Red Cross – Prisoners of War's Last Hope
Life in concentration camps were at the very least, excruciating and painful. One organization that stepped up to help life while in camps was the Red Cross. Within the book Night by Elie Wiesel and the "World War II – Prisoners of War – Stalag Luft I" which are diary entries by Lt. Robert R. Swartz explain what life was like in concentration camps and what helped them survive. The book written by Jean-Claude Favez, The Red Cross and the Holocaust, explain the little action the Red Cross took to stop the Holocaust. The Red Cross, was for the most part, what kept prisoners' hopes high, yet could have prevented the Holocaust before it was too late by simply speaking up.
The book Night was written by Eliezer Wiesel who was a Holocaust survivor. His story began as a fifteen-year boy in the town of Sighet in Romania. He and his family were deported in May 1944 by Hungarian and German militaries. They were sent to Birkenau by train where Elie and Chlomo, his father, had to leave his mother and sister (Wiesel 18). From there they went to Auschwitz then Buna. The Jews were forced to march forty-two miles in the winter to Gleiwitz (Wiesel 80). Then, all the Jews were transported to the last
…show more content…
It was how POW dealt with their situations and in some ways escape reality. In Robert's diary, he notes the songs and poems that were played throughout the camp, each having a special meaning (Swartz 11). Every compound had an orchestra, which allowed the POW to perform songs (Swartz 9). In the book Night, Elie's friend Juliek played his violin in the barracks at Gliewitz for the dead and dying. He played a fragment from Beethoven's concerto, and in the silence of the barracks the pure sound of his violin filled the ears of all that were listening (Wiesel 90). He put his soul into the music for the last time that night for the other