In John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno interacts with a few characters who have different perspectives on the historical events they experience during World War II. First of all, there's Bruno's grandmother who is opposed to the Nazi regime. In chapter 8, Bruno remembers an evening back in Berlin when his father shows off his new commandant's uniform for his family. When Bruno's mother asks the grandmother if she thinks her son looks handsome in his uniform, she responds as follows:
"Handsome, did you say? You foolish girl! Is that what you consider to be of importance in the world? Looking handsome? . . . That's all you soldiers are interested in anyway . . . Looking handsome in your fine uniforms. Dressing up and doing the terrible, terrible things you do. It makes me ashamed" (92).
Bruno's grandmother does not support Germany's rise to power because she knows that Nazi soldiers commit terrible acts of violence. Her son's uniform reflects the Nazis, so she does not consider it handsome. While her son goes along with the rising Nazi regime, she feels "ashamed." Grandmother represents the small percentage of Germans who did not support the Nazis at that time.
Another character with a different perspective on life is Pavel, the waiter who serves Bruno's family at the home in Auschwitz. In chapter 7, Bruno falls and scrapes up his knee. No other adult is around to help him except for Pavel, so he takes care of Bruno with extraordinary skill. During the clean up, Pavel reveals that he practiced as a doctor before he became a waiter. This confuses Bruno because there is no clear reason in his mind why anyone would go from doing something they loved to working as a waiter. It isn't until chapter 13 that Bruno understands Pavel's perspective because Maria finally explains it to him. It is at this point the Bruno starts to realize that not only is life unfair, but people are treated differently for what seems like unknown reasons. Pavel represents the highly educated and skilled professionals who were forced to give up their homes and careers because of discrimination and Hitler's hatred toward Jews.
Finally, Shmuel's perspective is described to Bruno in great detail. In chapter 12, Bruno hears about Shmuel's experiences at the hands of soldiers like his father. First, Shmuel and his family are forced to leave their house and move into a one room apartment in the ghetto. While there, Shmuel is bullied by a boy named Luka each day, and the window to his room is blocked by the wall that the soldiers built to keep him away from society. After living in the ghetto for awhile, Shmuel explains how he came to Auschwitz:
"The train was horrible . . . There were too many of us in the carriages for one thing. And there was no air to breathe. And it smelled awful . . . When the train finally stopped . . . we were in a very cold place and we all had to walk here" (129-130).
Shmuel also explains that he has been separated from his mother since living in the camp, and he does not play games on his side of the fence like Bruno supposes. Shmuel represents the Jewish children caught in the wake of war and forced to live in ghettos and concentration camps.
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