Intro Video
If you are interested i n a brief intro to Night, and the holocaust during World War 2, watch this brief video, created by another high school student, also doing a project on Night.
Warning: This video is classified by the YouTube community as a "Viewer discretion advised" video for some of its disturbing images
Warning: This video is classified by the YouTube community as a "Viewer discretion advised" video for some of its disturbing images
The Story
Night t by Elie Wiesel is the extraordinary tale of a young boy's experience in the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. The story tells of the horrors he faces during those unforgettable years, and the pain he and his family must endure, both physically and mentally. As well as being an incredible story, Night is a lesson of actions that can never be repeated. Generations of families have been shattered by the brutality of mankind. The damage can never be undone.
The story starts in Elie's home. A young, innocent Jewish boy, of twelve years old is placed into a world of chaos. His world is changed forever when German soldiers, "with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the death's head" came to take him and his family away from their homes in Sighet, Romania (page 7). They had to leave everything behind. Before being robbed of all gold and money they had, Elie's father buried the rest of their savings in case they got the chance to come back. Where they were going, money had no value.
The trip to Auschwitz was dismal to say the least. There was not enough room to sit down in the cramped train cars. There were very little provisions left, and darkness was the only thing they could see. They had been given orders that if one of the prisoners-for that's what they were at this point-was missing at the end of their trip, everyone in the car would be shot.
The story starts in Elie's home. A young, innocent Jewish boy, of twelve years old is placed into a world of chaos. His world is changed forever when German soldiers, "with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the death's head" came to take him and his family away from their homes in Sighet, Romania (page 7). They had to leave everything behind. Before being robbed of all gold and money they had, Elie's father buried the rest of their savings in case they got the chance to come back. Where they were going, money had no value.
The trip to Auschwitz was dismal to say the least. There was not enough room to sit down in the cramped train cars. There were very little provisions left, and darkness was the only thing they could see. They had been given orders that if one of the prisoners-for that's what they were at this point-was missing at the end of their trip, everyone in the car would be shot.
When Elie, his father, mother and sister arrived at Auschwitz, they were treated like animals. Being yelled at, pushed, shoved, demeaned and stripped up their dignity. This continued for their entire time in captivity. "Men to the left, Women to the right!", the separation had begun, Elie would never see his mother or sister again (page 27). They are presumed dead.
Elie goes through changes in Auschwitz. Life becomes less of an adventure of self-discovery as it was before the war, as his childhood is stripped from him and replaced by the need to live just another day to be with his father. Terrible things occur in the camps (see Life in the Camps) that have immense impact on Elie. As atrocities occur all around him, he begins to lose faith in his god, "Why, but why should I bless him?"(Elie, page 64). As his faith slowly diminishes, his will to survive begins to go with it. Without friends, family, and faith, Elie Wiesel, a young teenager is placed into a pit of emptiness and despair.
Night by Elie Wiesel shows what happens when a person loses all that they care about in the world. Without the necessities of life, a person will be unable to find purpose in their life.
Elie goes through changes in Auschwitz. Life becomes less of an adventure of self-discovery as it was before the war, as his childhood is stripped from him and replaced by the need to live just another day to be with his father. Terrible things occur in the camps (see Life in the Camps) that have immense impact on Elie. As atrocities occur all around him, he begins to lose faith in his god, "Why, but why should I bless him?"(Elie, page 64). As his faith slowly diminishes, his will to survive begins to go with it. Without friends, family, and faith, Elie Wiesel, a young teenager is placed into a pit of emptiness and despair.
Night by Elie Wiesel shows what happens when a person loses all that they care about in the world. Without the necessities of life, a person will be unable to find purpose in their life.
Life in The camps
Life in the camps cannot be fully described by me as I was not there to bear witness to the acts that took place. However, after reading Night, one can get a slight glimpse of the life in the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War.
