A boy, only thirteen, was sentenced to be hanged along with two others. The prisoners gathered around the gallows as they were forced to bear witness to all the hangings that took place in the camp, but unlike the other times Eliezer, along with the other prisoners, wept. Eliezer even mentions that the Lagerkapo, the head of the camp, refused to act as executioner, instead three other SS guards took his place. Furthermore, after the chairs were tipped over, as the Lagerkapo commands the onlookers to remove their caps to pay their respect, Eliezer notes that the Lagerkapo’s voice is quivering. This is especially powerful because it is the only incidence in the novella where a Nazi shows any shred of humanity, and for this one small moment in time, all the observers are human. The prisoners then marched past the victims. The two …show more content…
He questions why he should bless God’s name when he has cursed the Jews with such terrible suffering, and he concludes that man is stronger than God. He believes he is alone in a world without God or man, and says he is “nothing but ashes now,” exemplifying the fact that he has lost faith in God, in the humanity of the others around him, and in his own humanity (Wiesel 68). Eliezer is not the only person to lose faith though, many others were continuing to give up including Akiba Drumer who loses his faith and subsequently his will to live. Due to this, Akiba fails the next selection and is sent to his death. Akiba’s death demonstrates that people need faith to live, but before leaving, Akiba requests Eliezer and the others to say Kaddish for him, meaning that even though he claims to have lost his faith, a part of him still holds true to his faith. The same can be seen in Eliezer as well, as he begins questioning God as soon as he enters Auschwitz, but he still prays and gives thanks to God for some time