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Sighet, Romania

Eliezer and his family live in Sighet Romania. He lives with his parents, and he has 2 older sisters and one younger sister. He studied the Talmud by day and at night he would go to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple. At this point, his religion is the most important part of his life; it is everything to him. Despite belief that the German army would soon be defeated, German troops penetrated Hungarian territory and 3 days later, the army arrived in Sighet.

Symbolic Map: Night by Elie Wiesel

The Large Ghetto

Explanation

Firstly, Jews were prohibited from leaving their houses for 3 days. Then every Jew has to wear the yellow star. Then 2 ghettos were creed, a large one and a small one. Every Jew in Sighet was made to live in the ghettos. The synagogues were closed, but people prayed together. Eliezer's house was located on one of the streete in the large ghetto so they remained in their house. The Jewish people began to embrace the situation, for they were grateful that they were all together and there was a sense of communtity. After about 2 weeks of living this way, Eliezer's father was told that all Jews would be deported to a secret location. "To the last moment, people clung to hope." They hoped that the order would be rescinded, but it was not. At this point, he Jewish people, including Eliezer are optimistic and strong.

The Small Ghetto

This map is structured as progressing downward to reflect the deepening of Eliezer's struggle and conflict in the Holocaust. As well, as his journey progresses, the themes are developed further. At the beginning of the novel, Eliezer's devotion to his religion is extremely prevalent, but at the novel's conclusion, after witnessing incredible cruelty and evil and God not intervening, Eliezer's religion is no longer nearly as significant in his life. The map ends on a different height than it started because Eliezer is a completely different person at the end of the novel, which is solidified by the very last lines of the novel.

A ghetto in Sighet

A group of Jews, Eliezer and his family included, were moved into the small ghetto. The day of their move, Eliezer woke up early to allow himself time to pray. It was chaotic, as the inhabitants were surprised at the arrival of the others. Spirits were generally still quite high, as people began to adjust to the situation.The people believed that the Germans would run out of time to expel them, but they were wrong. Some people even believed that it was a good thing they were being deported, because the fight was approaching. Other joked that they Germans motivation was to steal everyone's valuables while they were away. Even though their fate was unknown, people remained optimistic.

The Train

People boarded the train, 80 in each cattle car. They were handed some bread and a few pails of water. shotThey were threatened tat if anyone escaped, they would be shot. The train stopped briefly in Kaschau on the Czechoslovakian border and the people realized then that they were not staying in Hungary and they were warned by a German Soldier that if one person goes missing, everyone will be shot. A woman among them, Mrs. Schachter had reoccurring hallucinations of a great fire. Much to the anoyance of everyone, she would scream violently and endlessly, to the point were the others would beat her to shut her up.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

When Eliezer arrived at Auschwitz, there was still hope and confidence, as they were told that conditions were good and families would not be separated, but this turned out to be false. Men and women were separated and Eliezer never saw his mother and younger sister ever again. It soon became clear to Eliezer how hellish the concentration camp was. The fire that Mrs. Schachter spoke about was the fire of the crematoria. Eliezer also witnessed Nazis dumping babies into a fire in a ditch. Throughout his time at Auschwitz, Eliezer witnesses and experiences inconceivable horror and evil, including being beaten, being almost starved, being forced to work in terrible conditions with cruel authorities, being whipped and being forced to watch the hanging of other prisoners. It is here, particularly after the hanging of a young boy, that Eliezer's faith in God begins to weaken.

Evacuation

In winter, Eliezer's foot swelled from the cold and it had to be operated on. He was still in the infirmary when it was rumored that the battlefront was approaching and the camp would be evacuated. It was believed that the camp would be bombed after evacuation, So Eliezer and his father decided to evacuate rather than stay in the infirmary. The prisoners were all forced to run all the way to an abandoned village. The journey was extremely difficult, and many of the prisoners perished from being shot from not running fast enough from fatigue. The beginning of the evacuation marked the beginning of Eliezer's descent into even more severe suffering. "It seemed as though an even darker night was waiting for us on the other side."

Evacuation

Synopsis

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed."

In the evacuation, Eliezer noticed how the prisoners mistreated each other. He realized that Rabbi Eliahu's son abandoned him so as to be free of the burden of his father and Eliezer prays to never do what Rabbi Eliahu's son did. When the prisoners arrived at Gleiwitz, they were so desperate to get into the shelter that many people were crushed and killed from everyone struggling, and shoving each other to get into the building. The prisoners were then put on a train, with 100 in each roofless cattle car. At the end of the journey, only 12 had survived in Eliezer's car. This was not just because of how terrible the conditions were, but also because the prisoners were so cruel to each other that people were killed over pieces of bread. Witnessing this deeply affected Eliezer and made him question human nature.

Buchenwald

Night is written by Elie Wiesel to chronicle his experience in the Holocaust. The narrator is Eliezer, a character created to represent Elie. Eliezer's journey is that of Elie, however a few details were altered to create distance between the author and the protagonist. The novel tells of Eliezer's deportation and him and his father's journey as they struggle to survive in concentration camps. The novel adresses themes of religious faith, as Eliezer questions God because of the cruelty he witnesses. Eliezer also questions humanity, as he experiences cruelty not only from the Nazis, but also from the other prisoners, who turn on each other in the face of extreme hardship.

Buchenwald was the destination of the train. It was here that Eliezer's conflict of whether to continue to care for his sick father, or to only worry about himself developped. As well, in this portion of the novel, the theme of faith in humanity is developped. Eliezer is encouraged by another prisoner to abandon his father. Other prisoners beat Eliezer's father ad the doctors refuse to help him. It is here that Eliezer truly understands how low humans can sick, how cruel and evil they can be. He knows of the cruelty of the nazis, but the cruelty of the prisoners towards each other in the face of adversity is almost worse. Eliezer's father dies here, and how all this has affected Eliezer is made clear in this quote: "And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!..."

Liberation

A few months after the death of his father, Buchenwald was liberated and Eliezer was finally free. However, he been forever changed by his experience. "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."

Elie Wiesel as a teenager

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