The books “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and “Rose Blanche” take place in the same time period, the Holocaust. The thematic concepts of “Rose Blanche” are courage, curiosity, and innocence. You need courage to stand up for what is wrong and to correct the wrong. These themes are very similar to the ones in “The Boy in Striped Pajamas”, but are also very different. Bruno has a different courage in him. Bruno has courage to go in to the camp and help his friend Shmuel, but didn’t have the courage to stand up for him. Rose too for Rose Blanche helps many people, but doesn’t enter the camp. The protagonists in these two books are very similar. They are innocent, curious, and left out of what is happening. They don’t really understand what is happening around them, just what they’ve been told. The ends of the books both culminate in death, both children die with the Jews, both have relationships with them.
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and “Rose Blanche” are both set in the far past. The past can happen again and that is why learning about this topic is very important. Things that happened in the holocaust are terrifying and disgusting. We have to learn that 6 million Jews died from people not speaking out. Speaking out is very dangerous, but it can save lives. People didn’t speak out during that time, so the 6 million Jews had little chance of staying alive. I understand why no one stood up and worry that I too may not have the courage to speak, but I’d like to believe I could. After reading about Le Chambon, White Rose, and Boy in Striped I have convinced myself that I would try my best to help anyone in need. That is why if this ever happens again people will be more educated about what will happen if we don’t speak out. That is why the Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a book everyone should read. People at Le Chambon are heroes. They risked their life to save 5,000 Jews. Those 5,000 Jews went on to live a great life after the war was over. Although speaking out can save lives, the sentence can be death or prison. It is a very big decision what to do. Either bystand or take action. Both have consequences, death or life. That is why not many people speak out.
