Memory And History In Elie Wiesel's Night

Memory and history have always shared a part in creating an individuals perception of themselves, their lives, and of their importance. The Holocaust was a mass murder of millions that took place in the mid 1940’s, that changed the lives of so many. ("The Holocaust") Night, is a memoir by Elie Wiesel that describes his experience as a teenager struggling to survive in concentration camps during the Holocaust. (Wiesel, 2006) Elie Wiesel accepted a Nobel Prize in honor of his devotion to human rights and in ending injustice for all. His acceptance speech was presented in Oslo, Norway in 1986. (Wiesel, Elie) The New York Times article “150th Anniversary: 1851-2001; Turning Away From the Holocaust” by Max Frankel is a message of regret concerning

This is thoroughly portrayed in Night by Elie Wiesel, the “Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech” by Elie Wiesel, and in the New York Times article “150th Anniversary: 1851-2001; Turning Away From the Holocaust” by Max Frankel. On the contrary, when individuals are put in tragic situations, it can strengthen their hope and motivation to survive. For instance, in Night, Wiesel stated “‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘Everything will be alright.’... Every one of his words was healing and every glance of his carried a message of hope.”(Wiesel, 2006, p. 79) Although this can be sufficient evidence as to why these events led people to have more hope that times were getting better; it still seems unrealistic.In reality, hope most likely faded/and or died in most of The Holocaust victims, and there is a possibility that this loss in hope led to many of the deaths. An example, would be when Wiesel’s violinist friend had died, as he was struggling to survive in the run

As stated in “‘150th Anniversary: 1851-2001; Turning Away From the Holocaust” it says “'You could have read the front page of The New York Times in 1939 and 1940,'' she wrote, ''without knowing that millions of Jews were being sent to Poland, imprisoned in ghettos, and dying of disease and starvation by the tens of thousands.-without knowing that the Nazis were machine-gunning hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Soviet Union.” (Frankel) The media did not mention all of the details of the Holocaust at the time that it was taking place, leading much of the reality to be unacknowledged. The scarce involvement of the media throughout the globe show how much of the reality was untold. The Jewish people had gone through so much pain and no one was recognizing the fact that this terrible tragedy was forced upon them. That is a figurative way of having their lives taken away- as such an important part of their life- a defining component- was unknown by so many; as if they had no importance. This led them to lose hope in humanity; in others realizing and taking action towards helping them survive. Certain events tend to define how people view themselves, and The Holocaust defines the Jews past, the struggle they went through, and them as individuals. So, when this goes unnoticed by the public, it shows them they should have no faith or hope in these