The short and simple answer is that both Bruno and Shmuel are, in the end, just two little boys. The entire Nazi doctrine was built around the belief that they were somehow inherently different, but the friendship they build during the novel symbolizes, through a tragedy, that when it came down to it, they were quite interchangeable. The Nazi guards had absolutely no way of determining that Bruno didn't belong in the camp; the novel's bleak ending serves to show the absurdity of the Nazi worldview.
The truth of the matter is that, while Bruno and Shmuel became friends partly thanks to some external similarities, like their shared birthday, they both just needed a playmate, like any other child in the history of the world. Separated by an artificial fence—both literally and figuratively—and brought together by chance, Bruno and Shmuel are alike in many ways. They are both homesick, lonely, and bored, and they're quite confused by this strange place they can't entirely figure out (although Shmuel knows and guesses significantly more). Most of this sounds terrible to the reader, who probably knows more about Auschwitz than the boys combined, but Bruno and Shmuel are only children. They both understand that Bruno is privileged and enjoys more freedom, but despite Bruno's teacher's best attempts, neither boy really grasps the magnitude of the camp and what takes place there. So they do what every child would: they try to make sense of things as best they can and play games, happy and thankful to have company. Although there is a world of differences separating them, Bruno and Shmuel don't let this distract them from being as alike as any friends are.
There are a few similarities between the two boys. One of which includes both their birthdays being on April 15th 1934. Which served as a driving force behind their friendship. In addition to this, both boys craved more attention to take them away from the lives they were living, after both being forcibly plucked from their previous lifestyles. For Bruno, it was leaving his life behind in Berlin due to his fathers' role in the Nazi Regime at Auschwitz whereas, for Shmuel, he was taken as a prisoner of war from Poland and thrown into a concentration camp. Leading to both Bruno and Samuel being unhappy (for contrasting reasons) with their current situation.
We also know that while Shmuel will no longer reap the benefits of education (after being taught by husband mother who was a teacher), he still has some knowledge, just like Bruno who receives private lessons from Herr Liszt whose teachings were more indoctrination as opposed to your everyday lessons.
It could be argued that Boyne has created these similarities to show how two individuals who can be alike in so many ways are treated differently (one of them in a primitive manner) because of a simple label. It is the Innocence of their friendship as they walk hand in hand unknowingly to their deaths, that reminds us that they are just boys (no longer labelled) and that such atrocities could happen to anyone.
The most obvious similarity between the two boys is that they share the same birthday. Both boys have also been forced to move from their original homes, albeit for completely different reasons. Bruno grew up in Berlin and moves with his family to Poland after his father is appointed commandant of Auschwitz. Shmuel's own family upheaval is directly related to Bruno's; he's been forced to leave his hometown behind and is now imprisoned in the camp. Though still incredibly naive in the ways of the world, Bruno has received an education of sorts. However, his private tutor has been more keen to indoctrinate him with Nazi ideology instead of real knowledge. Shmuel has also had some education, one much broader and substantial than Bruno's. His mother is a teacher, and she's taught him foreign languages.
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