Friedrich

The first chapter of the novel provides the reader with the setting: a German city in the 1920s and a brief reminder of the historical situation in Germany in the 1920s. The novel’s intended audience was German children and young adults in the 1960s, most of whom would have already had a basic understanding of those years as part of the recent cultural past, unlike the modern reader. Even for contemporary German citizens, the memory of the economic and political situation of the time may now be a distant memory or generations removed. Polycarp the garden gnome is also introduced in the first chapter, and though it isn’t obvious from the very beginning, the characteristics of the garden gnome will symbolize much of what transpires later. 

The second chapter mostly serves to forward the plot and introduce the main protagonist of the story. Though Friedrich’s and the narrator’s birth is mentioned in the first chapter, it isn’t until the second chapter that their characters begin to be fleshed out. The narrator and Friedrich are quickly juxtaposed and established as parallel characters. Friedrich is a happy, friendly, and open child who quickly comprehends his surroundings. He recognizes that the narrator is reluctant to share his toys with him, so Friedrich becomes the first to share, and he does so in a precocious way; he entices the narrator with his flute. The openness and friendliness Friedrich displays quickly win over the narrator, and they become friends.

Friedrich’s Judaism is also introduced in the second chapter when he and the narrator take a bath. The narrator’s mother recognizes that Friedrich is a Jew because she notices that he is circumcised. It was extremely uncommon for a non-Jewish German youth at that time, and even today, to be circumcised. According to Jewish tradition and religion, the ritual of circumcision refers to Abraham (in the Book of Genesis in the Bible) when Yahweh (God) commanded Abraham to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant made between him and God.

The scene in the snow between Friedrich and his mother serves to illustrate the relatability and humanity of a Jewish family, to show that a Jewish mother loves and interacts with her son the same way as any loving German family. One could even argue that the bond is an envious one since the narrator must watch and observe their play while he waits for his mother to finish chores. An antisemite could place a negative spin on the scene and argue that since the Jewish family has more money, the German mother cannot spend time with her son because she must work. However, the narrator’s family never holds the Schneiders’ affluence against them. This may seem unimportant, but it was a serious argument from the Nazis that Germans suffered because Jews had all the money. The novel serves as a counterargument to this antisemitic narrative. The Schneiders may have more money, but that is only because of the economy at that time.

The first chapter makes certain to point out that Herr Schneider works for the post office, a part of the German system, and the positive relationship between the two families emphasizes that the narrator’s family does not struggle because of the Schneiders, and they share a mutual respect as German neighbors. Another important aspect of this chapter is the slow introduction of antisemitism. The violence of Nazi antisemitism grew gradually over the years. They didn’t immediately begin killing Jews; the prejudice and antisemitism grew slowly and quietly until it became genocide.

The building violence is illustrated by the falling snow and Herr Resch’s antisemitic slurs; the snow alongside these comments foreshadows the coming storm of Jewish persecution. Snow is not the only symbol at work in the chapter. When Friedrich tramples Herr Resch’s rose bushes, it highlights the tension and the dynamic between the man and the innocent boy, revealing not only Herr Resch’s antisemitism but also foreshadowing Friedrich’s ultimate death in the final chapter through the symbolism of the rose, which can traditionally symbolize both love and death.

In Chapter 4, the narrator’s grandfather’s visit highlights two of the reasons used to justify hatred toward Jews. The grandfather’s beliefs highlight that antisemitism existed in Germany prior to the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. The primary reason the grandfather gives for disliking Jews is religious, saying that the Jews crucified Jesus Christ. This reason resurfaces later in Chapter 14, “The Teacher.” Of course, the narrator’s father has a very apposite rebuttal to his father-in-law’s reasoning: “But not the Schneiders!” (15). Once again, the story highlights the long history of Jews being used as scapegoats throughout history, despite that Jesus himself was a Jew who was crucified by the Romans.

The reader sees antisemitism again in the grandfather’s remembrance of Herr Cohn. He appears to the reader as a friendly person, but the grandfather interprets Herr Cohn’s friendly smile as something cunning and devious simply because of his own biases. Furthermore, he held it against Herr Cohn that he continued to wear his yarmulke indoors when social norms dictated that men remove their hats when coming in from outside. He considers the fact that an exception is made for the Jews to be something that separates them and makes them different. From the grandfather’s perspective, being different from the norm is a seditious act.

The fifth chapter continues in the vein of showing the reader how alike the Schneiders—and by extension, the Jews—are to any other family and serves to inform the reader a little about Jewish religion. The scenes involving the Jewish sabbath are described in such a way, by the narrator as an outside observer, as to evoke comparison with Christian religious practices. The symbolism of the mezuzah is similar to that of a cross over a door, the lighting of candles, breaking of bread, and the drinking of wine are reminiscent of the Christian sacrament and the scene in the Bible of the Last Supper. While the narrator reports on what he sees, it should be remembered that he is also an actor in the scene. This is important because it means that he was willingly accepted to take part in something important and sacred to the Schneiders and to the Jewish people, meaning that there was always an opportunity to learn about Jewish religion and culture. The underlying implication of this is that ignorance was, and never is, an acceptable excuse for disliking another person, group, culture, or ethnicity, developing the theme of Understanding Others as a Means to Combat Racism.