Friedrich

“Well, Fritzchen! You look like a little Jew!” 

In this Chapter, the narrator’s mother is bathing him and Friedrich (Fritzchen is a German diminutive of Friedrich) and happens upon a physical marker of Jewish males, namely circumcision. This instance marks the distinction, through culture and religion, between the Schneiders and the narrator’s family. Moreover, it is the first aspect of dramatic irony because the reader knows what being Jewish in Germany in the 1920s entails, whereas the characters have no idea that such an innocent discovery will carry so much weight. Dramatic irony runs throughout the novel in nearly every chapter.

“We are Christians. Bear in mind that the Jews crucified our Lord.”

The above reason is one given by the narrator’s grandfather for his dislike of Jews, which is never clearly stated, other than his vague story about Herr Cohn wearing Jewish religious clothing. He never gives a satisfactory reason, other than the religious excuse, which is one that has been used by many antisemites throughout the centuries since the advent of Christianity in Europe.

“‘That’s our mezuzah,’ she said, ‘our home’s blessing. It’s to help us never to forget God and His commandments.’”

Frau Schneider explains the meaning of the Jewish object that hangs outside their apartment door. The reader can draw the comparison of the mezuzah with the Christian cross. In essence, the two objects serve the same purposes, and the greater significance of Chapter 5 is to show similarities between Jewish and Christian worship and to show that the Schneiders are good-hearted people of faith.

“Don’t buy from Jews.”

This statement is written on the cheap cardboard sign the young Nazi is holding in front of the stationery store in Chapter 7. Most important is the use of dramatic irony in this scene. The young Nazi is attempting to have everyone boycott the store because it is owned by a Jew. The placard draws the attention of some onlookers, but nothing else. It appears that no one really takes the threat seriously. In fact, one old woman openly defies the young man and buys some wrapping paper. The young man can do nothing to stop her. In this instance, Nazi antisemitism is not yet legal—hence, the mood of amusement and harmlessness in the scene. However, the reader understands the threat more clearly. Nazi antisemitism grew from simply calls to boycott and persecute into violent laws aimed at annihilation.

“The Jews are our affliction.”

These are the words that the Nazi with a hunchback wants all the youths to remember and repeat at the end of the Jungvolk meeting. However, as pointed out in the analysis to Chapters 6-10, the second time Friedrich says those words, it is a mistranslation from the original. Friedrich quietly repeats the above words, but the second time, when he says them loudly, he says, “The Jews are – your affliction (“Die Juden sind – euer Unglück“).”

Before the man’s diatribe against Jews, Friedrich had been excited to join with the narrator in the Jungvolk and wanted to become a member as well. It isn’t until he realizes the group’s antisemitism that he runs away, leaving his swastika behind. It marks not only Friedrich’s full realization of the extent of Nazi antisemitism but also his ultimate separation from the activities of his fellow German youth, including that of the narrator’s.

“‘You don’t understand this yet, you’re too young still,’ he explained. ‘You may think you’re doing him a favor by standing up for him. But you know he’s a Jew. Believe me, we grownups have had plenty of experiences with Jews. You can’t trust them; they’re sneaky and they cheat.’”

A police officer speaks to the narrator after the narrator has already confessed to being the one who threw the ball that broke the window. Not only does the woman whose window was broken not believe the narrator but neither does the person who is supposed to act objectively to a crisis; the policeman wants the Jew (Friedrich) to be guilty as much as the woman. This scene represents and incorporates the sentiments of many who wanted the Jews to be the bad guys, the scapegoats, regardless of evidence to the contrary. In essence, they could not be confronted with the truth, because they had already decided for themselves that the Jews were guilty, and nothing would convince them otherwise.

“Because you are a Jew!”

Herr Resch emphatically and directly tells Herr Schneider why he wants to evict him. Though Herr Resch displayed earlier antisemitic sentiments, it isn’t until the Nazis rise in power and influence that he attempts to confront Jews in a passive-aggressive fashion. The quotation represents the changing policies toward Jews. Though they had been confronted by racism beforehand, it isn’t until the Nazis come to power that people like Herr Resch are willing to exercise their antisemitism publicly.

