Historical fiction is a literary genre that takes place in the past and is based on true facts, although the characters and other aspects of the story are fictional. A novel about Napoleon Bonaparte, for example, would be a work of historical fiction if the author attributes words or actions to Napoleon that are not verifiable with historic documents.

Friedrich is a work of historical fiction because the characters (e.g., the narrator and Friedrich) are fictional, but the world that surrounds them is based on historical events: Hitler’s rise to power, antisemitism in Nazi Germany, Kristallnacht, etc.

Dramatic irony is a subcategory of irony. It works to achieve a detached sense of “superiority” in the reader because they possess more knowledge about the character’s situation than the character does, which allows them to foresee an outcome contrary to the character’s expectations or hopes.

Friedrich is full of dramatic irony because the reader, with knowledge of the historical events leading up to World War II, remains several steps ahead of the characters. For example, in Chapter 7, the reader knows that the seemingly innocuous youth with the sign telling everyone to boycott Jewish businesses is far more threatening than the characters in the scene realize and that the situation for the Jews will only get much, much worse.