What Mostovskoy found most sinister of all was that National socialism seemed so at home in the camp: rather than peering at the common people haughtily through a monocle, it talked and joked in their own language. It was down-to-earth and plebeian. And it had an excellent knowledge of the mind, language and soul of those it deprived of freedom."
-- Narrator (Part One, Chapter 2)

Importance: This passage illustrates the novel's main thesis about German National Socialism, its duplicity and inherent contradiction. The National Socialists appear to possess true humanity only while carrying out the most inhumane deprivations. The power that they exercise over their prisoners is not just physical, but also psychological. The underlying sentiment of this passage suggests that imprisonment would be more just and comprehensible if in fact the Germans showed indifference and contempt for their humanity. But their humane sympathy makes the staging of their captivity absurd, gratuitous, and therefore, "sinister."

Now...
-- Anna Semyonova (Part One, Chapter 18)