The first time we (and Bruno) meet Shmuel, he is sitting behind a barbed wire fence, alone and separated from the others in the work camp. When Bruno asks Shmuel if he has any friends, Shmuel says that he has a few, but that they fight all the time, so he likes to come out to this corner so that he can, as he says, be on my own. These words set the tone for Shmuel's life since he and his family arrived at the camp. He's an independent-minded eight year old boy who likes to do what any eight year old likes to do: play checkers, eat sweets, and talk with his best friend. But that's where the similarities between Shmuel's life and any ordinary German boy's life end because Shmuel, due to his race, cannot leave the camp. He cannot run through the forest exploring like Bruno does. He cannot visit Bruno at his home. In short, he cannot leave the camp, for he is the boy in the striped pajamas who doesn't fully realize his fate Shmuel's father goes missing and his new friend, Bruno, being the caring lad (A Nazi), tried to help Shumuel find his missing father. But, when Bruno climbs under the fence, the Nazis make the Auschwitz inmates march to the gas chambers, marking a tragic end to Shmuel short and sad life with Bruno.Shmuel is wonderfully played by the talented young actor named Jack Scanlon.