Kurt Kotler

Ambitious and brutal

Kurt Kotler is an important character in the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. He is a young, blond soldier who usually looks "very smart" (Chapter 5, 13%). We are told that "His black boots always sparkled with polish and his yellow-blond hair was parted at the side" (Chapter 15, 13%) when he is on duty. Kotler also wears "cologne" (Chapter 5, 13%). On weekends, he dresses more casually. Then, he is "not so perfectly groomed" (Chapter 5, 14%).

Kotler is a lieutenant and one of Bruno's father's closest confidants. That is why he often stays in the apartment building. Bruno's father's office is "not out of bounds" for him to enter (Chapter 5, 13%). He is dutiful when it comes to his job and carries out orders faithfully. 

As a convinced Nazi, Kotler hates Jews ...