The quote that stuck with me trough the book was one not so much about the emotions that can with the Holocaust, but more of the actions that people at this time must do. " 'Heil Hitler,' Rudy said. 'Heil Hitler,' She responded, straightening taller behind the counter. 'And you?' She glared at Liesel, who promptly gave her a 'heil Hitler' of her own.
I chose this quote because as I mentioned before, it was one that stuck with me throughout the book. Not the direct text of the quote, but what the quote means to me. I understand it as, Liesel does not agree with the Nazi party and how they view and treat Jews, however, to ensure her safety she says a 'hail Hitler'. Actions like these, ones that the Germans do so that they wouldn't angry the Nazi party and ensure they are safe. In the case of the Hubermanns, they are people that do these actions out of an obligation to fulfill their duties as Germans, the leaders of the Nazi party. They are not doing things such as saying, "hail Hitler" to every German they see because they believe in the actions of Hitler, they were doing it to keep themselves and their family safe from the cruel acts of punishment. In the quote and numerous times in the book we can find examples of the hesitation of acting towards the German soldiers, or any other German. With Lisel and the Hubermanns it
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It keeps a suspense throughout the time that Max is with
An estimated 11 million people died in the Holocaust. 6 million were Jews. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel tells his story as a Holocaust survivor. Throughout his book he describes the tremendous obstacles he overcame, not only himself, but with his father as well. The starvation and cruel treatment did not help while he was there. Elie makes many choices that works to his advantage. Choice plays a greater factor in surviving Auschwitz.
A statement from the nonfiction novella Night –a personal account of Elie Wiesel’s experience during the Holocaust—reads as follows: “How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou. Almighty, Master of the universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end up in the furnaces” (67). War is a concept that is greatly looked down upon in most major religions and cultures, yet it has become an inevitable adversity of human nature. Due to war’s inhumane circumstances and the mass destruction it creates, it has been a major cause for many followers of Christianity, Judaism, and other religions to turn from their faith. Followers of religion cannot comprehend how their loving god could allow them to suffer and many devout
Night by Elie Wiesel was a memoir on one of the worst things to happen in human history, the Holocaust. A terrible time where the Nazi German empire started to take control of eastern Europe during WWII. This book tells of the terrible things that happened to the many Jewish people of that time. This time could easily change grown men, and just as easily a boy of 13. Elie’s relationship with God and his father have been changed forever thanks to the many atrocities committed at that time.
In this world, people go through the process of dealing with both empathy and malice. As a matter of fact, almost everyone has been through times where maybe they feel understood by some and misunderstood by others. Specifically, in the book “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, a character named Madame Schachter goes through the experience of fellow Jews displaying empathy and malice during in result to her behavior. Along with this, the reactions reveal just how inconsiderate we can act when in uncomfortable situations. One example of the malice and lack of sympathy they provided her was during the cattle car ride to Auschwitz. During this ride, she went a bit insane due to the devastating separation of her family. Elie explains, “She received several blows to the head, blows that could have been
Though beaten down, the prisoners had creative ways of coping with their confinement and of sustaining themselves, such as giving gifts to one another, and by praying. For instance, the narrator states, “My father had a present for me: a half ration of bread, bartered for something he had found at the depot, a piece of rubber that could be used to repair a shoe” (Wiesel 114 - 117). To put in other words, Wiesel’s father provided him a gift of bread and a piece of rubber that could be used to repair a shoe. This is significant, as the quote illustrates a creative way that prisoners cope with their confinement and of sustaining themselves by allowing themselves and others to enjoy giving and receiving gifts. In addition, another example would
Adriana Throughout the narrative Night, the author Elie Wiesel, a young teen who was very confident in his faith, experiences multiple hardships that cause him to question what he once believed to be true. His religion stayed strong until it became obvious to him that God was causing his people to suffer. When Eliezer was just a young boy at fifteen years old, he was extremely interested in Judaism, he wanted to learn everything he possibly could. However, his father did not want him to study the Cabbala until he was thirty years old. Eliezer could not wait this long, so he sought wisdom from a man named Moshe Beadle.
