Chapter 9

Elie stays in Buchenwald until April 11th. During this period, Elie is emotionally numb. "After my father's death, nothing could touch me any more."

As the front draws ever closer, the Germans decide to liquidate the camp. But on April 10th, as the prisoners gather for an assembly, the camp resistance successfully takes control of Buchenwald. The Germans do not put up a fight. At about six o'clock in the evening, American tanks arrive.

The first thing the prisoners do as free men is to go through the provisions. They think not of revenge, nor their families, but of bread. Three days after the liberation of Buchenwald, Elie suffers from food poisoning and spends two weeks in the hospital between life and death. One day, Elie gathers enough strength to get up and look in the mirror. He had not seen himself since the ghetto. He stares into someone unrecognizable: "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me."

What a great book!

Chapter 8

At Buchenwald, Elie's father says that he wants to give up. Elie tries desperately to urge his father to have hope. But Elie is so tired he falls asleep. When he awakes, he remembers his father. Feeling that somehow, he had abandoned his father, Elie goes to look for him. Yet, in his mind, Elie wishes that he could be rid of his father. Ashamed of such thoughts, Elie finds his father and attends to his needs. In bringing some hot coffee, Elie thinks that with those few gulps, "I probably brought him more satisfaction than I had done during my whole childhood." Elie's father suffers from dysentery and is near death. Elie gets a doctor to see his father, but the doctor tells Elie that it is useless.

Elie's father lies in bed for several days where he complains to Elie that his neighbors are beating him and taking his food. A week goes by. The head of the block tells Elie to look out for himself and forget about his father. Although Elie finds the advice reasonable, he chooses not to leave his father. As Elie's father cries out for water, an officer gives him a severe blow to his head. On January 28th, 1945, Elie sees his father for the last time: "his blood-stained face, his shattered skull." When Elie wakes up the next day, his father is gone-they had taken him during the night. Elie feels guilty that he has no tears to shed. He does not know what to feel.

"But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!"

I know his feelings were constrewed by his need for survival, but it's still a little harsh and heartbreaking

Chapter 7

On the train ride, dead corpses are thrown out. Two prisoners try to throw Elie’s father out but he convinces the men that his father is still alive. In all, twenty bodies are thrown out of the train, "leaving behind it a few hundred naked dead, deprived of burial, in the deep snow of a field in Poland." As they have no rations, the only food available is snow. After ten days of travel, a German workman throws a piece of bread into the passing wagon. There is a stampede for the morsel of bread. The German workman finds the melee interesting. (Elie Wiesel recalls years later, at Aden, a similar situation where some woman throws coins for the native boys). Elie even witnesses a boy named Meir kill his own father over a piece of bread. After the son seizes the bread from his father, he too is killed by other hungry prisoners. Elie watches the resulting sight with horror: "When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old.

One night, on the train ride, a stranger tries to strangle Elie. His father calls for his friend, Meir Katz, and he comes and saves Elie. Although Meir Katz is the most robust of them all, he begins to lose hope. After keeping his emotions in check up to this time, Meir Katz finally weeps over his son, a victim of the first selection. As an icy wind starts to blow, someone dying lets out a loud wail. It becomes contagious and soon, everyone starts to cry and wail. Elie can only dread: "All limits had been passed. No one had any strength left. And again the night would be long." At last, the train reaches its final destination, Buchenwald. Meir Katz does not make it. A hundred prisoners begin the trip; only a dozen survive, including Elie and his father.

A bit rediculous, isn't it? even with my knowledge of these events, it's still horrific. The howling sends chills down your spine, doesn't it?

Chapter 6

So by now the prisoners are in the middle of the evacuation, in a snowstorm. The SS guards fire at anyone who cannot keep up. Elie is next to a Polish boy named Zalman, who gets a stomache cramp and falls behind. Elie can only hope the worst for him. It appears as if death is drawing closer, and the only thing motivating Elie is the thought of his father.

After covering tens of miles, they are finally allowed to rest. Many prisoners find their way into a brick factory, including Elie and his father. Elie falls asleep. They are forced back outside, and re-enter a shed. They sit there for a little while. A rabbi walks in, looking for his son. Elie says he hasn't seen his son, but then remembers that he had seen his son purposely run away from him. He prays to God that he doesn't become like the son.

