The Absence of Knowledge

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The Absence of Knowledge

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into a long night… never shall I forget that smoke…” Night doesn’t always represent the absence of light, but is a symbol for the absence of knowledge. Elie Wiesel’s book Night is a true account of what the Holocaust did, not only to many Jews but to humanity as well. The night was dark, flooded with death and decay, in the silent gray sky, secreting all that happened in Germany at that time. Crematories filled the night sky with the horrific odor of burning flesh, searing your nostrils. In this night, a concealed operation was occurring. Millions of Jews, including Elie’s family suffered horrible deaths of incineration, being shot to death, lack of food, and terrible death marches. This book was titled Night because of the worlds ignorance towards the slaughtering in Germany by the Nazis.

Elie and his family were transported by train; cramped, starved, and fearful of death. These massive trains carried thousands of women, children and men to an unknown destination, leaving them in the dark, without windows or fresh air they were living in an everlasting night. Many Jews went crazy and tore their hair out from living in a cramped space. They were not given food or water for many days so they became dehydrated and desperate for just a bite of hard bread. There was no sanitation in the boxcars. Not having bathrooms and sinks made the train cars reek of waste. Many people went crazy like the woman in Elie’s car who had images of smoke and fire, screaming and yelling till she got knocked out. Because the train cars were so dark and dim it gave everyone within them a long night, full of fear.

Gleiwitz concentration camp was one of the nastiest camps he had been to. Elie Wiesel worked endless nights, trying to stay alive, and keep his father alive. Many Jews were worked to death by hard labor and no food. His father was getting weak, so Elie gave him extra rations of food to keep him living.

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