8A Night Blog 2018

Elie’s book, Night, has changed the way I look at life. I will forever be grateful to have a roof over my head, a good meal to eat every day, and that I am free. It troubles me that these innocent people had to deal with such a horrible thing. During this study, I have learned so much about the Holocaust and how horrible it was. Imagine being in Elies shoes. Hard right? It must’ve been even harder living that lifestyle for years. He and so many others lost faith and hope in themselves and living. In the movie, Life is Beautiful, there is mentioned that the children and elderly are “given the chance” to take showers. These so-called “showers” were the gas chambers. These innocent people are lead to death just for being Jewish. It's inhumane how one has pleasure in doing such a thing. It disgusts me. Some parts of history are very important, like the Holocaust for instance. It is good for we students to know and understand this horrible event that occurred because it is a big part of...

Empty eyes, