Elie Wiesel: A Survivor of the Holocaust

Elie Wiesel: A Survivor of the Holocaust

Elie Wiesel wrote in a mystical and existentialistic manner to depict his life as a victim of the holocaust in his many novels. Such selections as ‘Night’ and ‘The Trial of God’ reveal the horrors of the concentration camps and Wiesel's true thoughts of the years of hell that he encountered. This hell that Wiesel wrote about was released later in his life due to his shock, sadness, and disbelief. Elie Wiesel spoke in third person when writing his stories. Unlike other Holocaust stories, Wiesel gave not only the facts but also the horrific and realistic feelings of a victim in the camps. All of Elie Wiesel’s novels were based on his life.

At the age of 15, Eliezer Wiesel and his family were placed into concentration camps in Auschwitz. Wiesel accompanied his family for most of the time in the camps. He parted from his mother and sister Tzipora early in life and lived with his father during the years of the Holocaust. During his time in the concentration camps, Wiesel endured tons of pain. When he first reached the concentration camp Eliezer Wiesel witnessed the most disturbing thing. Tons of babies were being thrown into the air and shot to death. “As they marched closer and closer to the ditch, Eliezer decided that rather then let himself be thrown into the fire, he would try to break away and throw himself against the electrified fence that surrounded the camp.” (Pariser 23) It was at that point that Elie and his father knew that they were going to experience the worst years of their life. On April 11, 1945, the two were free from the concentration camp. He was silent for many years and chose not to speak of his suffering. Eventually he spoke and made a pact that he would never be silent again. Eliezer Wiesel stated, "And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.” (Pariser 40) And Mr. Wiesel wasn’t.

Among those novels that Wiesel wrote, the one that captured the most attention was Night. Night was one of Eliezer Wiesel’s greatest novels. Night is the true story of his experiences in the concentration camps. Some of the main characters in Night were real people in Wiesel’s life. Wiesel is called by his first name Elie in this story. In the beginning of the story, Elie speaks of his Jewish mysticism teacher Moshe the Beadle who is a poor Jew i...

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...that some credit Night as the book that altered the attitudes of people in America about the Holocaust.

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