“Human rights are being violated on every continent. More people are oppressed than free… One person of integrity can make a difference, a difference of life and death,” said Elie Wiesel about the world in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. He was so passionate about these things--But why? The answer lies in this: he was a Holocaust survivor, in fact one of the most prominent. He was held at Auschwitz and Buchenwald, and later went on, as this quote shows, to speak out against oppression in places across the world.
Elie grew up in a small town called Sighet, one where many cultures coexisted, in Romania. His family, consisting of himself, his mother, father, and three sisters, ran a small business, but he was never a part of this; instead,
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The two men were sent to the barracks, though at first it seemed they were to be incinerated. Elie explained this misinterpretation in Night in that a guard had told the prisoners “Over there will be your grave… You will be burned! Burned to a cinder!”(Wiesel 31) and as they were led to the barracks, they were only “two steps from the pit,”(Wiesel 34) when they were turned towards their quarters. From here, they were put through the wringer, made to run miles without stopping and such. This camp was meant to weed out the weak amongst the prisoners. After being in the camp for about a week, Elie and his father were moved to Monowitz, one of the Auschwitz subcamps, where they were sent to work on an electrical line, and (amongst most prisoners) both frequently beaten, usually for trivial or greedy reasons. This camp was meant to break its prisoners, mentally as well as sometimes physically. From being held here, the two were sent to Buchenwald, where Elie suffered the greatest blow to his spirit--he watched his father wither away to nothing, without any means whatsoever to help him. This camp was meant to rid the Nazis of the prisoners they could no longer use--many were on the brink of death, or as in Elie’s case, put in a vegetative state by the horrors they had witnessed (though for him, only after the death of his father). However, the day Elie’s section of the camp was to be liquidated--April 10, 1945--was when salvation came. US troops stormed the camp, defeating the Nazis, and a day later, April 11, Elie had left Buchenwald (and the savagery) behind. After his liberation, Elie moved to France, where he studied, became a journalist, and learned that both of his older sisters had survived the Holocaust. Over this time (around a decade), he never once spoke of his experiences.
In the book Night, we the readers witness the hardships and struggles in Elie’s life during the traumatic holocaust. The events that take place in this story are unbearable and are thought to be demented in modern times. In the beginning Elie is shown as a normal teenage Jewish boy, but the events are so drastic that we the readers forget how he was like in the beginning. Changes were made to Elie during the book, whether they were minor or major. The changes generated from himself, the journey, and other people.
After a very long horrid train ride of Mrs. Schächter “prophesizing” about seeing flames, the Jews of Sighet arrive at Birkenau where they are separated by gender. Elie and his father are now on their own. 4. With the fear of the first selection behind them, Elie and the other man are sent to the showers, and assigned to a barrack, A while later, all the men are transferred to Auschwitz. Elie and his father are given block 17 to stay in.
This entailed deplorable living conditions, cruel physical punishment from the S.S. officers and food deprivation. Although Elie survived despite these many challenges and the vacillating weather, his father was not as fortunate. Eventually, when the camp was liberated in 1945 Elie was so emaciated that after looking into a mirror he only
In this book Elie speaks of his hardships and how he survived the concentration camps. Elie quickly changed into a sorrowful person, but despite that he was determined to stay alive no matter the cost. For instance, during the death
In Night. People in concentration camps tried to protect each other but struggled very hard to do so. Sometimes, they barely had a chance to begin with. For example, Elie witnessed someone kill himself because they already committed all he had left to taking care of a family member and was stuck. “A terrible thought crossed my mind: What if he had wanted to be rid of his father?
Elie Wiesel Rhetorical Speech Analysis Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor and winner of a Nobel peace prize, stood up on April 12, 1999 at the White House to give his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”. In Wiesel’s speech he was addressing to the nation, the audience only consisted of President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, congress, and other officials. The speech he gave was an eye-opener to the world in his perspective. Wiesel uses a variety of rhetorical strategies and devices to bring lots of emotion and to educate the indifference people have towards the holocaust. “You fight it.
Decision Making by Elie in Night The decisions made by Elie Wiesel in the book Night both positively and negatively impacted his life. These were decisions that the author thought were best for him or for his mother, sister and father. However, the particular decisions made by the boy in Night affected his identity, innocence, and significantly changed his view of life during his experience in the holocaust.
Elie went through extreme adversity within the camps of Auschwitz yet still managed to persevere. The experiences Elie went through in camp Auschwitz changed him as an individual spiritually; a boy who was once devoted to God ceased to believe in him. Elie also lost his sense of self identity, as his personality completely changes. During his internment at Auschwitz and Buchenwald Elie completely loses his innocence. As a result of the adversity Elie faces throughout his time at the Auschwitz camp, his identity is tarnished and eventually reformed.
“ … The world has had to hear a story it would have preferred not to hear - the story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured, remained silent in the face of genocide.” - Elie Wiesel. The man behind that quote is one of the few people in the world to survive one of the worst tragedies in human history, The Holocaust. An event in which millions of people perished, all because of a crazed dictator’s dream. Elie Wiesel who amazingly survived the horrors, documented his experience in his book, Night.
When him and his family arrived at Birkenau, Elie gets separated from his mother and sisters, but stays with his father after lying about their age. All the male Jews were told to shower, shave, and put their work clothes on. They were then ordered to march to Auschwitz, where they had their number tattooed onto them. When they get transferred to Buna, this is where Elie
Throughout the advocacy of Elie Wiesel he has had a profound affect on peoples perception of the Holocaust and hatred. Elie at the young age of 15 was deported by the Hungarian Gendarmerie, the German SS, and police from Sighet, Romania to his first concentration camp. In these death camps, Elie, witnessed first hand how terrible the Holocaust was. He was
Chapter One Summary: In chapter one of Night by Elie Wiesel, the some of the characters of the story are introduced and the conflict begins. The main character is the author because this is an autobiographical novel. Eliezer was a Jew during Hitler’s reign in which Jews were persecuted. The book starts out with the author describing his faith.
He see’s what's happening and he soon begins to lose his faith and his hope for the future. All in all, we may have never seen the strength or bravery of Elie, had he not kept going forward. He strengthened his faith, and eventually survived Auschwitz. Holocaust survivors seem to always say that without courage and faith, you would never make it out. Another example of this would be when Elie receives gifts from his father.
Never shall [he] forget those things, even were [he] condemned to live as long as God Himself” (Wiesel 75). This quote leads me to believe that the suffering endured in the camps lead Elie to become lost with who he was. Elie and the other members of the Jewish community try to keep their faith as much as they can even though it is being tested. As shown in Night enduring suffering forces people to become much different versions of themselves.
Elie was held captive in concentration camps from 1944-1945. During his time in the concentration camps, he became grateful for what he had, overcame countless obstacles, and more importantly kept fighting until he was free. [The Holocaust is very important to learn about because it can teach you some important life lessons.] You should always be grateful for what you have, no matter what the circumstances are. This lesson can be learned when Elie says, “After my father’s death, nothing could touch me any more”(109).