Elie Wiesel tells the reader of the first day in Birkenau, the reception center for Auschwitz. Upon arriving, women and men were immediately separated, young children would be broken away from their parents by SS (Shield Squadron) soldiers and forced to follow the line of somber souls with the same gender. A foul stench filled the air and smoke could be seen from the center of the camp, where the crematory could be found. The sick, the injured, the elderly, small children, and any prisoners who were unable to work were sent to this pitiful place to meet their fiery end. This was not the working camp where they were told they would be going. Many prisoners would not see the sun rise again, but even then, so close to death, Wiesel tells of their commitment to God, "We needed to show God that even here, locked in hell, we were capable of singing His praises" (Page 66).
Living conditions in Auschwitz began as livable, "We went to the wash place. We were given new clothes. We were brought black coffee", though incomparable to the life they had before (page 39). However, as Winter drew nearer, warmth became a problem, as did food and water. Because of the increasing cold, food became limited and was often reserved for the guards, leaving barely enough for the prisoners of the camps to live on. In times of desperation, family members would steal food from each other. Wiesel tells of a man being beaten to death by his own son for a few crumbs, "Mier. Mier, my boy! Don't you recognize me? I'm your father... you're killing your father!" (Jewish prisoner, page 96). The barracks', where Elie and the other inmates slept were cramped beyond belief, and freezing cold. The work was extremely hard, often being the cause of death from exhaustion, "leave me, I can't go on ... Have mercy on me" said Elie's father, and being yelled at constantly by the SS officers did not help, "Faster, you swine" (page 81, 101).
Elie Wiesel tells the reader of the first day in Birkenau, the reception center for Auschwitz. Upon arriving, women and men were immediately separated, young children would be broken away from their parents by SS (Shield Squadron) soldiers and forced to follow the line of somber souls with the same gender. A foul stench filled the air and smoke could be seen from the center of the camp, where the crematory could be found. The sick, the injured, the elderly, small children, and any prisoners who were unable to work were sent to this pitiful place to meet their fiery end. This was not the working camp where they were told they would be going. Many prisoners would not see the sun rise again, but even then, so close to death, Wiesel tells of their commitment to God, "We needed to show God that even here, locked in hell, we were capable of singing His praises" (Page 66).
Living conditions in Auschwitz began as livable, "We went to the wash place. We were given new clothes. We were brought black coffee", though incomparable to the life they had before (page 39). However, as Winter drew nearer, warmth became a problem, as did food and water. Because of the increasing cold, food became limited and was often reserved for the guards, leaving barely enough for the prisoners of the camps to live on. In times of desperation, family members would steal food from each other. Wiesel tells of a man being beaten to death by his own son for a few crumbs, "Mier. Mier, my boy! Don't you recognize me? I'm your father... you're killing your father!" (Jewish prisoner, page 96). The barracks', where Elie and the other inmates slept were cramped beyond belief, and freezing cold. The work was extremely hard, often being the cause of death from exhaustion, "leave me, I can't go on ... Have mercy on me" said Elie's father, and being yelled at constantly by the SS officers did not help, "Faster, you swine" (page 81, 101).
Along with the fear of dying from hunger, the cold or sheer exhaustion,
there was "the selection". Every few weeks, the SS guards would round up all the
inmates like cattle and herd them along to the medical ward where they were
examined. Any person deemed unfit to work would be checked off on a piece of
paper and sent either to the crematory, or outside to be shot, "A
merciless selection" (page 67). Sometimes, instead of killing prisoners all at
once, there would be a public execution to keep fear in the hearts of those
still left alive.
For Elie Wiesel, like the other inmates of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, their new life had turned into survival. An important piece of advice was given to Elie, near the end his imprisonment by a fellow prisoner; "Listen to me, boy. Don't forget that you're in a concentration camp. Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. Even of his father. Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, and no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone" (page 104). Good advice, or bad, this quote explains what is was like to live in a concentration camp. Although one cannot fully comprehend the tragedy and sickening experience to live there, one can still show an amount of understanding and appreciation for those poor souls who lived, and died in the Nazi Death Camps of World War 2
there was "the selection". Every few weeks, the SS guards would round up all the
inmates like cattle and herd them along to the medical ward where they were
examined. Any person deemed unfit to work would be checked off on a piece of
paper and sent either to the crematory, or outside to be shot, "A
merciless selection" (page 67). Sometimes, instead of killing prisoners all at
once, there would be a public execution to keep fear in the hearts of those
still left alive.
