Chapter 9 Night

Elie stayed in Buchenwald until 4/1/45. Nothing mattered to him after his dad died.

On 4/5/45 the Jews thought the war was close to an end. The Jews were evacuated in blocks of 10 per day. On 4/10 Elie was still in camp and very hungry. Three days after the liberation Elie become sick for a few days but he had survived.

Elie is a survivor. He is now free but has lost his family which was very important to him. He is now alone but he was a survivor.

Chapter 8 Night

As Elie and his dad got off the train they wanted to shower and sleep. Elie got very angry when his dad asked him to please let him die. Elie showed his dad the corpses of those who had died. His father was ready to die. The sirens then sounded and the men could move into the barracks. Elie moved in and could not see his dad. Elie felt ashamed for leaving him. Elie found hid dad and gave him coffee and stayed insdide while elie went to get food. When Elie came back in his dad had no food since he was sick and on the verge of death.

After three days they got to shower and the sick people were last.Elie;\’s dad told him where he had buried the gold and silver in the cellar. People began to beat Elie’s dad as he grew weaker and weaker. No one would help his dad since in the concentration camp every man looks out for himself. When Elie woke up on 1/29/45 his dad had been taken out during the night. Elie did not have any more tears and felt free at last.

I know how Elie felt when his dad was so sick and could not take care of himself. It was hard for Elie to take care of and protect his dad. Once he died Elie was very sad but he knew his dad was in a better place and did not have to deal with life in the concentration camp any more.

Chapter 7 Night

It is very cold as they the group travels on the train. Elie’s dad looked dead and the grave diggers tried to throw him off the train. Elie was able to get him to breathe and open his eyes. The grave diggers left him alone. However the grave diggers did throw 20 people off the train and left them on the snowy ground.

The trained continued to move. The people of the train stayed close together to stay warm and ate snow to survive. When the train arrived at Buchenwald those alive got off and the dead were left on the train.

I know Elie was very afraid when his dad looked like he had died that night on the train in the cold. Elie fights for life not only for himself but also his dad. They need each other for comfort and the drive to survive.

Chapter 6 Night

Elie and the group continued to march fast in an attempt to stay warm. Elie began to feel like two pieces- his body and his soul. He kept moving so he would not die. Elie’s father’s presence kept Elie from giving up. The group marched 20 kilometers before they stopped at an abandoned village. No one wanted to fall asleep in the snow for fear they would not ever wake up. They had marched to Gleiwitz which was enclosed in barbed wire.

Elie was able to find his dad as they got ready to rest. On the third day the left barracks were divided into two groups- the weak and those who walked well. Elie and his dad stayed together in the group that could walk well. These men were loaded onto a cattle car in groups of 100 on the train.

It would be very hard to have to do everything the guards instructed and be able to move locations as directed. It is good that Elie and his dad got to stay together. Together they were able to help and motivate each other. They looked out for one another.

Chapter 5 Night

Summer came to an end and it was Rosh Hoshanah and a time to celebrate. Elie found his dad all bent over. On Yom Kippur most men did not fast as usual because fasting would lead to a faster death. Elie and his dad are no longer in the same block. Elie was moved to the construction group. The doctor saw each of them and they both passed his examine.

Winter began and Elie’s foot began to swell. He soon could not feel his foot on his leg. Elie was being moved in the snow and had to march 56 blocks when the gate of the camp opened. Elie continued to march as instructed even though he was in pain.

I can imagine how hard it was for Elie to march with a foot he could not feel. His desire to survive and live was very strong. He did what he needed to due to keep the guards from bothering him. Elie wanted to live.

Chapter 4 Night

The men were able to shower and received new clothes and then placed into two tents. Elie and the men remained in the tents for three days as a quarantine period. Buna workers said it was a good camp and that you did not want to be assigned to the construction group. Elie got to work close to his dad in a warehouse where they counted bolts, bulbs, and other things. Elie earned a blanket, wash bowl, and a bar of soap. Elie met two brothers whose parents had been exterminated. Elie’s father was being called a loafer and beaten by the guards. Elie practiced with his father to help him stay in step with the group. His dad did not get any better at marching with the group.

Elie was sent to the dentist to have a gold crown removed. He pretended to be sick so they would not remove it. A guard told Elie he wanted his gold crown. The guard was distracted by a young polish girl who was half naked. There was an air raid that lasted about 90 minutes. During the air raid a prisoner stole something. As his punishment he was hung in front of the larger group. Many men were hung. One night after three executions the soup for dinner tasted like corpses to Elie.

