Elie Wiesel and his Father in Night – the Impact of War on Relationships

Elie Wiesel and His Father: A Bond Amidst Atrocities

In the Holocaust, 6 million European Jews were murdered because of their race to German. Hitler treated the Jews harshly because the Jews were accused of their racial character. The group of Jews who are homosexuals and gypsies was persecuted. According to the memoir “Night,” written by Elie Wiesel, Jews were sent to concentration camps in wagons with less oxygen and leftover food. Elie bore witness to Holocaust. He witnessed the deaths of Jews when he was 15 years old.

He was a Holocaust survivor. The three ways that war affects the individual and society are losing faith, caring for friends or family, and identity.

Losing Faith in the Midst of Darkness

As a result of the war, it affects the individual by losing faith. Elie, the main character, loses faith in God by going to the concentration camp. The camp leads him to lose faith by destroying his belief in God. Elie loses faith because of the concentration camp and family or humanity. The concentration camp causes him to lose faith because he discovered gas chambers, cemeteries, and hangings of people. Family or humanity causes Elie to lose faith because he witnessed his father’s death by seeing him beaten up by the Jews and Nazis, and he also witnessed a son and a father fighting for a piece of bread, so when he was witnessing that situation. It leads him to lose faith because it causes him to stop believing in the goodness of God. “ Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God […]. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself (34).” The imagery “ Never shall…” is a phrase that is used from the Bible. The phrase is to represent that God is a hero. Elie says, “Never shall…” because he had witnessed the deaths of the people of and the hangings of people, it affects his faith because he feels like God is not helping him. Again, the concentration camp causes Elie’s faith loss.

Self-Preservation in the Face of Loss

As a result of war, it affects the individual to care for his family or friends. Elie, the main character, only looks out for himself. He was trying to look out for his father, but he was forced not to look out for him. In her father’s death, Elie was concerned and forced not to scream for his father. “My father had huddled near me, draped in his blanket, shoulders laden with snow, and what if he were dead, as well? I called out to him. No response. I would have screamed if I could have (98). ‘Leave him alone. Can’t you see that he’s dead ?’ ‘No!’ I yelled. ‘He’s not dead! Not yet (99)!” The prediction “What if he were dead…?” shows that Wiesel was concerned about his father and worried that his father would die. The prediction “…if I could have” shows that Elie was forced not to care about his father’s death and also forced not to look out for him. So, Elie’s only choice is to look out for himself and not worry about his father’s death. “ Leave him alone” shows that the gravediggers forced Elie to not do anything to his father. Elie was trying to express to his father that he cared for him. Again, Elie’s only choice is to look out for himself and not worry about his father’s death.

Identity: From Citizens to Exiles

As a result of war, it affects society by their identity. The Jews had to sit in the crowded train because they were expelled from Sighet. They went to Auschwitz on a crowded train. The Jews were also forced to get off the train when it crossed the Hungarian border. After they got off the train, they had to get on the truck that took them to a forest. Once they arrived at the forest, they had to dig huge trenches. The Jews were identified as expelled from Sighet, so they had to go to Auschwitz on a crowded train. A few days after they left Sighet, they were all forgotten, and it became a rumor that they were in Galicia. “And then one day, all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet.[…] Crammed into cattle cars by the Hungarian police, they cried silently. […]. The deportees were quickly forgotten. A few days after they left, it was rumored that they were in Galicia […]. The train with the deportees had crossed the Hungarian border […]. The metaphor “ crammed into cattle cars” shows that the Jews were crowded in the car, and in metaphor, Jews are referring to large farm animals. “ Expelled” shows that the Jews were kicked out of Sighet and sent to Auschwitz. So, the Jews are sent to Auschwitz on the train because they are expelled from Sighet.

The Far-Reaching Consequences of War

The war could affect an individual or society through their identity, caring for family or friends, and faith loss. Of the war affecting the society’s identity, the Jews were expelled from Sighet and transported to Auschwitz on a train. By affecting the individual’s caring for family or friends, Elie was forced not to care for his father’s death. He was forced to leave his father died, but in reality, he was really concerned about his father’s death. By affecting the individual’s faith loss, the camp leads Elie to lose faith by destroying his belief in God. War, in general, can affect anyone’s life for some reasons. War is a dramatic event in life. It can lead to physical pain and anxiety.

References:

1. Elie Wiesel’s memoir “Night”: Wiesel, E. (1960). Night. Hill and Wang.

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