They start to march once more. They walk for hours until they reach Gleiwitz, in which they are thrown into overcrowded barracks where they are forced to lay on top of eachother. But here he heres the voice of his frend Juliek. But the man on top of Elie almost suffocates him and he barely frees himself. He heres the sound of Juliek's violin. The next day Juliek is dead.

After three days in the barracks without food or water, they are forced to march once more away from the advancing Russians. Another selection is made, and Elie's father is chosen. Elie manages to distract the Germans and his father sneaks back over. They wait for the train, eat their bread, and melt snow for water. The trains arrive.

That's a little odd. Elie prays to God for something. What God? The God that he belittled and questioned so much?

Here is what I think. The Russian advancement not only gives hope to the Jews for freedom, but the thought of freedom and hope gives the Jews a revitalization of their faith. Elie manages to keep his father with him. This can only play out as an advantage as things progress (that is, if he can keep out of trouble). It almost seems as if things are getting better perhaps?

We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything-death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth.

Chapter 5

The Jewish holidays arrive: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Even in their suffering, the majority of the Jewish community comes together and celebrates. All, that is, except for Elizer. His loss of faith has led him to be alone on this day of atonement. He distrusts God, almost belittling Him in his thoughts. Although it is against Jewish tradition to eat on this day, Eliezer does. He also finds his father, only to see that the look on his face was that of hopelessness.

Soon thereafter, it is announced that another selection is to be held. Elizer's father is one of the ones deemed to weak to work, and is sent to be killed. He brings Eliezer his knife and spoon (his inheritance) and leaves. But by some grace or miracle, there was another selection, and his father survived. Akiba Drumer did not survive, due to the fact that he loses his faith and will to live (among other to lose their faith is a rabbi).

The winter conditions cause the prisoners a large amout of suffering. Eliezer's foot sweels and he undergoes a surgery. While in the hospital, he gains a little hope from a rumor that the RUssians are coming to liberate them soon. However, the Germans quickly evacuate the camp, and Eliezer and his father go along. The Jews left behind are freed a few days later. Eliezer, along with the rest of their prisoners, begin the evacuation at nightfall in a snowstorm, with his injured foot bleeding in the snow.

Wow. Remember when I talked about the loss of faith... if you don't, try looking at every blog that i've posted. The only kick is that now Eliezer is almost rewarded: his father is still alive. But the point is still clear with Akiba Drumer, who loses his faith, and dies. Even the rabbi turns away from God. Eliezer doesn't even celebrate the major Jewish Holidays and defies Jewish Law. He belittles God - a sign of the destruction of his dignity and human rights.

I honestly thought his father was going to die. If this wasn't the climax of the book, then I don't know what was. The only real thing keeping me interested in the book is his relationship with his father. I already know that Eliezer survived the concentration, so this is a sort of sick cliff-hanger.

Chapter 4

The prisoners are inspected. Eliezer is chosen to serve in a group that counts electrical fittings in a warehouse. He is very fortunate (or unfortunate?) that his father is with him. They are housed near the musicians (headed by a German Jew). Eliezer meets various musicians, among which are two brothers named Yosi and Tibi, and Juliek. Akiba Drumer also encounters Aliezer.

Eliezer, after he and his father arive to Buna, is called to the dentist who wishes to pull his crowns out (he was later hanged because he traded the gold teeth), and Eliezer gets out of this by faking sick. Elizer does not pity him. Eliezer encounters many problems with Idek, who was in charge of the unit. He beats him violently, but recieves confort when a French girl tried to console him (they later bump into eachother on a train in Paris; she was a Jew but worked i the warehouse as a laborer and not a prisoner). Idek also beats his father. Eliezer is angry at his father instead of Idek.

Then, an air raid strikes the camp. Two containers of soup are left in the open. A prisoner tries to reach the soup, and fails and dies from a gunshot. The Nazis build gallows and have their first hangings, in which the people who tried to steal thins during the air raid are hanged. Among them is a young boy who was basically innocent. The Jews by now are used to not crying, but everyone cannot help but weep at the site of the young boy struggling to stay alive.

