The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Fallacy 1 key example

This passage illustrates one of the fallacious arguments that the Nazis taught children about their racial and cultural superiority. Here, Gretel attempts to justify antisemitism without providing any logical reasoning for it. She explains that Jews have to live "on the other side of the fence" because the "Opposite" don't "like them." When Bruno asks why, her flat statement, "Because they're Jews," is an example of circular reasoning. This is a kind of logical fallacy where the conclusion is assumed within the premise, without any evidence or explanation: something is because it is. Gretel cannot provide any rationale for the prejudice she parrots. Instead, she’s only able to repeat the limited amount of fallacious information she has absorbed from listening to adults. 

Bruno's questioning exposes the emptiness of Gretel’s argument. Rather than addressing his question, she dismisses him. By attacking Bruno’s intelligence instead of offering a substantive answer, Gretel deflects the whole conversation. Gretel’s repetition of discriminatory beliefs in this passage and many other moments reflects the dangerous power of Nazi propaganda to create unchallenged assumptions.