How are the plot elements in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas influenced by the conflict that drives the text?

I am not sure that Boyne's work can actually function as
effectively outside of the Holocaust conflict that is present.  Everything in the work
is driven by the Holocaust.  Bruno's family having to be moved to Auschwitz is what sets
the story in motion.  The fact that Bruno refers to it as "Out- With" is another
implication of the Holocaust.  Bruno's seminal instruction of not to go on the "other
side" of the fence is something that reflects the condition of the Holocaust.  The
ambivalence that Maria feels early on and conveys to Bruno is Holocaust- based.  The
discoveries that Bruno makes about life in Auschwitz are all based upon the Holocaust. 
His friendship with Shmuel is poignant because both boys are alike, but the Holocaust
creates them as entirely different.  The zenith of the story, when Bruno honors his word
to help Shmuel find his family, is a poignant one because of the horror of the
Holocaust. Bruno's death is a result of the Holocaust creation of the gas chamber.  His
family's mourning, and his father's horrific realization, are all reflections of the
Holocaust's legacy on those who survived it and the ending with which Boyne concludes
the narrative about how this story "could not happen" today are all reflections of how
the Holocaust setting and the conflicts it presents drive the
story.