Night Chapter Two & Three

Read Elie Wiesel's poem that repeats the words, "Never shall I forget." Choose one of the lines from the poem and write a response to it below.

"Never shall I forget those moment that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes." (page 34), I feel terrible for Elie because what he believed in was practically shattered and he explains us how deeply just that one event had scarred him forever.

According to the German officers, which two commands will result in being shot if not obeyed?

According to the German officers, trying to escape or refusing to give up their valuables will result in being shot, "Anyone who still owns gold, silver, or watches must hand them over now. Anyone who will be found to have kept any of these will be shot on the spot. ... If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot like dogs." (page 24). The German officers warned them and didn't say much else, they just threatened them and forced them into following their commands.

After the men are stripped, what happens to those who appear especially strong?

After the men are stripped, those who appear especially strong are forced to throw the bodies into the crematorium, "A few SS officers wandered through the room, looking for strong men. ... Those who were selected that they were incorporated into the Sonderkommando, the Kommando working in the crematoria." (page 35). This is because they needed the strong men to lift the full weight of the dead bodies.

Describe Elie's inner conflict as he watches his father slapped to the ground.

Elie wanted to help his father and didn't want the beatings to continue on but he felt conflicted because he thought he was just weak and didn't want to help himself, "I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent." (page 39), I assume he thinks his life would be easier if he didn't have to worry about his father and take care of him.

Make an inference - why are Elie and his father advised to lie about their ages?

I think the inmate told Elie and his father to lie about their ages because the Germans would kill those who were too young or too old, "Over there, that's where they will take you. Over there will be your grave. You still don't understand You sons of bitches. Don't you understand anything You will be burned! Burned to a cinder! Turned into ashes!" (page 31). Elie and his father thought they really had nothing to lose at that point so they might as well just listen to him because it does sound reasonable.

What happens to Elie Wiesel's family immediately after entering Birkenau?

Immediately after entering Birkenau, Elie Wiesel's family was separated, "'Men to the left! Women to the right!' Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother." (page 29) the men and women were forced to different sides and taken different paths.

Describe what happens with Mrs. Schachter. What does her treatment show about human nature?

Mrs. Schachter began screaming and people tried to calm her down and help her but she wouldn't listen to them. They forced her to sit but afterwards she escaped and was killed, "We tried to reason with her, more to calm ourselves, to catch a breath, than to soothe her: ..." (page 25), this just shows that human nature is violence and selfishness.

How are Mrs. Schachter's words prophetic?

Mrs. Schachter's words are prophetic because no one could actually see the fire, she just knew that it was coming like an instinct, "'Jews, look! Look at the fire! Look at the flames!' And as the train stopped, this time we saw flames rising from a tell chimney into a black sky." (page 28). Nobody believed her because they couldn't physically see the fire but she knew that there would be.

Describe the phsyical, emotional, and psychological transformation that overcomes the men. Use textual evidence as support.

The men feel as if they lost everything within such a short period of time, "So many crazed ,em, so much shouting, so much brutality. ... Some were crying. They used whatever strength they had left to cry. Why had they let themselves be brought here? Why didn't they die in their beds? Their words were interspersed with sobs." (page 34-35). They were completely destroyed at the camp, not only physically but emotionally and psychologically.

What information do the transportees receive in exchange for a gold watch?

The transportees, in exchange for a gold watch, found out that the stop was the final destination, "When they came back, they told us that they had learned, in exchange for a gold watch, that this was the final destination. We were to leave the train here. There was a labor camp on the site." (page 27), they believed it wouldn't be so bad since families wouldn't be separated and they were in good conditions.

Why are the words of the Pole in charge of Block 17 in Auschwitz described as "the first human words"?

The words of the Pole in charge of Block 17 in Auschwitz are described as 'the first human words' because he gave them reassurance and hope, "'Ahead of you lies a long road paved with suffering. Don't lose hope. You have already eluded the worst danger: the selection. Therefore, muster your strength and keep your faith.'" (page 41), he describes them as that because they are truly the words of someone who cares unlike the Nazis who are cruel and lack remorse.

What is the purpose of the furnace and flames?

They were burning babes in a ditch and had furnaces with a ton of flames, "Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes I did see this, with my own eyes ... children thrown into the flames." (page 32). It really just represents how cruel the Nazis were.

Describe the value of hope. Consider Elie's words to his relative, Stein, the nightly conversations of faith among the men, and the thought that Elie's mother and sisters must be in a labor camp.

When talking to Stein and the having the nightly conversations with the men about faith, Elie realizes how crucial hope and faith are, he learns that Stein's family is the only thing keeping him alive, "'The only thing that keeps me alive,' he kept saying, 'is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up.' (page 45). He offers Stein some false hope, though, knowing that it will benefit him but soon enough Stein learns the truth and gives up.