pg. 98-115

Dead bodies are thrown from the train, lacking a proper burial. Some prisoners try to throw Eliezer's father off, but he convinces them that his father is still alive. No rations were provided; the only food available to the prisoners was snow. After several days, a German worker throws a single piece of bread onto the prisoner's compartment of the train, and needless to say, the prisoners fought, and even killed one another over it.

The prisoners arrived in Buchenwald. Elie feels that he has abandoned his father, but also feels like he wishes he could be rid of him. He is ashamed that he has such thoughts. Elie's father suffers from an illness and is close to death. A doctor sees him, but tells Elie that it is hopeless. Neighbors beat his father and take his food, and the head of the block tells Elie to watch out for himself and let his father go. Elie's father is killed by these scavengers, and Elie is ashamed that he does not cry.

Elie is emotionally numb, and he stays in Buchenwald for quite awhile longer. Nothing could bother him after his father's death, because nothing seemed as severe. Americans come and free Buchenwald, and all of the prisoners immediately go for food. Elie suffers from food poisoning and stays in the hospital between life and death. He looks into a mirror, and it is the first time since the ghetto that he has seen himself. "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me."

Pg. 85-96

In this section, the prisoners were transferred to Gleiwitz to escape the Russian liberators. They had to run nonstop from their old camp to Gleiwitz and if they were to take a break, they would be shot. They got a short rest in Gleiwitz. Three days only. In those three days, Elie's friend Juliek played his violin for an audience of dead and dying people... the prisoners.

Juliek died from the cold, along with many other prisoners. Another selection was to take place. Those who could walk well were sent to the right, the weak were sent to the left. Elie's father was sent to the left, and Elie ran after him. An SS officer yelled for him to come back, but he made a diversion so that he, his father, and a few others that had been sent to the left could make their way over to the right side.

After the third day, they were moved again, this time, the SS were tired so they were allowed to walk instead of run. They then had to wait for a cargo train to arrive, and were given rations of bread. They weren't allowed to bend down, so they used their spoons to take snow off of their neighbors' backs and eat it to quench their thirst. For some reason, this action greatly amusid the SS officers.

pg. 66-84

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur passed and the Jews held services to pray to God. Those leading these services spoke with weak, broken voices. Eliezer did not pray, as he "no longer accepted God's silence". I think that this is a very powerful way to express the fact that he disagreed with God and was angry at Him. Elie was transferred to a different block and separated from his father.

Eliezer and the rest of his block had to undergo "selection", or the weeding out of weak and unable prisoners. If they failed this inspection, they would be sent to the crematorium. Eliezer and two of his acquaintances passed the selection. A few of the prisoners' numbers were written down by the doctor, but the officer in charge of their black promised safety to all of those in that black. However, he had lied, and Eliezer's father was called to stay at camp with several others for a closer inspection.

Eliezer felt sick at heart that day while working. His acquaintances and even the Kapo felt his pain, and the Kapo gave him easier work that day. At the end of the day, Elie found out that his father had passed his second inspection, and he had proved his usefulness.

People started to lose faith in God as if it were an epidemic. Even a rabbi had lost his faith and denied that God was with them. During the winter months, Eliezer's foot began to swell and he went to the infirmary, where the Jewish doctor decided they must operate on his foot. A few days later, it was said that the liberators were coming and the camps needed to be evacuated, save those in the infirmaries. Elie and his father decided to be evacuated wth the others, which is what they did.

Pages 47-65

In this section, Elie and his father were transferred to another camp, where they are forced to work in a warehouse taking inventory of electronic equipment. Elie's gold crown on his tooth was recorded in a book, but managed to evade getting it removed by the camp's dentist. He later had it forcibly removed by a cruel man who had authority in this camp. Also, Elie meets a French girl who also speaks German, and recalls a meeting with her years after escaping the concentration camp.

Next, they are moved, along with many others, to yet another camp. They had to work here too, and they must watch many prisoners be hanged. One day, there is an air raid by the Americans on many concentration camps. All of the SS Officers were afraid after the air raid. Many casualties were caused and much damage was done to the facilities of the different camps. Elie is whipped for breaking rank and catching an officer with a half-nude woman.

Others had to be hanged for breaking the rules. One of which is a child, whose weight did not allow for a swift, painless death, rather a slow and painful one. The officers made all the prisoners observe this, and watch up closely to serve as a lesson and warning to all other prisoners not to break the rules, and to kno the consequences of any rule-breaking.

Pages 29 - 46

Mrs. Schachter’s prediction about the flames came true. When the Jews arrived at Auschwitz, they saw flames licking the skies from a tall chimney and smelled the scent of burning flesh. Mrs. Schachter fell silent with a blank gaze. Apparently, she had no purpose left.

When they arrived, they were separated by gender, and one by one, led off to either an incinerator to be burned alive, or the prison. Eliezer and his father were condemned to the fire, but narrowly escaped when a German soldier told them to go to the prison instead. There, they were forced to dress in the same clothes and all have their hair cut the same way. This is the Nazi's way of dehumanizing the Jews, in an effort to more efficiently torture (and exterminate) them and not feel as guilty about doing so.

All the Jews were herded together and told that they would be forced to work. They had numbers and letters tattooed on their arms to replace their names. This was yet another method of dehumanization by the Germans.

Pages 23 - 28

This section is about the deliverance of the Jews to the concentration camp in Auschwitz. At the point of their arrival, they had no idea about what would be in store for them. The heard rumors of good conditions, and children and adults being made to do nothing but work in fields and factories.

The Jews were sorely misinformed. On the journey there, one Mrs. Schachter went "insane" and screamed about fire. That she saw flames. Her son, in hysterics over his mother's mad ranting, was crying and clinging to her, telling her that there was nothing there... that there was no fire.


(CLICK HERE to view a video about the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. NOTE: View the first video on the list.)

The Jews were terrified at the thoughts of what would surely come. The screams of Mrs. Schachter increased their fear, and when she screamed, they took to beating her until she fell silent. The Jew, at last, arrived at their destination and told to get off the train.

Pages 3 - 22

The book opens with a young boy named Eliezer wanting to learn more about God through his studies of a topic called Kabbalah. Eliezer lives in a Jewish town called Sighet. He asks his father to find him an instructor so he can be taught this subject. His father denies him the opportunity, so Eliezer finds a tutor on his own. He comes across a man named Moishe the Beadle, who is a man who tends to keep to himself. Moishe the Beadle helps him understand by way of asking unanswerable questions how this topic of Kabbalah helps understand the nature of God.
Elie Wiesel at age 15 (see above)

Eliezer has a mother, father, and three sisters. His two older sisters are named Hilda (the eldest) and Bea. His younger sister is named Tzipora. The Nazis are in control during this period of Eliezer's life. One day, despite the lack of fear from the Jews, it was decided that their community would be isolated and partially under control of German officials. These officials were quartered in Jewish homes, and , for the most part, polite to the Jews.

After a while, Hungarian police took the Jews from their town and transported them to places where they were, as it was rumored, be forced to work under harsh conditions. The herded up the Jews, took role call several times, and beat many women, children, elders, and cripples. The Jews were then transported from the ghetto that they were currently living in to the other Jewish ghetto nearby. From there they were to be taken to a place unknown by any of the Jews.
Location of Sighet (near boarder of USSR, Hungary, and Rumania.)

Introduction

Hi. Welcome to Joe Fleshman's blog on the book Night by Elie Wiesel.