Referat Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel

The author:

Elie Wiesel was born in Romania in 1928. He was deported with his family to Auschwitz when he was still a boy, and then to Buchenwald, where his parents and younger sister were killed. After the war he moved to Paris, where he w rote Night ( 1981 ) , the moving mernoir of these experiences. In 1986 Elie Wiesel was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize with this book.

Main characters:

Eliezer: short Elie

He is the author and narrator. The book is his own story about his terrible childhood in the death camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He is the son of a very religious and respected Jew.

Father of Elie: He is an important man in the Jewish community and stays together with Elie. They have the same terrible fate. But he gets ill and dies in Buchenwald.

Mother of Elie: She tries to give her family hope.

On their way she and ~, the eldest sister of Elie, ~ and TziQora, two other sisters, are separated frorn

Elie and his father .

The plot:

The story 'Night' takes place in Sighet in 1943. Eliezer, who is the son of a very religious Jewish family, is about fitteen years old. One day Moche, a triend of Elie, is deported to Poland, where he, like all other displaced Jews, should be killed, but he escapes miraculously. So Moche returns to Sighet and warns the Jewish community. But nobody believes hirn.

In Hungary tascists come into power, but nevertheless the Jews trust in the Red Ar my. Soon the

Germans arrive. So Elie and his family have to live in ghettos like all the other Jews .But they get the promise that nothing worse will happen.

During one night lite changes suddenly. All the Jews are deported to Auschwitz by train. There the families are still together. In the train there are the first problems; thirst, hunger and the losing faith. In Auschwitz men and women are separated. The last time Eliezer sees his mother and his little sister Tzipora. All the men have to go on the right side. There Elie and his tather get a help. A prisoner teIls them to change their ages. So they are

ordered to go to the labour camp. Elie hears praying Jews and sees burning bodies.

The daily fight against hunger and nasty trickls frorn the guards begins. Elie's on I y desire is to stay with his father. They have to work hard every day. Every week there is a selection. And the weak men are taken to the crematory. But Elie and his father pass these selections.

One day Eliezer must have an operation. Therefore he has to decide either to stay at the invalid camp or

to take part on the deportation to Buchenwald, because the Red Ar my stands in front of Auschwitz. Elie and his father decide to walk and again they have to fight against snow ,hunger, thirst and exhaustion. Later Eliezer hears that the Red Army has liberated the invalids

at Auschwitz.

After the long walk a lot of men die. Also Eliezer's father gets il!. He does not have strength and faith any longer. On the 28th of January 1945 Eliezer's father dies of exhaustion and hunger. But Elie is not sure if his tather is taken to the crernatory alive.

After his father's death nothing can touch hirn any more. On April 5th the wheel of history turns. AI! the Jews notice that something is different. On the 11 th of April grenades explode and then the first American tank stands at the gates of Buchenwald. Three days after the liberation of Buchenwald Elie becomes very ill with food poisoning. He is transferred to the hospital and

spends two weeks between lite and death.

On the first day he is able to get up, he wants to see hirnself in the mirror. Because he has not seen himself since the ghetto. In his book Elie Wiesel writes that he will never forget the look in his eyes.

desire Wunsch selection (Aus )wahl

exhaustion ErschOpfung