“I am afraid! I am so afraid!”

Friedrich’s mother cries out these words while she breaks down in front of the narrator’s mother. Herr Schneider keeps up a brave façade and attempts to brush away the increasing threats against them posed by Nazi antisemitism. Frau Schneider is, therefore, the character allowed to emote and express the fears of so many Jews at this time, because she senses the increasing hatred directed toward them. Her character serves to evoke a sense of empathy in the reader.

“If I accede to your claim today, you may stand before me in a year or two and demand a verdict against another tenant because he is a Catholic or doesn’t eat meat.”

These words are spoken by the judge and are directed toward Herr Resch. In essence, the judge declares that no person, regardless of sex, creed, or race, will be discriminated before the law. Of course, this is also an example of irony, because as the reader knows, the Nazis will change the laws so that antisemitism and racism become legal reasons for discrimination, among other things.

“Slowly he walked away. At the fourth table, he turned and waved, but he was no longer smiling.”

This is the end scene in the toy store, and Herr Schneider looks back on the narrator and Friedrich after learning that the narrator’s father has joined the Nazi party. The reason Herr Schneider is no longer smiling is because he knows that the narrator’s father does not hold any antisemitic feelings, but because of economic reasons, he has joined the side that wants to destroy him and his family. He realizes the increasing power of the Nazis over the German people, even those who would otherwise have spoken out against the rampant antisemitism but will no longer do so because the Nazis can provide them with a better life than the decaying Weimar government.

“How could they be anything else?”

These words are spoken by Teacher Neudorf to the students in the narrator’s class just before he announces that Friedrich must go to an all-Jewish class. The teacher’s intentions are to educate the students in historic antisemitism and to defend the Jews. However, through rhetorical questions such as the above quote, he unfortunately confirms and substantiates many of the negative stereotypes attributed to Jews: they are crafty and sly, avaricious, and deceitful. In essence, Neudorf says that if the Jews are those things, then it is only because an antisemitic society has forced them to be so in order to survive.

“But don’t you know about the new law the Nazis have passed?”

The cleaning lady quits working for the Schneiders because a new law was passed forbidding her to do so; though she finds it unjust and would like to continue cleaning for them, she is afraid. One way the Nazis expanded their antisemitic rhetoric and laws was by quashing any possible resistance through fear. For example, the government allowed a woman to be publicly humiliated by a group of antisemites, which causes others to think twice before speaking out for justice.

“You must understand, Herr Schneider, that I was out of work for a long time. Since Hitler’s in power, I have work again–better work that I had ever hoped for. We are doing well.”

The above quote is spoken by the narrator’s father, and it re-addresses Herr Schneider’s feelings in Quote 11. The narrator’s father’s reason echoes the reasons of many Germans. Had the Nazis not improved the economic situation in Germany, they most likely would not have won the passive support of much of the population. But just as the narrator’s father explains, he was willing to look the other way when others were trampled down so long as his and his family’s situation improved.

“I am German, my wife is German, my son is German, all our relatives are German. What could we do abroad? How would we be received? Do you seriously think they like us Jews better elsewhere?”

Herr Schneider gives the above reasons for remaining in Germany rather than fleeing, as the narrator’s father pleads for him to do. Herr Schneider raises an important point and sentiment for most of the Jews living in Germany. German Jews did not see themselves as Jewish first and German second. They had been German citizens for generations, families going back to a time before the modern state of Germany even existed. A German Jew was no different from any other German. Germany was home, not some other place.

“What you envisage cannot be, not in the twentieth century!”

Herr Schneider provides another reason for not leaving Germany. He cannot imagine in modern society that acts of violence, believed to have been relegated to the Middle Ages, could return. Again, his sentiments echo those of many others, for Jews and non-Jews alike. Even before the concentration and extermination camps were liberated by Allied troops, many still couldn’t believe within and without Germany that the Nazis were murdering Jewish people en masse.

“He wished Friedrich all the best on his Bar Mitzvah. Then he gave him a fountain pen. Friedrich’s name had been engraved in gold on the cap.”

