Night Blog- Elie's Experiences

            The Holocaust is a very tragic and unbelievable part of history. Many people lost their lives while being treated without any humanity. Elie Wiesel, the author of Night goes through many changes during his experience of being a victim of the Holocaust. He has many changes emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

             Emotionally, Wiesel goes through a big change. At the beginning of the Holocaust, he went through very sudden, negative events. He reacted as any normal person would react.  When he was taken from his mother he stated, "There was no time to think." and "I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever" (29). He was shocked and didn't really have time to process what had just happened. He also was a witness of young children being put in the crematorium and states, "Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes... children being thrown into the flames" (32). These two events really change a person. Not being able to have a proper goodbye with a person that you love, and seeing little, innocent babies being thrown into fire pits is traumatizing. However, Elie didn't notice that he was getting used to all of the negativity in a way. Eventually he got so used to it that there was a point where he didn't feel anything at all.

             That point was when his father got slapped. He states, "My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked" (39). His father had gotten slapped because he had asked where the bathroom was. When it happened, Wiesel didn't blink. He was so used to the negativity in the camps that he didn't even react to when his father had gotten hit. Another example of when Elie eventually got used to the pain was during the death march. Wiesel had just had surgery on his foot, and it was not healed when he decided to leave the camp to go with his father to another camp. He states, "Our legs moved mechanically, in spite of us, without us" (87). He got so used to pain through the blows and whips of the Nazis, of the numbness and pain in his foot, that he just didn't feel it anymore. He just kept running. 

          Wiesel also went through a massive change in his beliefs. Before the Holocaust, he was very devout. He met someone named Moishe the Beatle in 1941, when he was 13 years old. Wiesel went to Moishe to learn religion from him. Wiesel states, "Together we would read, over and over again, the same page of the Zohar. Not to learn it by heart but to discover within the very essence of divinity" (15). He was very serious about his religion and would cry whenever he prayed. This al changed when he got to the camps. After seeing very tragic things Wiesel questions God, in a major way. He states, "Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?" (P. 33). The wonders why he should thank him for anything. He didn't feel like there was anything to be thankful for in the camp. He had completely changed when he states, “The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames.” (P. 37). When he says this he means that the student who was devoted to Talmud(religion/belief) had been completely wiped out by the camp. He no longer existed. 

          Physically, Wiesel went through a downhilled change. Before the Holocaust, Wiesel was like any other Jewish boy. He had a home, a family, and loved ones who called him by his name. He was unique in his own way and had many traits. That all changed. At the camps, all prisoners were stripped of their uniqueness. "Their clippers tore out our hair, shaved every hair on our bodies." (35), Wiesel explained. All prisoners were shaved. Elie also says that they got a tattoo with a number. They were called by that number ever since then. Not by names, but by numbers. By the end of the Holocaust Wiesel didn't even recognize himself. In fact, he states "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me" (115). He refers to himself as two different people. The person he was before the Holocaust, and the person he was after. 

'Night'

Night

By: Elie Wiesel

Pages: 0-84

Prompt: 

- Choose 3 images that represent what you have read so far. For each image, write a paragraph as to why you chose that image

          The first image I chose was a ghost. I choose this because that was essentially what would happen to a person that has been in a concentration camp too long. In the book, Wiesel and his father are put in the same camp. They are stripped of all uniqueness and are gives numbers that they are to be called by. After a while Wiesel mentions that the blows ok the soldiers stop hurting at a certain point. I think that was said to represent the fact that he eventually took so much of it that he went numb to the feeling. Other older prisoners in the concentration camp make me think of a ghost becuase they are so pale, worn down, and transparent in a way. 

            The second image I chose was a highway going two different ways. I chose this picture because those two paths represent how people can be separated easily. Wiesel got separated from his mom and sister faster than they could realize it. It also represents that once something is done, you can't undo it, you can't walk back and choose the other road. Wiesel's father decided that they weren't gonna leave their home, so they got taken into the camps. They can't go back. Wiesel decided to go with the rest of the men and march in the evacuation with a bad foot, later realizing that those who stayed were rescued. He can't go back.

