Understanding language use in the book the boy in the striped pajamas

What was "out-with"?

In the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, siblings, Bruno and Gretel, along with their parents, move from Berlin and to a house in Poland. This new house is right next to Auschwitz, one of the biggest concentration camps from the Holocaust. It's hard to miss Auschwitz because it's full of starving people in "striped pajamas" with Star of David armbands, and they are always being pushed around and shouted at by soldiers. When Bruno asks Gretel what "Out-With" means, she answers, "Out with the people who lived here before us, I expect."

They believe "Out-With" is just the name of their house and not the concentration camp next door. Even though they are very close to the horrors of the Holocaust, their privileged life as the children of Nazis keeps them in a bubble. Bruno and Gretel call the camp "Out-With" instead of Auschwitz, which shows they don't really understand what's happening. Bruno even thinks he's still in Germany until Shmuel tells him the truth.

Not only does this answer shows how clueless they are about their surroundings, it also shows the reality of what is happening. The Nazis are trying to eliminate the Jews from the world, which makes the name "Out-With" a fitting description of what is happening at the concentration camp, even if Gretel and Bruno don’t realize it.