At first glance, the importance of the fountain pen goes unnoticed. However, it reappears later in the story when Friedrich returns to the narrator’s apartment. The cap with his name on it is all that Friedrich has left of his possessions, other than the clothes on his back. He doesn’t even have a photo of his parents anymore. This shows the immense importance Friedrich has for the gift given to him by Teacher Neudorf. Though there is no other evidence in the text, it is justifiable to conjecture that Teacher Neudorf is the friend alluded to in Chapter 26 and is helping to protect Friedrich.

“‘Today you will see something, boy,’ the little man promised, ‘that you can tell your grandchildren about.’”

An unnamed, unidentified man speaks these words to the narrator on the day and night when Jewish homes and shops were destroyed and ransacked by mobs. The line is another example of irony. The day will indeed be something spoken of for generations, however not the way in which the man imagines it will be. The man believes they are participating in a great act of historical significance in which they will proudly remember their actions. However, the opposite will be true. This historical event has a couple names: Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) or the November pogrom(s). It is not something remembered proudly, rather it is a dark stain on German history, and those who participated in it, either looked back in shame or denied their part therein.

“You must be tired of life! You must be dying to go to a concentration camp!”

Aside from being a horrible thing for the usher to say to Friedrich, it also serves as a warning to him. At this point in time, the only way to survive as a Jew in Germany was to hide and keep a low profile. Friedrich literally risked his life trying to sneak into the movie theater. He was fortunate that the usher only threw him out and did not report him to the Gestapo or even the normal police.

“The girl would be sent to a concentration camp if she were seen with me!” 

Friedrich tells the narrator why he would not go back and see the girl with whom he was infatuated. This quote couples well with the previous one, because not only does it show that Friedrich is very aware of the consequences of his actions in the face of the Nazi terror directed against the Jews but also his strength in denying himself a significant experience for all young people throughout the ages: dating and falling in love for the first time. Friedrich, though he desires to be with the girl, refuses to place her in the same danger he is in. It shows his humanity in the face of rampant inhumanity and displays one of his most important characteristics.

“‘I don’t know what to do!’ I said very softly. ‘I don’t know.’”

The narrator is placed in a difficult situation. He knows that the rabbi is staying with the Schneiders, and the Nazis have made the rabbi a fugitive, meaning that if the narrator does not inform the authorities he is, in essence, abetting a fugitive and placing himself and family in danger. This again illustrates how the Nazis silenced any possible resistance through fear. They made sure that helping the Jews would be met with similar punishment.

“‘And soon,’ the rabbi added, ‘soon they’ll perhaps burn us, as in the Middle Ages!’”

This quote acts as a type of foreshadowing/irony for the characters and dramatic irony for the reader. The characters are unaware of the developing extermination camps. Chapter 26 takes place in 1941 just when camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau were being expanded and converted from simple concentration camps into death camps. The reader knows this with the hindsight of history, hence dramatic irony. For the rabbi and Herr Schneider, their fate is foreshadowed: they will be sent to an extermination camp, and he is not wrong about being “burned;” after death in the camps, the Nazis disposed of the bodies in large crematories.

“Because we are different, just because we are different, we are persecuted and killed.’”

The narrator asks the rabbi why the Jews are being tyrannized, and though the answer could be complex, the rabbi breaks it down to its most simple part. Not only does it explain their persecution, but his words also explain the persecution of any minority by the majority. As highlighted in other parts of the study guide, much of what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany is similar to persecutions of others in other countries, for example with African Americans in the United States. A white boy asking a Black pastor why they were persecuted could be met with a similar answer to the one the rabbi gave the narrator.

“How dare you mix in my affairs? Who is air-raid warden here, you or I? You follow my orders, is that understood? Otherwise I’ll report you.”

Herr Resch uses his sanctioned authority to threaten the army sergeant, and the others in the bunker, from allowing Friedrich to take shelter with them. Humanity attempts to win through in this moment, and there is a flicker of hope for Friedrich, but just as before, the ironclad authority of the Nazis cowers everyone away from doing the right thing, sealing Friedrich’s fate. As in many instances, the experiences of Friedrich and his parents echo the experiences of others during the events leading up to and including the Second World War and the Holocaust.