This chapter summarizes all the things that had been happening into one chapter. His relationship is important with his father. However, as seen in the earlier chapters, the Nazis treating the Jews as nonhumans make them act as nonhumans towards eachother. When Eliezer sees his father get beat, not only does he not help, but he gets mad at his father (this is because he natural instincts have been stripped; the instinct to feel compassion for his father is gone and maybe even reversed).

The idea of being consoled also present. The French woman that he meets comforts him in his time of need. However, Eliezer is losing his faith. Akiba Drumer is the exact opposite of Eliezer's character. Akiba is surviving on faith alone, where Elizer's faith is being shapen into a smaller ball every day he is there. This is especially harmful when he sees the young boy being hanged, which almost destroys his faith completely.

At this point, in my mind, it's make or break for Eliezer. One more big impact could put him over the edge.

Chapter 3

The Jewish prisoners begin the process of selection. Eliezer and his father are still together, but his mother and sister are separated. Another prisoner talks them into lying about their age, a word wisely taken. He also mentions that they are at Auschwitz to be killed; the young prisoners consider rebelling but the older ones tell them to rely on faith. Dr. Mengele is the one to determine arrivals. Both Eliezer and his father are sent to be workers.

Uncertainty is still spreading through the Jewish captives (they did not know at the time that they were being sent to work). While they are moving through the camp, they see pits where adults and babies are burned. No one can believe what they are seeing. Everyone breaks down and starts to weep. They start to recite the Kaddish, except for Eliezer, who doesn’t fully understand why God is being thanked.

They enter the barracks, are shaved, disinfected, showered, and clothed. A Nazi German gives them a briefing, and Eliezer’s father asks for a bathroom. He is brutally beaten by the head prisoner, and Eliezer blames himself for not standing up for him. They march to Auschwitz, where they live for a little bit and have their arms branded. Their relative informs them that his family is doing well. They learn that this is not true. Then they are escorted to Buna, the work camp. Their faith in God is still strong.

Eliezer’s doubt starts to form and accumulate during the chapter in the Auschwitz camp. It’s a subtle change, but a change none-the-less. He questions why the prisoners are thanking God (when they were walking by the adults and babies being burned). However, this is directly contrasting the beliefs of the other prisoners, who keep a strong faith throughout. Not only does he doubt God, but he doubts himself. His own faith in mankind. The Kapo beats his father, while Eliezer just watches. His silence makes him possess a feeling of guilt, and results in an almost beat down of his morality. According the Wiesel, silence in the wake of evil allows it to thrive.

The night was gone. The morning star was shining in the sky. I too had become a completely different person. The student of the Talmud, the child that I was, had become consumed in the flames. There remained only a shape that looked like me. A dark flame had entered into my soul and devoured it

I did not deny God's existence, but i doubted His absolute justice

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 picks up with one of the first phases of the extermination: deportation. It tells of the torturous conditions that the Jews onboard one of these trains had to face. There were many of these conditions: little air, immense heat, cramped spaces, hunger, and thirst. These harsh conditions subjected upon the passengers, ignorant of their fate, results in a psychological breakdown. They lose their sense of public-ness. However, they start to realize that this was no ordinary trip, and this suspicion is confirmed when a German officer takes charge of their train. He reveals that he will shoot anyone who tried to escape.

The most notable character from this chapter is surely Madame Schächter, who is along with her ten-year-old son. She cracks underneath the harsh treatment, and starts screaming that she sees a fire outside. The Jews onboard become terrified, but soon comfort themselves by saying that she is crazy. She is tied up so she cannot scream, and her child watches and weeps. When she screams once more, she is beaten (by her own people, who support this action)

They finally reach Auschwitz. They are told that they’re at a labor camp, but that families will be kept together. This comforts the prisoners even further, but later Madame again starts to scream until beaten into a violent silence. The Jewish prisoners finally see their fate: the furnaces, barbed wire, and the smell of burnt flesh of the Bikenau camp.

The biggest idea present in the novel at this point is the cruelty towards humans. The Nazis cause, by treating the Jews as less than humans, them to do act as less than humans. Without societies laws, dignity, and deprivation of basic human rights, the Jews are exposed to a great dehumanization (notice: when in their ghettos, the Jews possessed at least a decent respect for one another and a large base of faith). The best example is when Madame’s fellow prisoners beat her up. I understand that it was to silence her (her rants made them scared), but to ruthless beat her with the support and encouragement of other prisoners is wrong.

