Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Night: The Perils Of Indifference

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Human rights are rights that all human beings are equally entitled to - no matter what race, religion, sex, language, or other status. Some rights include, freedom from slavery and torture or the right to life and liberty. However, these rights can be violated in a multitude of ways. For instance, millions of people's rights were disregarded during the Holocaust. Fortunately, Elie Wiesel was one of very few people who survived the terrorizing reign of Adolf Hitler. The events of the Holocaust violate The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as seen in Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, and warns of the dangers of indifference in “The Perils of Indifference.” Wiesel’s experience in the concentration camps contravenes copious amounts of rights in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4 in the Declaration indicates that slavery is forbidden under all circumstances. Also, article 5 relates to the previous article stating, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading …show more content…

To be indifferent is to have lack of interest, concern, or sympathy, and if people are apathetic towards one another nothing will ever change. As is stated by Wiesel, “Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response.” (Perils of Indifference, 3). This demonstrates that when people are inattentive, they do not react and say anything. Wiesel disagrees with the idea of not making a difference. In order to act on the situations, society needs to show concern and not be aloof. According to the article, high authorities such as the Pentagon and the State Department knew about the Holocaust. Yet, they chose to be indifferent and continued to let it happen. Wiesel asserts such actions are inhumane and the mass execution could have been prevented if it were not