They thrived, then cried, and died. They were dehumanized, and so was society. Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis attempted to annihilate all European Jews. This systematic and planned attempt to murder European Jewry is known as the Holocaust. There were actions taken at the time to show that people were anti-Semitic; hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group. Anti-semitism affected people psychologically, new laws were created, more regulations, and guidelines, while the goal of Nazi propaganda that targeted Jews was to dehumanize Jews and normalize hate. Empathy and engagement with mankind is what makes us human, and society shows that by embracing indifference, we would betray our humanity.
Nicholas
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He is a respected member of the Jewish community in Sighet, Transylvania, and is deeply religious. Shlomo is a kind and caring father who is deeply devoted to his family and community. He is a hardworking businessman who provides for his family and is respected by his peers. As the book progresses, Shlomo and Elie are sent to concentration camps, where they face unimaginable horrors. Despite the hardships and suffering he endures, Shlomo remains a source of strength and hope for Elie. He tragically died in Buchenwald concentration camp, and his death marks a turning point in Elie’s life. Shlomo was Elie’s sanity, he made sure he kept him going. This was Elie’s only thing to live for anymore, as he wanted to give up on humanity and hope. Elie shared briefly, “My father had a present for me: a half ration of bread, bartered for something he had found at the depot, a piece of rubber that could be used to repair a shoe” (Wiesel 73). This quote from Night by Elie Wiesel highlights the extreme conditions that Elie and his father faced in the concentration camp. Despite the harsh reality of their situation, Shlomo’s small act of kindness in sharing his food with Elie demonstrates the love and care that he had for his son. Elie’s appreciation for the food also shows how basic needs like food became a luxury in the concentration camp. Although Gerda Weissmann is a great example of proving empathy and engagement with mankind is what
It consisted that the Germans selected the most fit. Eliezer and Shlomo had to daily confront the injustice of maybe one day be separated. He is there exposed to the deepest inhumanity of which man is capable
Later on, by the end of the book, his father, Shlomo died from physical abuse and Elie was left alone. Elie had survived the Holocaust and
Primarily, family ties are crucial between Elie and Shlomo as they can obtain necessities for survival from one another. Throughout the memoir, it is evident that the Jewish prisoners lack quantities of essentials, such as food and liquids. Despite this, Elie and Shlomo, being a family, look out for one another to ascertain their survival. Thus, Elie and Shlomo find a way to provide such vital needs for each other. For instance, “(Elie’s) father had a present for (him): a half ration of bread, bartered for something he had found at the depot, a piece of rubber that could be used to repair a shoe” (73).
Shlomo’s selflessness demonstrates the incredible strength of the bond between father and son. Wiesel’s survival gives Shlomo a reason to live despite the brutal conditions he has to
Unfortunately, Shlomo was talking while an SS officer was doing roll call and told him to be quiet, but continued to ask Elie for food and drink. So, the SS officer smashed his club into the father’s head for talking and Elie’s head for being the closest to him. Even when the Germans were on the run, they had to give one last shot on the prisoners, so the SS soldiers decided to blow up some of the camp while prisoners were sleeping inside of their
The prisoners have experienced the collapse of compassion when they met Mrs. Schächter on the train. The collapse of compassion is a theory that states that people turn off their compassion when more than one person is suffering. Firstly, Elie experienced the collapse of compassion when he saw Mrs. Schäcter on the train. The autobiography, Night, states, “She was in her fifties and her ten-year-old son was with her, crouched in a corner. Her husband and two older sons had been deported with the first transport, by mistake” (Wiesel 24).
I acted as her personal therapist and dreaded when she talked to me. I was not trained nor had the mental capacity to help her. Likewise, to the scene in chapter 8, "You cannot help home anymore. And you are hurting yourself (Wiesel 111). " Elie was not the professional help his father needed, he acted in place of the doctors that refused the accommodate Shlomo.
During the Holocaust, six million men, women, and children were tortured and died. In the autobiography, “Nights” by Elie Wiesel he describes his experience being in the camps of torture during the Holocaust. Indifference is a main theme throughout the book and the Holocaust however, indifference can cause coldness in others and within themselves. Indifference shows how others make people not believe in themselves, giving up on things people love, and refusal of care.
Compassion is an extremely powerful emotion. It’s when you help someone get through an awful time in their life. Usually if it’s someone or something you, love you can show compassion towards it, You’ll end up putting an extreme amount of love and compassion into something you care about. If your loved one is going through an event you’ve gone through, you can empathize with them and connect. Showing love and compassion can let other people know what kind of person you are.
In this book Elie speaks of his hardships and how he survived the concentration camps. Elie quickly changed into a sorrowful person, but despite that he was determined to stay alive no matter the cost. For instance, during the death
The general statement made by Elie Wiesel in his speech, The Perils of Indifference, is that indifference is sinful. More specifically, Wiesel argues that awareness needs to be brought that indifference is dangerous. He writes “Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end”. In this speech, Wiesel is suggesting that indifference is dangerous it can bring the end to many lives. In conclusion Wiesel's belief is suggesting that indifference is an end, it needs to be noticed and taken care of.
In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie states he himself condemns apathy and ignorance as the greatest of sins because a lack of compassion and knowledge produces a false sense of security and creates inaction against the kind of war crimes rampant in Hitler’s regime. I agree with this statement because the guards stationed at the camps lacked empathy and awareness which resulted in inaction. I consider this to be sinful because for acts such as the holocaust we cannot turn a blind eye. I agree with his statement because many guards stationed at the camps were apathetic and ignorant which resulted in inaction. My first example from the book is when the guards began to round up the jewish families from their ghetto in Sighet and put
Elie an observant twelve-year-old, the only son of Shlomo and Sarah Wiesel, leads readers deep into the undeniable torture that he and his father endured. Throughout the novel, Elie 's father remained engulfed with the delusion that the abuse his people had endured was all for the greater good. After being seperated from his mother and sister 's for some time. Elie began to wonder where they
When the two arrive at Birkenau, Elie clings to his father so he does not lose him. When Chlomo is picked in selection he gives Elie his inheritance. When Elis 's father died, Elie grieved deeply for him. Because of that, Elie begins to lose his fight for life. The death of Chlomo had changed Elie and scared him for life. "
Elie Weisel once said the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. In Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, the idea that indifference is the opposite of love is expressed through the dehumanization and the father-son relationships. While some might argue that the opposite of love is hate, the opposite of love is indifference. The disgusting event known as the holocaust wasn't only one of the darkest times in our history, but also a great example of indifference. Love is a positive feeling towards someone and hate is a generally negative feeling.