Where does Bruno think Poland is?

Bruno thinks that Poland is in Denmark.
He makes this startling announcement to Shmuel during their first meeting. When Shmuel reveals that they are in Poland, Bruno is surprised. He thinks of Poland as a land that is far away. His reaction is significant. It shows that Bruno is largely detached from the horrors of Auschwitz. His parents have chosen to hide the truth from him.
This may be because of his youth, but the text also hints that Bruno's parents are not entirely happy with what is happening at "Out-With," as Bruno calls it. During his interaction with Shmuel, Bruno reveals his ignorance about geography and world affairs. The only thing he can say with any measure of certainty is that "Germany is the greatest of all countries." Bruno's words show his bias, and the text reveals that this bias has been carefully cultivated in Bruno by his parents.
Earlier in the story, we are shown how Bruno interacts with his father. When Bruno protests their stay at Out-With, his father gives him an unequivocal order: "Accept the situation in which you find yourself and everything will be so much easier."
The Commandant's words reveal something very important about totalitarian regimes: the citizens are expected to follow orders without question, just like Bruno must. Like Bruno, their lives are circumscribed by tyranny. People in such a regime enjoy little personal freedom. They cannot satiate their curiosity about the world around them or question the status quo. It is fatal to ask difficult questions. This may be why Bruno remains ignorant about the world around him. His parents are motivated to preserve his ignorance because they believe that it is the only way to keep him safe.


The notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, where Bruno's father is the commandant, is located in Poland. Yet Bruno is blissfully unaware of this fact. He's spent the whole of his short life in Germany and has no real understanding of the world outside. When he meets Shmuel, and tells him he's from Berlin, the young Jewish boy says he doesn't know where that is. At the same time, Bruno is surprised to discover that Shmuel is from Poland. In his naïveté, Bruno always believed that he was still in Germany. It's all rather confusing for the young boy, especially as Shmuel speaks German, just as he does. But then Bruno doesn't know a great deal about the outside world; he thinks that Poland is in Denmark. He's shocked to discover from Shmuel that not only are they in Poland, but that Denmark is far away from both Poland and Germany.

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