Essay, Research Paper: Night By Elie Wiesel

The autobiographical book Night is about a young Jewish boy, Elie Wiesel, whose life was turned upside down due to the rise of Hitler, the Nazi Party's dream of religious and racial purity, and territorial expansion. When the German army entered Elie Wiesel's town in 1944, life for him and his family, and many others, changed forever. Before I read this book, I knew very little about the Holocaust. To be honest, I guess you could say that I really never even gave it much thought. After reading this book, it has made me very aware of what a wonderful life I have and that even if I lived in poverty my life would still be much better than it was for all those persecuted by Hitler and his Army.
I didn't realize that Jews weren't the only people killed during the Holocaust; Gypsies, the handicapped, gays, Jehovah's Witnesses and even Catholics were killed. I never knew to what extent that these people were tortured and killed. This book helped me to better understand what happened during the Holocaust. I know, however, that I can never fully understand it, because I was not a part of it.
One part of the book that moved me occurred when Elie arrived at the concentration camp and saw all the faces of the children burning in the crematory. I will never understand how the Nazis could put people, let alone children, into a crematory. When I read it I thought about how young and innocent all those children were who were tortured, beaten, and killed. Not only is it wrong to do that to children, but to any living thing. A very moving statement that was made stuck out in my mind; "Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those
flames? . . . That's your grave, over there." (Wiesel, 28). I can't even begin to imagine how the Jews must have felt, knowing that they could see their death. What's more they could smell the flesh of the other Jews being killed. These were the chimneys of the crematorium. Imagine being that close to being killed, and having no chance of getting away? It would make anyone sick to think of someone being thrown into an oven while still living.
I tried to think what it must have been like to hear that and see the crematory, but it would have been too much. It is still amazing that Elie survived those years at Auschwitz and all the death and horror that he must have seen and gone through. To see his family executed and still be able to move on and try to save himself is something I cannot comprehend.
It is so hard to imagine that only fifty years ago 6 million people were killed because of their religion. I think that we must unite, not as a country but as a world, to make sure that this horror never happens again. Not only to Jews, but to anyone. I don't think I would have been able to endure the pain and torture these people experienced every minute of every day! While I was reading Night, I asked myself constantly if I could deal with all the insanity. I really don't know, but I don't think so. I also agree that Elie almost jumping on the electric wire to show the Nazis that they couldn't kill another Jew, was a very brave act one person could have made.
As Elie Wiesel describes his life in the concentration camps, he tells about how it drastically affected his life. During his life in the camps, he learned new ways of life. He learned how cruel people could be so they could get what they wanted. He learned about death in a very cruel and unusual way. A way that no one should have ever had to face. He lost his emotional side; he no longer got upset because he knew that it would do no good. Throughout all of these changes in his life, changes for the worse, he did learn one good thing. He learned a special
closeness to his father that he never felt before. Despite what else goes on, what horror Elie goes through, all the pain that he suffers, he lives through it all. He does this because of his father. He knows that if he dies, his father will also die. He fights for his life with his father, and this makes both of them stronger. Even though his father did eventually die in the concentration camps, Elie formed a special bond between his father and himself, a bond that would never be forgotten.
As I read and learned about the Holocaust, I could hardly imagine how horrifying it was. It certainly makes me aware of just how good a life I have. We Americans have great opportunities before us and no one to stop us but ourselves. We have a government that is fair and just. A government that would never, never condone or tolerate what happened to the Jews and other ethnic groups. I truly thank God for all I have and I can only hope and pray that events like the Holocaust never happen again. I am very aware of the fact though that ethnic cleansing is still going on in different parts of the world and even though 6 million people haven’t been put the the ordeal the Jews were, it still is wrong and inhumane. Whether it is one person who is killed or one million, no one has a right to die because of their beliefs.


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