefore, my comment meant for Mr. Kubicek will be my first and last on Good Reads.

@ Sara:

Maybe you didn't realize that comments on reviews are usually discussed by several people. If you didn't want this, you should have sent Mr. Kubicek a private message.

With your outlook on things, it is probably best that your comment for Mr. Kubicek will be your first and last on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

Sara, maybe you didn't realize it, but a "thread" is part of the "conversation." I guess Goodreaders will have to pull up the ol socks and carry on without you. But we must be brave and confront the unknowing future.

I do agree this book made me angry and sick if your going to write a book about the holocaust don't display it as cute. The holocaust was inhumane was a genocide of innocent civilians who were dehumanized I agree to your comment. I know people who have survived the holocaust who would be offended by this book.

It's good to meet someone who understands! ~ Elizabeth

Tyla smith wrote: "I do agree this book made me angry and sick if your going to write a book about the holocaust don't display it as cute. The holocaust was inhumane was a genocide of innocent civilians who wer..."

I absolutely agree with your comment.

I'm taking it off my list. Thanks for the informative review.

Thank you for your review Peter, I will be buying your book .

Thank you for your review Peter, I will be buying your book .