Jewish Victim In Night By Elie Wiesel

731 Words3 Pages

How many Jews were killed during the Holocaust? The answer to that question is over six million. This number doesn’t even account for all the other races and minorities persecuted by the Nazis. The novel Night, written by Elie Wiesel and translated by Marion Wiesel, is a true story about the author’s experiences as a Jewish victim of the Holocaust. It follows the journey of Elie, who is only thirteen when he is taken to his first concentration camp and separated from his mother and sisters forever. From there, he tries to survive and does everything he can to stay with his father. Their relationship is the only thing he has left in the harsh environment of infamous camps like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The Nazis used dehumanizing tactics and acts …show more content…

“...they began to strike at us left and right, shouting: ‘Everybody out! Leave everything inside out. Hurry up!’ We jumped out,” (Wiesel 28). Not only did these resources go to the war effort, but the act of taking these items had a lasting effect on the Jews. Not having things to call their own eliminated the sense of identity, which contributed to Nazi control. Elie’s thoughts express how he reacted to this. “We no longer clung to anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, have all deserted us,” (Wiesel 36). Eliezer and his fellow Jews were under the complete influence of the Nazis. Without anything to fight for, he would have no choice but to obey. His purpose disappeared with all his things, and his only goal was survival with his father. Inscribed above the gate of Auschwitz are the words “ARBEIT MACHT FREI.” They translate to “work makes you free.” The Nazis made labor the focus of life as a prisoner in a concentration camp. They saw work as the only use they had for Jews in their camps, so they held standards. If someone couldn’t meet the standards, they would be killed. “For the first time, his voice