Regarding the guards, Death says, “When it came down to it, one of them called the shots. The other did what he was told. The question is, what if the other is a lot more than one?” (p. 23). Explain what you think he means by this statement and how

This quote comes right after Liesel's brother dies. There are two sets of people that Death is commenting on at the same time. One guard tells the other what to do and he complies without question. One gravedigger tells the other what to do and he complies without question. This becomes a metaphor for one of the bigger questions of the story. Why did so many people let the Holocaust happen? Why were there not enough people, Germans and the rest of the free world, to stop it? At what point does one refuse to do what they are told? A strict conscience is one of the only ways for citizens to fight fascism.