Elie for the first time was starting to see that his dad could not keep up with the group. As a good son he keeps trying to help him. I can understand the strong bond between Elie and his dad. Elie feels safe with his dad around. However, age and the rough conditions are taking their toll on Elie’s dad. Death was a daily occurrence at Buna.

Elie arrived at Birkenau with his family. The SS men divided the group into men and woman and each group went in a different direction. That was the last time Elie saw his mother and sisters. Elie stayed close to his dad and held his hand in the beginning. The group of men was moving toward the flames. A male stranger spoke to Elie and asked his age and he responded 15. The stranger told him to say 18 and not 15 when asked. The stranger asked his dad his age and he responded 50. The stranger told him to answer 40 when asked. When asked his age Elie responded 18 and was sent to the left. He hoped his dad would also come to the left. When his dad said he was 40 he too was sent to the left. Elie was happy. The group that went to the left was instructed to strip and keep their belt and shoes. Once naked all of their hair was shaved off, they showered, ran, and then to the barracks. The men were given prison looking clothes of all sizes. Elie and his dad were moved to Auschwitz where working makes you feel free. Also each man was tattooed with a person number. Elie was number A 7713.
The men saw people being taken to the crematorium and killed. The thought was so bad that often Elie thought it all was a dream. Elie often thought about his mother and sisters. They remained at this place for three weeks before moving to Buna.
It did not take Elie very long to realize that this trip was not going to be a vacation. I can understand why he wanted to stay close to his dad for comfort and security. I know he missed his mother and sister and is not sure he will ever see them again. I was glad that Elie and his dad followed the direction from the stranger about their age. This hint kept them from being sent to the line moving toward the crematorium. I can not imagine how bad it felt when they were told to strip and they could only keep their belt and shoes. All they really had left was their self and each other. Having a number tattooed on your skin is like marking cattle. Elie and his family have been treated like livestock from when they were first put into the cattle train car.

Chapter 2 Night

The cattle car with eighty people was a very full and tight space. The Jews traveled for two days before the train stopped, then were informed they were under the control of the German army. During this stop the army men asked for all gold, silver, and watches. The trip continued. The cattle car had a sick woman who was with her son. The woman continued to scream about fire and flames. People on the train hit her and tied her down and gagged her. Many times during the trip she screamed about fire and flames.

The trained stopped next in Auschwitz. Here the Jews were given water. They were told that they were going to a labor camp which had good conditions. The train began to move again until arriving at the work camp- Birkenau. The lady began to scream fire again. This time everyone could see flames and smell burning flesh. They were all ordered off the train.

The people in the cattle car were not sure where they were going. They continued to think that the work camp had good conditions until they arrived. Once they arrived they saw the flames and smelt burning skin that must have been an awful shock. The lady they all thought was crazy was seeing what was to come.

The Jews being loaded into the cattle cars

Chapter 1 Night

The story begins in 1941 in a town called Sighet in Transylvania and Elie was 13. He wanted to learn about Kabbalah which ventures into an area of mysticism. A very poor man named Moshe the Beadle helped him. Elie believed Moshe would help him enter eternity. Moshe was a foreigner and was deported by the Hungarian police. The train and Moshe disappeared. Weeks and months went by and life got back to normal in Sighet. One day went Elie went to Synagogue Moshe was sitting nearby. He told Elie what happened when the deportees crossed into Poland and the Gestapo took over. Moshe was able to escape after being shot in the leg and left to die. Moshe shared what he had seen. He saw the deportees dig huge trenches, babies tossed on the air for target practice, and they shot the deportees as they approached the trench. No one believed Moshe. It was the end of 1942 and life was back to normal until the spring of 1944.

In 1944 it was apparent that the Germans were approaching. The Germans came and stayed with families in Sighet, even the Jewish families. During Passover the Jews were restricted to one of two ghettos inside of Sighet. Life slowly returned to normal within the ghetto. One morning the Jewish police ordered everyone out of their house, a part of the group was taken away. Elie’s family remained until the rest of the group would be taken. It was only a few days before they were ordered into the street under the hot sun. They were moved to the smaller ghetto. Some people thought that when they moved the next time it might be a vacation. Elie’s family was deported on a Saturday, the Sabbath. People were placed in cattle cars with eighty in each car. The wheels began to roll and they were on our way.

The chapter was good when it captured the daily life before the Jews were deported. It showed how the people were very optimistic. They forgot the bad things like those deported first. They also thought their travels in the cattle cars might be like a vacation. They gave up everything they had because the Hungarian police made them. Instead of dying they followed directions not sure what the future would hold. They should’ve listened to Moshe.