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Indifference In Night By Elie Wiesel

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The Holocaust was a genocide that caused approximately six million deaths of European Jews, this happened while the whole world stayed indifferent to their situation. Indifference is the lack of concern, or sympathy towards someone, or something. Indifference played a role in the Holocaust including the Germans indifference to the suffering of the Jews, The world’s inference to the suffering of others, and the indifference of people towards death.

First of all indifference is shown in the Holocaust when the Germans are indifferent to the suffering of the Jews. The author writes, “As we were passing through some of the villages many Germans watched us, showing no surprise. No doubt they had seemed quite a few of these processions” (Wiesel, …show more content…

Jewish people were being put through many extreme things, they were being overworked, staved, and killed every second of the day. In the novel it states, “How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burnt but the world kept silent” (Wiesel, Night 32). The whole world was conscious about the Holocaust and everything that was happening to the innocent Jewish people. They were constantly living in agony but the world did not care. They chose to be indifferent because it did not affect them directly. Many countries of the world like America turned a blind eye to the Jewish people. They could have been on the brink of escaping but in the end they would inevitably be turned back. In the text the author writes, “Sixty years ago, its human cargo-nearly 1,000 Jews was turned back to Nazi Germany….America the great country, the greatest democracy…What happened why the indifference on the highest level to the sufferings of the victims (Wiesel, The Perils 16). The 1,000 prisoners who believe they have been rescued from the gruesome, and horrid place were turned back to the same horrible treatment of the camps. Even though the countries of the world knew, even though the Jewish people were almost at the edge of freedom, the world still decided to be indifferent. Indifference was displayed when the world was indifferent to the suffering of

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Wiesel must take it upon himself to ensure such human suffering is not repeated, that his warning will be heard and the world will take action. As he speaks about the horrors of the Holocaust, he makes sure to establish that “the world did know and remained silent”-- it was not ignorance that cost millions of lives, but apathy; silence. He continues, telling the listener “we must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

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