Night- By Elie Wiesel

“Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.”    – Elie Wiesel, Night

During World War II, Elie Wiesel was a Jewish teenager living in the town of Sighet, Transylvania. He was working on devoting his life to his religion when the Nazis occupied Sighet, forcing all Jewish people to live in ghettos. Not too long after this transition, Elie and the Jews were taken to Auschwitz. Split up from his mother and sisters, Elie and his father are soon overcome with the terror of living in a concentration camp. Elie begins to question his relationship with God, wondering how someone he previously had devoted his life to could possibly put him in the situation he was currently in. Night, is a true story narrated by Elie Wiesel himself, describing the horrors of life as a Jewish prisoner and how he confronted himself during this time of hardship.

 

My Opinion: I have read many books about World War II and concentration camps. When we discussed the book as a class, a lot of people were saying that reading Night made them get the chills or that their stomach hurt just thinking about it. I didn’t experience any of that because I had been exposed to books like this before. However, this is such a personal account of what happened behind the walls of Auschwitz that I would often find myself feeling slightly sick. This is a graphic book. Not like in a gory bloodbath way, but it describes things happening to innocent people that no one should ever have to see or hear about.  Reading Night made me realize that the German Occupation was so much more than putting Jewish people to work or killing them. It was about taking away identities and destroying lives, many times giving the prisoners nothing to want to live for. Sadly, death was sometimes even welcomed. I would highly suggest that you read Night by Elie Wiesel.  It opens up your eyes in so many ways.   Photo Creds: http://us.macmillan.com/night-1/ElieWiesel