            The third picture I chose was a electicuted fence. I chose this because it represents Wiesel's mental state and the inhumanity of the camps and soldiers. When Wiesel and his father arrived at the first concentration camp, they thought they were going to go straight into the fire and get burned. While walking there, Wisel told his father that he was willing to commit suicide and jump on the fence because he didn't want to slowly burn. The fact that Wiesel even had this thought is scary and shows just how much fear the prisoners in the camp had. It also represents the inhumanity of the soldiers and camps because they basically kept the Jews confined like they were dogs. The soldiers beat the prisoners for no reason and hung children that were innocent. It doesn't even sound like it would be possible to do, but it is and it shows the extent of the inhumanity.

AOW Impressions Blog

          This week's AOWs have made me realize a couple things. One of the major and most important things that I learned follows. The Holocaust is still affecting the world today. Mainly survivors and Nazi hunters are those who are having that effect on the world. The Holocaust might have been something that happened in the past, but it is something that will forever affect the present and future. 

          Nazi hunters are still active and out there. One Nazi hunter in particular thinks he might have the last active case. The Nazi that was found was most likely a guard at a concentration camp. He is currently 92 years old and is living in New York. This shows me that Nazi hunters want to get complete justice for all of the victims of the Holocaust. Even though it happened quite a while ago, people still remember it, honor the victims, and hope it doesn't happen again. 

          Holocaust survivors want to make sure that what happened to them, doesn't happen to other people. In one of the articles mentioned that Holocaust survivors are relating to the refugees from Syria. They are trying to remind the government that history is constantly repeating itself and that there is a chance that a present day- version of the Holocaust may uprise. The survivors are standing up for the refugees and helping their voices be heard. 

Butterfly Project

"Dusk"
By: Anonymous

The dusk flew in on the wings of evening

From whom do you bring me a greeting?

Will you kiss my lips for him?

How I long for the place where I was born!



Perhaps only you, tranquil dusk,

know of the tears shed in your lap

from eyes that long to see

the shade of palms and olive trees

in the land of Israel.

Perhaps only you will understand

this daughter of Zion,

who weeps

for her small city on the Elbe
but is afraid ever to return to it.



I commented on Evie's Blog, Michael's Blog, Diana's Blog, and Mia's Blog.

Berlin Memorial Activity

                        

             The most important thing I learned through this activity was the extent as to how much the Jews were discriminated. I knew before that the Jews were taken from their homes and forced to work in concentration camps that would starve the workers. What I didn't know was all the other little, vital things that Hitler took from them. It started off with the Jews not being able to be in a certain group/club and not being able to work certain jobs, but it got far worse then that. Jews were losing drivers licenses, banned from owning jewelry, and prohibited from owning a radio. There was a point where they basically did not have a right to milk and food.

             I think that the Berlin memorial monument was built to honor all of the Jews that during during the time of Hitler's exuberance in Germany. I also believe it is set to honor all of throes who died because of the laws that supported the idea of antisemitism. There are so many of the gray blocks that it represents the thousands of Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. 

             There were certain years that had more laws than passed than usual. I noticed that in the year 1938, there were a lot of antisemitism laws passed in Germany. During 1938, German expansionism increased a lot, and preparations for war at home grew a lot as well. This led to the passing of many laws that impacted the Jews greatly. The Jewish people lost the right to any entertainment and lost driving privileges. Another year I noticed that had numerous antisemitism laws passed was 1942. In 1942 the Nazis had full control of Europe. They also had an ongoing streak of winning battles. This empowered the Nazis and Hitler more, which is why there would be more antisemitism laws passed during that time. These new laws included the withdrawal of milk. 

             I think that the top two restrictions I would have the most trouble with are the banishment of owning a book and the withdrawal of a radio. I would have trouble with those two because a book and radio are escapes. When you are reading a really good book, you forget what is happening around you, what time it is, and where you are. You get engulfed in the book. The same goes for a radio. Listening to music can make you forget all of the negative stuff around you. Without those basic escapes, I would probably go crazy. This is sort of like how Anne Frank used her diary as an escape.