For Elie Wiesel, like the other inmates of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, their new life had turned into survival. An important piece of advice was given to Elie, near the end his imprisonment by a fellow prisoner; "Listen to me, boy. Don't forget that you're in a concentration camp. Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. Even of his father. Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, and no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone" (page 104). Good advice, or bad, this quote explains what is was like to live in a concentration camp. Although one cannot fully comprehend the tragedy and sickening experience to live there, one can still show an amount of understanding and appreciation for those poor souls who lived, and died in the Nazi Death Camps of World War 2
For an account of the life in Auschwitz, below is the first part 1 of a series done with Oprah and Elie Wiesel himself, found on YouTube. Oprah and Elie Wiesel return to Auschwitz to hear a first hand account of Elie's experience.
Warning: This video is classified by the YouTube community as a "Viewer discretion advised" video for some of its disturbing images
Warning: This video is classified by the YouTube community as a "Viewer discretion advised" video for some of its disturbing images
Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
Escape From Camp 14 tells of the incredible 370 mile escape of Shin In Guen from the confines of a North Korean work prison as well as the life he lived inside Camp 14. He is the only person known to have escaped from a "total-control zone" grade camp in North Korea and live to tell the world about it. The book references Night directly in the beginning, talking about the differences between the protagonists of each book. The one noticeable difference in the two is the way of living before their hardships began. Elie Wiesel was born into a happy Jewish family and was content with his life until he and his family was whisked away to Auschwitz. Shin's problems started from birth. He was born a political prisoner of North Korea for his ancestor's sins with no chance to redeem them, only to work. His parents were selected for each other (few people in the many camps of North Korea had a choice) to mate and live with. Shin's father ignored him on the few days of the year he saw him and his mother was not much better as a caregiver, "His mother beat him, and he viewed her as a competitor for food"(page 3).
"Love and mercy and family were words without meaning. God did not disappear or die. Shin had never heard of him" (page 3). Elie Wiesel is thrown into the fires of life during World War 2 while Shin was born straight into the depths of the blazing embers. He, along with the other 154,000 prisoners in Camp 14 (estimation by South Korean Government), have never known any other life. They know only of hard work, survival, and the Ten Laws of Camp 14*. If you have read Night, or not, I highly recommend Blaine Harden's book, Escape from Camp 14 for anyone looking for a glimpse into the life of someone who has truly endured and came out the other side in one piece.
*The Ten Laws of Camp 14 (page 193-196)
1. Do not try to escape
2. No more than two prisoners can meet together
3. Do not steal
4. Guards must be obeyed unconditionally
5. Anyone who sees a fugitive or suspicious figure must promptly report him
6. Prisoners must watch one another and report any suspicious behavior immediately
7. Prisoners must more than fulfill the work assigned them each day
8. Beyond the workplace, there must be no intermingling between the sexes for personal reasons
9. Prisoners must genuinely repent of their errors
10. Prisoners who violate the laws and regulations of the camp will be shot immediately
Here is a video interview on YouTube of Shin Dong Hyuk. He changed his name to create a new identity and to try and forget the painful memories of the camp. In this video is a message from Shin to his father and a look into his life before he escaped.
The boy in the striped PAJAMAS
Originally a novel by John Boyne, this film shows the growing friendship of two boys who are expected to be enemies during the holocaust of World War 2. Both children come from very different backgrounds; Bruno, the son of a general in the SS, and Shmuel, a prisoner of the concentration camp near Bruno's house. Unaware of the concentration camps and the horrors inside of them, Bruno goes exploring and meets Shmuel from the other side of an electric fence. As their friendship grows stronger, so does the tension in Bruno's family life. He must work hard to keep his relationship with Shmuel a secret. Little does he know that this leads to unfortunate and horrifying consequences.
The two friends have grown up learning about each others' society and are told by society to hate one another. However, the true beauty of this story is when this hatred is put aside to make way for care and compassion. This story shows that even in the darkest of times, there is always room for a little bit of light.
The two friends have grown up learning about each others' society and are told by society to hate one another. However, the true beauty of this story is when this hatred is put aside to make way for care and compassion. This story shows that even in the darkest of times, there is always room for a little bit of light.