Life in the German Concentration camps

During this time, 15 year old Elie Wiesel goes to camp with 15,000 Jews. He was forced to travel long distances and got new clothes. In his travel he saw what would be called darkness and night. He see’s a women that see’s fire. He was separated from his family and to later know that his mother, little sister, and grandma had been killed. In the camps the men had to shave off their hair, given only soup, and were called “a number code”. Women and babies were killed and burned to ashes.

            As Elie and the other Jews realized what is happening to them because of their belief they are frustrated. Elie soon begins to loose faith in god where he then starts to questioning god by saying, “what are you, my God? How do you compare to this stricken mass gathered to affirm to you their faith, their anger, their defiance?” Elie begins to think its God’s fault for everything that is happening. As Elie continues camp, they get tortured and have to run a lot. As the season changed to winter and Germany was covered with snow. Elie had gained an infection on his foot. He had to get surgery immediately. He had a cast around he's foot. However, a couple of days later, the Jews were forced to evacuate the hospital. Elie thought he might get killed so he went on a bloody march with his father to Buchenwald. His wound has reopened during the march and began bleeding. It took a couple of nights and days to get to a railroad station.

As they reached the train station in Gleiwitz, The Jews fell in the snow, when Elie fell on the snow, He found himself crushing his friend, Juliek who was a violinist. Juliek had brought his violin with him. As soon as Juliek gained some air, he began playing his violin. By the next morning, he was died. They were given no food. They boarded a train to Buchenwald, dead people were left to be burned. At every stop to Buchenwald, the Germans threw dead corpses off the train. Elie's father had dysentery, he would eat anything but would come right out, Elie's father silently died of dysentery. Elie was broken that he could not do anything for his father's funeral.

Elie and his father had a very strong bond. During the march to Buchenwald, Elie saw many boys separate from their fathers however Elie never understood why. Elie stayed by his father's side till his father died. "I began to insult his neighbors". (pg 109) Elie protected his father at times when he was at the edge of death. His father tried to make sure. Elie got food so he could stay strong. Throughout the book we saw families breaking apart but Elie and his father always stayed together.

 Elie does not care about anything but food. In early April, as the Jews were going through evacuation, They heard gun shots. All of a sudden soldiers attacked the S.S. officers. Elie quoted, "At six o' clock that afternoon, the first American tank stood at the gates of Buchenwald.". Elie was overwhelmed with gaining his freedom.