# Night by Elie Wiesel



## Semper Fidelis (May 22, 2006)

My Mom bought me _Night_ by Elie Weisel. It is a story of his experiences as a young boy in Auschwitz and other labor camps. The stories break the heart and destroy any pretence that sin is not horrific and abominable. Here are a couple of excerpts (***WARNING: This is very disturbing***)

At Auschwitz when he was separated from his mother and sister:


> For a part of a second I glimpsed my mother and my sisters moving away to the right. Tzipora held Mother's hand. I saw them disappear into the distance; my mother was stroking my sister's fair hair ... and I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever.



Forced to witness the execution of a young boy:


> One day when we came back from work, we saw three gallows rearing up in the assembly place, three black crows. Roll call. SS all around us; machine guns trained: the traditional ceremony. Three victims in chains"”and one of them, the little servant, the sad-eyed angel. The SS seemed more preoccupied, more disturbed than usual. To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its shadow over him. This time the Lagercapo refused to act as executioner. Three SS replaced him. The three victims mounted together onto the chairs. The three necks were placed at the same moment within the nooses. "œLong live liberty!" cried the two adults. But the child was silent.
> 
> "œWhere is God? Where is He?" someone behind me asked. Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. "œBare your heads!" yelled the head of the camp. His voice was raucous. We were weeping. "œCover your heads!" Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive.
> 
> ...



As his father was beaten nearly to death:


> I did not move. I was afraid. My body was afraid of also receiving a blow. Then my father made a rattling noise and it was my name: Eliezer.



And then as his father was brought to the Crematorium, still barely alive:


> His last word was my name. A summons, to which I did not respond.
> 
> I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched for it, I might perhaps have found something like "” free at last!



[Edited on 5-23-2006 by SemperFideles]


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## VirginiaHuguenot (May 22, 2006)

I haven't read that one but I did see a performance of his play _The Trial of God_. I also visited Dachau. The depravity of man is something to behold. There, but for the grace of God, go I.


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## turmeric (May 22, 2006)

It's hard to fault Dietrich Bonhoeffer for trying to do away with a tyrant. I read that story (along with several other books about the Holocause) in my early years at college. They weaned me from communism.


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## Semper Fidelis (May 22, 2006)

As I read it, I realize what a very hard Providence the whole thing is. There's a part where they're praying the Psalms at New Years and extolling the name of God and they're having trouble actually saying the Words. I can only pray that God would sustain my faith in Him during such dark hours. The sad part is that they had the shell of true Biblical faith but had rejected its Author so it is terribly sad to read of them praying.

I read in the recent _Modern Reformation_ that modern Judaism teaches that the death of all the Jews of the Holocaust atones for the sin of all Jews now. Very sad.


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## matt01 (May 23, 2006)

> _Originally posted by SemperFideles_
> I can only pray that God would sustain my faith in Him during such dark hours.



I just finished reading _Night_ a couple of weeks ago. It paints a wonderful picture of the depravity of man. I honestly don't know whether I would have been able to sing the Psalms. I hope that I would, but it is difficult to imagine.


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## Kevin (May 29, 2006)

Hey y'all,

You did know that Night is a novel didn't you?


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## SolaScriptura (May 29, 2006)

Kevin,

Actually, _Night_ is a memoir... for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. 


As an aside, if I remember correctly, _Night_ records Weisel's loss of belief in God... but I could be remembering incorrectly because it has now been 15 or so years since I read it.


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## Laura (May 29, 2006)

> _Originally posted by SolaScriptura_
> As an aside, if I remember correctly, _Night_ records Weisel's loss of belief in God... but I could be remembering incorrectly because it has now been 15 or so years since I read it.



This is correct. He speaks of "moments that murdered [his] God" and vows never to forget it, even if he should live as long as God himself. We read the book in eighth grade English, too, Trevor. I'm with you--what I learned in my junior high/high school reading was primarily the extent of human depravity, only it was taught in such a way that encouraged optimism in spite of it, not to mention concurrently with various self-esteem programs. Ah, the rationality of humanism. :-/


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## Larry Hughes (May 29, 2006)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Excellent piece to read. I read it years ago in college and highly recommend it.

ldh


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## Kevin (May 29, 2006)

Ben, Perhaps you were thinking of the Nobel prize for Litt.?
EW did win the Nobel Peace prize, but as the name suggest it is not a litterary award.

The problem with genre as relates to Night is that until the most recent (Oprah) edition It was always classed as fiction by the publishers.

There are vast differences between the 1st '56 edition -Yiddish (haven't read it), The '58 edition -French (read it slooowly), & the '60 edition -English(read it). Not only style & emphasis but also content.

The new '06 edition is a new translation & has caught a lot of flack for all the changes he has made. After all if the book is an acurate record (a memoir) then to change events is hardly a correction!

BTW Raul Hillberg (no slouch himself on this topic) considered EW the next thing to a fraud.

The reason this topic is important to christians is that this book is often used by "post-auschwitz theologians" as a club with which to attack orthodoxy. I recently read a small book by Piper that cites Night & seems to follow the Rabbis in blaming christianity for the suffering of the jews.

Also the jewish magazine Forward has been very critical, as well the New York Times. 

I would hate to see reformed christians jump on this bandwagon just as it is about to be derailed ala that other famous "memoir" of a few years ago (one that EW praised to the sky at the time).


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## turmeric (May 29, 2006)

Kevin,

I read Raul Hilberg's excellent (and vast) tome, _The Extermination of the European Jews_, admittedly years ago when I also read _Night_ and don't recall EW saying anything which contradicted Raul, although he didn't have the historical scope on it, obviously. What did EW say that was ahistorical?

[Edited on 5-29-2006 by turmeric]


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## Kevin (May 29, 2006)

Turmeric,

Try to google Alexander Cockburns article in Counterpunch. It provides a good intro to the subject. The title of the column was "Six million little pieces" if memory serves (it doesn't always)


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## turmeric (May 29, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Kevin_
> Turmeric,
> 
> Try to google Alexander Cockburns article in Counterpunch. It provides a good intro to the subject. The title of the column was "Six million little pieces" if memory serves (it doesn't always)



Interesting read. I wonder how much of Wiesel's "loss of faith" was due to the actions of the SS and how much was due to the "catechesis" of his Communist protectors. Incicentally, I'm glad those children were rescued, but Communists do very little that isn't _Realpolitik_.


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## Kevin (May 29, 2006)

I have always found Wiesel's preference to be evacuated by the Germans rather than wait to be "liberated" by the approaching Red army the hight of irony--especially given his communism on the one hand & his unending "holy hatred" (sic) for Germans on the other.


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