"They're not people at all, Bruno."
Then what are they? This is obviously one of the questions that spurs Bruno on to explore, discover and find out about Out-With. Father's avoidance of the subject makes it worse, while Gretel's later explanation only reassures Bruno of "facts" that had been confusing in the first place. Even having the answer doesn't satisfy Bruno completely, and definitely does not deter him from continuing his secret meetings with Shmuel. This curiosity is what ultimately brings an end to Bruno's short life.
The worst of this attitude is that if "they" are not people, then what could they be? No more than dumb beasts, that's what. That is what is implied by John Boyne, but Bruno does not read the underlying meaning in his father's words. As far as Father is concerned, the Jews are worth less than nothing. A Jew's life is incomparable to a Nazi's life. This disregard to human lives is horrible, because no one wants to be thought of as worthless. However, Adolf Hitler and many Nazis simply didn't care, and tortured and killed Jews freely just because they believed that they were superior to them.
We are all people. We are all worth something. If that had been the attitude of those who persecuted others, maybe the suffering of millions of people would have been averted.
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