How Night by Elie Wiesel Helped People Connect to the Horrors of the Holocaust

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Words, the written language, a way to express feelings, emotions, experiences, and all that your mind can recall from life or fantasy. Although many have heard of the terrors faced by the Jews in countries that were under German control during World War II, few have stepped back and really thought about the weight of what really happened to the people in the concentration camps. I believe Night helped people connect to what really happened. This is an actual person's life, their story, poured out onto pages that reflect not only facts but his deepest pains and fears. While recounting his physical discomforts and many hardships, he also gives a viewpoint for our imaginations. The best way I have been introduced to how it would even remotely feel to experience some of that strife, was when one of my teachers said to me, "Imagine your family and friends that you love so much. Now line them up according to gender. Now imagine that all the people you love in the line of your opposite gender just walk away. They don't get to say goodbye, you don't get to tell them you love them one last time, they're just gone forever and you never get to see them again." Imagine the loss and emptiness that you would feel. The people who lived through this must have felt so many emotions. Although I can't say that that one instance could even scrape the surface of the animosity that those people faced, just the fact that I can put myself in those shoes could open up a door of understanding. It is important to try and understand how this felt to other people, to remember through a person's point of view. It connects us to the past, helps us as part of the human race recall our mistakes, and build a better future. For example, on page 65 when he recalls ... ... middle of paper ... ...f him,"...his son had seen him losing ground, sliding back to the rear of the column." This is written by Elie under the belief that he recognized what the boy was thinking or even that he maybe saw the boy looking at his father. Had we been able to hear the boy's story, things might have been construed very differently. Maybe the boy hadn't seen his father, maybe he had but he was delusional at the time. Unfortunately, we will never know for sure. This makes Elie's account of what happened even more important. Imagine if we didn't know about any of the awful things that the Nazis had done to the Jews. In conclusion, there are many reasons that Night is important. It is critical for us to remember, learn from, expand off of, and validate this story to enrich our lives and provide sustenance to build on for the future. How can you move forward without looking back?

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