The Book Thief

Could you explain this quote:"The Germans in basements were pitiable, surely,but at least they had a change. That basement was not a washroom. They were not sent there for shower."

This quote is on page 376

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Death aptly makes the point that while the war was difficult for many Germans, it was not the same for the Jews:

"As if often the case with humans, when I read about them in the book thief’s words, I pitied them, though not as much as I felt for the ones I scooped up from various camps in that time. The Germans in the basements were pitiable, surely, but at least they had a chance. That basement was not a washroom. They were not sent there for a shower. For these people, life was still achievable."

Deaths point is that while Germans relegated to the basement during bombings was unfortunate at least it wasn't a "shower" where Jews were gassed and killed by the thousands everyday.