The Boy On The Wooden Box Propaganda

It is well-known that there were several historical events where people of a certain race were treated unhumanly because of their race and religion. The novel The Boy on the Wooden Box describes one of these events, the Jewish Holocaust, from the perspective of a twelve-year-old boy named Leon. Throughout the World War II years of his life, Leon is beaten, whipped, slapped, and severely starved by the Nazis. It is clear that even through differences, all humans are equal, as shown through Leon’s comparison of himself to Hitler and the other Germans, and the horrible treatment he endured from the Nazi officers.

Leon compares and contrasts the looks of Jewish people and Nazis, and therefore realizes that the way the Nazis see Jews is false propaganda. Leyson states “Plenty of Jews had blue eyes and blonde hair, and many Germans and Austrians had dark eyes and hair”(82). Leon understands that the Nazis racially stereotype the Jews, thinking of them as inferior due to the way they look. Leon knows this is unfair, but there is nothing he can do about it. However, he

Leyson declares “Suddenly, Haphtsturmfuhrer Goeth showed up and on a whim demanded that he guards lash each of us twenty-five times with their savage leather whips”(120). For absolutely no reason, Leon and the other Jews were given a horrific punishment by Amon Goeth. This represents how the Nazis felt that they were superior to Jews and that they could torture them however they wanted for no rationale or reason. The author explains how “They slapped me, furious that they had assumed I was a normal kid”(Leyson 72). When the Nazi guards thought that Leon was a German kid (because he talked with them in German), they treated him like a brother. However, when they realized that Leon was a Jew, they barged into the Leysons’ apartment and started slapping Leon. The soldier’s treatment of Leon directly correlated with the fact that he was a