the publication of the first book, “I’ve
regularly made notes in a file that I
called ’Gretel’s Story.’ It was a book
I hoped to write one day, telling the
story of Bruno’s older sister Gretel who,
at the end of her life, looks back at
the experience she was part of and
is forced to examine her conscience
regarding her guilt and complicity in
those times.”
The first book, which uses the British
“Pyjamas” spelling in its U.K. edi-
tion, was adapted into a 2008 movie
and has proven an enduring inter-
national bestseller and perennial
Holocaust education tool in the United
Kingdom, despite scathing criticism
from Holocaust researchers and other
Holocaust authors. It has been dinged
for inaccuracies including Shmuel’s
continued survival in a camp that
would have gassed him with the other
children upon arrival, and the lack
of youth-centered Nazi propaganda
directed at Bruno, who is depicted as
utterly ignorant of the Jewish genocide
project despite his father’s position as
an Auschwitz guard.

According to British education
observers, the book’s prominence in
classrooms may perpetuate myths and
fallacies about the Holocaust; many
children who read the book believe that
it is based on a true story.

The book has also been criticized
for depicting Bruno’s death, and his
German parents’ grief, as the true trag-
edy at the heart of the story, while
the dead Jews serve largely as window
dressing. For his part, Boyne has defended his
book, which he said was inspired by the
works of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel,
from critics. In response to the Auschwitz
museum’s criticisms, he told The Guardian
that because his novel is fiction, it “by its
nature cannot contain inaccuracies, only
anachronisms, and I don’t think there are
any of those in there.”
Boyne is the author of more than a
dozen novels on various subjects, and
more recently came under fire for a
2019 book that contained controversial
depictions of transgender characters. JE
changing addresses?
DON’T MISS A
SINGLE ISSUE
OF THE
Jewish Exponent
PHILADELPHIA Call 215.832.0700
or email subscriptions@
jewishexponent.com with your new address.

FREE ESTIMATES
PERSONALIZED SERVICE
SENIOR DOWNSIZING
DECLUTTER / HOARDING CLEAN OUTS
ALL ITEMS SOLD, DONATED, OR REPURPOSED
RESPECTFUL OF HOMES WITH
ACCUMULATIONS OF 30+ YEARS
JOLIE OMINSKY
OWNER SERVING PA, DE, NJ
JOCSERNICA@YAHOO.COM 610-551-3105
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 31