Research Paper On Night By Elie Wiesel

The Holocaust took the lives of over 6 million Jews. Elie Wiesel wrote the horrific story called Night. It recalls the brutal tale of the Holocaust, that stole the lives of the innocent. However, death wasn’t the only thing it claimed. The Holocaust took so much more from it’s victims; their faith, their humanity, and their chance at life. The victims of the Holocaust had their faith snatched from them by the nazi party. The book states, “For the first time I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless his name?” (Wiesel, pg. 31) Their religion was the whole reason they were in the situation in the first place, yet the treatment they received was so brutal they lost all hope and faith. Additionally, it states “But further there was no longer

For instance “No one had said the prayer for the dead over them. Sons abandoned their father's’ remains without a tear.” (Wiesel, pg. 87) The treatment of the victims, was so brutal that they became immune to death. They suppressed their feelings so much that they didn’t even seem to have any, more like animals than people. Additionally the book states, “The following morning we marched to the station, where a convoy of cattle wagons were waiting. The Hungarian police made us get in.” (Wiesel, pg. 20) The officers forced them into these cattle wagons. They were treated like cows being taken to the slaughter; their human rights completely stripped from them. On page 95 it states that “Dozens of starving men fought each other to the death for a few crumbs.” (Wiesel) These men were so deprived of food they acted like beasts. They were no longer aware of right or wrong, only the need to survive. Their behavior resembled the aggressive nature of the animal kingdom, not human society. As a result of the Nazi’s disregard for the Jews, they were stripped not only of their humanity but also of their chance at

Elie experienced this horrific truth on the first night at a camp, as stated in the book “Small children, babies! Yes, I did see this with my own eyes….Children thrown into the flames.” (pg.32) These children could have been anything they wanted, but the Holocaust denied them that possibility. The possibility that they could do something great with their lives. They were murdered as innocent children, not knowing why they were being sentenced to this tragic fate. Furthermore the book says “ We did not know which side was better right or left; which road led to prison and which to the crematory.” (Wiesel, pg. 30) A simple flick of the wrist by one officer either denied someone their life, or sentenced them to a living hell. Their right to decide their own fate was robbed by men who were no better than they were. Unjustly, their chance for greatness was stolen from them. The author says “I have nothing to say of my life during this period. It no longer mattered.” (Wiesel, pg. 107) These people were so plagued by the death and carnage that they witnessed, the lives that they had afterwards had no meaning. They were followed around by the haunting memories of their past, and it took the value from the lives that they had afterwards. In conclusion, when the Holocaust ended it took it’s victim’s chance at life with