Night: Did God Really Die?

2 Pages 537 Words

HOLOCAUST. What comes to mind? War, blood, pain, etc. Is this enough to loose faith in God. Some may say no and others may disagree. The truth is that one can’t really know unless he/she experiences the atrocious nazi camps that existed. Elie Wiesel is one survivor of the nazi camps. He lived to tell us about his inspirational story. When the camps were liberated in 1945, Wiesel was sent to a French orphanage (Elie 2). Elie Wiesel made a vow of silence and eventually Francois Mauriac influenced Wiesel to write of his experience in the concentration camps (2). His book, Night was published in 1958 ( Elie 1 ‘Timeline’).Elie was a religious boy before he was deported to Auschwitz. His life revolved around family, religious study, community and God (Elie 1). In the beginning of Night, Elie is approached by a man who was known as Beadle.
“Why do you weep when you pray?” he asked me as though he had known me for a long time. “ I don’t know why,” I answered greatly di-
sturbed. The question had never entered my head. I wept because- because
of something inside me that felt the need for tears. That was all I
knew (Wiesel 2).
This boy is so young but aware that his prayers must be sincere. He is so religious that he asks questions about God that a normal child would not ask.
Arriving in the concentration camp Elie and his father are separated from his mother and sisters. He was not aware that it would be the last time he would see them. Elie witnessed the deaths of babies. The deaths of innocent people. There was one occasion where he saw many Jews recite the prayer of the dead to themselves. It was then that his faith began to diminish.
“For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? […] What had I to thank Him for? (Wiesel 31).
Throughout the book there are a few more instances where a person can see that he has lost most of his faith. Perhaps one of the most pow...