This is where Liesel steals a book from a massive community celebration, where books, and other things, were burned as a form of censorship that went against the Party’s beliefs, which could be anything from cultural, religious or political opposition (Book Burning). “Any materials from such time --newspapers, posters, books, flags-- and any found propaganda of our enemies should be brought forward.” (Page 102) Many great works of Jewish authors and even American authors were burned. The point of the book burnings was to erase any form of non-German knowledge and to only allow ideas that supported the Nazi Party. In the book, Liesel steals a book from the fire, which turns out to be a Jewish book. The was caught for stealing by the mayor 's wife, but was easily forgiven and was even allowed to read books in her private library. If she was caught by someone else, she could have been turned over to the authorities, and she and her family could have been gotten in
Elie Wiesel once said, “Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.” The book Night is a tragic story written by a holocaust survivor. It includes many of the things Jews endured in concentration camps, including the fact that many young women and children were burned in a crematorium simply because the Germans did not see them as fit enough to work. In Wiesel’s novel Night, Wiesel uses the motifs fear, silence, and optimism.
Liesel’s mom leaves her with foster parents because she wishes to protect her from the fate she is enduring. The words Paula, Liesel’s mom, uses go against Hitler because she is a communist which resulted in her being taken away and Liesel to lose her mother and experience the loss of her. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her mother’s disappearance which is caused by the words she openly uses that contradicts Hitler.
When people are placed in difficult, desolate situations, they often change in a substantial way. In Night by Elie Wiesel, the protagonist, Elie, is sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where he undergoes many devastating experiences. Due to these traumatic events, Elie changes drastically, losing his passion in God, becoming disconnected with his father, and maturing when it matters most.
This poem is related to night and the idea of not giving up when all seems lost. The people of Sighet never lost hope until the end, sometimes they are ever too optimistic, “Every encounter filled us with joy-yes joy: Thank God! You are still alive!” (pg. 35). When Elie thought about giving up, dying, whether it be in the last few months of Buna, on the death march to Gleiwitz, or the trains to Buchenwald, he did not give up because of his father, which motivated him to keep on surviving and not give up. And what if he were dead, as well? I called out to him. No response. I would have screamed if I could have. He was not moving. Suddenly, the evidence overwhelmed me: there was no longer any reason to live, any reason to fight.” Elie without
I think he felt that if he got your forgiveness then he could die in peace for all the bad he had done. A lot of Jewish people had died due to what Hitler ordered everyone in Germany army to do. Albert Speer was a high-ranking Nazi member and he was also Hitler’s minister and even though he knew he was going to jail no matter what was said at the Nuremberg trials he had confessed to all the things he had done. According to Speer “My moral guilt is not subject to the statute of limitations, it cannot be erased in my lifetime” (245). In making this comment, Speer knew that even though he was punished with twenty years of imprisonment that they only punished his legal guilt. Speer was haunted by the things he had done and he knew that he did not deserve anyone’s forgiveness. Even Speer, Hitler’s minister, knew that no one in the German army deserved anyone’s sympathy or
If the “killers” of the Holocaust were not put in the situations they were in, many of them would not have committed the crimes they did; whether they were killing the Jews or just delivering the Jews to camps, they were part of the extermination of innocent people. Most of them were killing in fear, they didn’t want to be persecuted and murdered so they made it look like they were for the Nazi party. Anne Frank once said, “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” I believe that this quote, which is saying that some people do bad things but that does not mean they are bad people, many are doing things out of fright, hoping it will save their lives, is very true. All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein which is about a Jewish family, mainly on the little girl in the family who goes through the unimaginable during the Holocaust, popped into mind when I heard the quote. Also two short stories called “Tiengen” by Maurice Meier and “Rescuers” by Irene Opdyke came to mind when I read this quote.
Many people, such as Liesel, conform to societal expectations in public while keeping their rebellion in private most of the time. They do this to survive in a culture that persecutes anybody that they disagree with or disagrees with them. For example, “‘I hate the Führer,’ she said. ‘I hate him.’… ‘Don’t ever say that!’… ‘You can say that in our house,’ he said, looking gravely at Liesel’s cheek. ‘But you never say it on the street, at school, at the BDM, never!’’ (p. 115-116) This was when Liesel found out that the Nazis took away her mother for being a communist and was naturally upset. Her foster father, Hans Hubermann, slapped her for saying that, at
...urvivors crawling towards me, clawing at my soul. The guilt of the world had been literally placed on my shoulders as I closed the book and reflected on the morbid events I had just read. As the sun set that night, I found no joy in its vastness and splendor, for I was still blinded by the sins of those before me. The sound of my tears crashing to the icy floor sang me to sleep. Just kidding. But seriously, here’s the rest. Upon reading of the narrators’ brief excerpt of his experience, I was overcome with empathy for both the victims and persecutors. The everlasting effect of the holocaust is not only among those who lost families÷, friends,