Is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas based on a true story?

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a 2006 novel which takes place in Germany during World War II, is classed as historical fiction. This means that while the setting of author John Boyne's novel was a real historical place and time, the novel's plot was not based on true events or historical figures.

As Jewish Rabbi Benjamin Blech explained in his review of the book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas could never have happened in real life. Shmuel, the nine year-old Jewish concentration camp prisoner whom Bruno, the main character, befriends would never have survived in Auschwitz, because the Nazi prison camp guards immediately executed anyone who was not able to work. Likewise, Blech argues it is impossible that even a nine year-old such as Bruno would have been ignorant to the realities of what was taking place within a concentration camp.