Again the disbelief continues. The character of Madame is paralleled to Moshe (see the blog for chapter 1 for Moshe’s story).

However, as seen throughout history, the Jews try to reconcile themselves with an optimistic outlook and faith. During the Babylonian Exile, the Jews kept their faith strong by writing down the stories that had been passed down throughout generations orally. The Jews on the train, when Madame screams and yells, soothe themselves by calling her crazy. The Jews comfort themselves by knowing their families will be kept together in the labor camps.

'Listen to me, kid. Don’t forget that you are in a concentration camp. In this place, it is every man for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even your father. In this place, there is no such thing as father, brother, friend. Each of us lives and dies alone.' (110)

Chapter 1

Eliezer immediately assumes the role as narrator. He is of twelve years old, the only son in an Orthodox Jewish family that is completely grounded in the Jewish tradition and law (looking up where Sighet is, the home town of Eliezer, i found that it was then annexed to Hungary). His father is highly respected in the Jewish community. Eliezer studies the Talmud and the Cabbala, taught by Moshe the Beadle.Hungarians expel all foreign Jews, including Moshe. He makes his way back and tells of the deportation trains and other events in the Holocaust, only to face a ridiculing audience.

But then Hungarian falls into fascism. German armies occupy Hungary, and soon move into Sighet. Community leaders are arrested, valuables are confiscated, and (perhaps the most famous of them all) they are forced to wear yellow stars. They are eventually forced into small ghettos and harsh living conditions.

The Nazis begin their 'cleansing' by deporting Jews little by little. Eliezer and his family are the last to go. They (meaning Eli and his family) watch as their fellow Jews are forced into crowded streets carrying little. His family is herded into another ghetto, even smaller. Martha offers to hide them in her village, but recieves a no. The last of the Jewish community is herded up and are bound for Auschwitz.

When reading this first chapter, I could not help but to ask how circumstances come into effect. Eli happens to be living in Hungary (or anywhere in Europe, for that matter), how they really had no means of knowing what was really going on, how ignorance led to the refusal of the offer to be sheltered. Naturalism, anyone?

'What can we expect? It's war...'

'The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it...'

Foreward

Francois Mauriac, a French journalist is the author of the forewards to Night of writing the preface. He tells of one specific interview. This was of Elie himself.

Elie tells of the horrific events at Holocaust. Muriac did not see the events himself, and had to have been shocked and appalled when Elie reveals that he was one of the children crammed into the trains and 'evacuated'. In Muriac's thoughts, he could not believe that any of it happened. But he comes to realize that it did; and to many others as well. Elie's story is a personal story, deeply rooted in personal experience, both physically and spiritually. It can be compared to that of Anne Frank, a German Jew.

Muriac also sees that the physical destruction isn't nearly as present as his spiritual depression. Many others experience the same loss of religion, in which one questions: how can God let something happen like this? Muriac is deeply affected by Elie's crisis of faith, in which the rest of the novel will explain. Muriac, however, sees suffering as a cornerstone of faith.

Mauriac concludes, and the power of Wiesel’s story, mostly the intensity of his spiritual crisis, overwhelmed him, and, struck speechless, he wept.

'Where is God? Where is He?' someone behind me asked... For more than half an hour [the child in the noose] stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking:'Where is God now?' And I heard a voice within me answer him: 'Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows...'

Preface

The preface of Night gives a HUGE indicator on the events to come; according to the text, the subjuct matter was so depressing that no one would publish it (except for Bantam Books!). The spare-no-detail novel is an autobiography of the horror experienced by Elie Wiesel, which has changed the opinions and maybe even the outlook of life of the nonbeliever. As the preface puts it: "the shadow of death took on substance... six million times". But still people cannot believe?

It tells of how unforgettable and haunting (for lack of a better term) and grueling the concentration camp was for him, and how it almost makes life worth not living just from the sights and sounds of his people being 'purified' as the Natzis would say. The movie Conspiracy gave a great presentation of how the Germans felt and dealt with the Jews. Not only this, but certainly above all, their hatred for a people who had done no wrong towards them.

Being at the extermination camps is indescribable for Elie.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.