In the book Night by Elie Wiesel there is a particular moment that I find to be quite interesting. It is towards the end of the book where, by this time the camp is almost in shambles. As the war goes on, it is unlikely that the SS will be able to sustain the camp’s operations for very long. What happened was that all the prisoners went outside to watch American planes bomb the Buna factory where they are forced to work for the German war machine. What was most interesting to me was when Elie said “ ‘We were not afraid. And yet if a bomb had fallen on the blocks it would have claimed hundreds of inmate’s lives… Every bomb that hit filled us with joy, gave us renewed confidence’ “ (p. 83) What this passage shows is that the people of Auschwitz are so desperate and care so little about their own lives that they are not in the least bit afraid for their safety. All they care about is that as many bombs as possible hit and destroy the factory which by now had become a large symbol of their oppression under the Nazis. Furthermore, the Germans on the other hand were filled with fear according to the prisoners. Perhaps for another raid or perhaps because command would disapprove of slowed down production. Regardless, eventually the prisoners are taken back to their blocks and go back to their now normal lives.
Going forward in the book, the reader can find Elie on an infirmary bed because of a foot wound that he had suffered through months of grueling work. However, it is announced that the camp will be evacuated because of the Soviets which are expected to arrive any day. Elie then meets his father to decide whether they should go with the evacuation or stay in the infirmary since those in the infirmary are being left behind. Before he decides however, Elie is told by another inmate that surely before they leave, the Germans will incinerate however is sick and dying to get rid of evidence and “useless Jews”. Thusly, Elie decides to take his chances and march with the German prisoner convoy. However, in perhaps one of the most sad twists of irony, the inmate was in fact just paranoid and Soviet troops arrived to liberate the camp just two days after Elie and his father had left. In a sense, out of fear Elie and his father leave from what would save them.
At this point I was almost shocked, I desperately wanted to read that Elie and his father would be rescued or they escape or something positive in a book filled only with misery. However, it appears that those hopes were in vain because even worse things were in store for the two who had seemingly endured everything together. Added to Elie and his father’s troubles, many of the prisoners are also out of morale and are literally dropping dead in marches and in the camp.
Going forward in the book, the reader can find Elie on an infirmary bed because of a foot wound that he had suffered through months of grueling work. However, it is announced that the camp will be evacuated because of the Soviets which are expected to arrive any day. Elie then meets his father to decide whether they should go with the evacuation or stay in the infirmary since those in the infirmary are being left behind. Before he decides however, Elie is told by another inmate that surely before they leave, the Germans will incinerate however is sick and dying to get rid of evidence and “useless Jews”. Thusly, Elie decides to take his chances and march with the German prisoner convoy. However, in perhaps one of the most sad twists of irony, the inmate was in fact just paranoid and Soviet troops arrived to liberate the camp just two days after Elie and his father had left. In a sense, out of fear Elie and his father leave from what would save them.
At this point I was almost shocked, I desperately wanted to read that Elie and his father would be rescued or they escape or something positive in a book filled only with misery. However, it appears that those hopes were in vain because even worse things were in store for the two who had seemingly endured everything together. Added to Elie and his father’s troubles, many of the prisoners are also out of morale and are literally dropping dead in marches and in the camp.