Disappearance In Elie Wiesel's Night

The first hanging, the Warsaw native who had been in the camp for three years, was fully grown and filled with defiance towards his German captors. He showed no fear of his executors, refused to be blindfolded and before his death, shouted out his denunciation of the action being taken. On page 62 of Night by Elie Wiesel it states “The hangman...was about to signal his aides to pull the chair from under the young man's feet when the latter shouted, in a strong and calm voice: "Long live liberty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My -" The executioner had completed his work.” This opinion of the Germans was shared by Elie and the other prisoners. They agreed with the condemnation of the prisoner and celebrated someone expressing these thoughts.

When the Oberkapo was arrested on suspicion of sabotage and evicted from the camp, however, the Gestapo continued to question the boy and finally convicted him of the compliance in the efforts to hide weapons that had been found in a building under the Oberkapo’s supervision. There was no showcase of defiance before the boy died. There was no celebration among the prisoners as they had recognized the inhumanity and injustice of the execution of this child. However, there came the realization of the ultimate cruelty of his death. On page 65 of Night by Elie Wiesel it states “the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing...And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writing before our eyes. And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished.” This had reinforced Elie’s growing conviction that God was dead, that there was no purpose in praying to God or calling up God’s promises to His people because He had abandoned them. On page 65 of Night by Elie Wiesel it states “That night, the soup tasted of corpses.” After witnessing the execution, Elie feels like death is everywhere, and he is unable to enjoy his soup knowing that all goodness has been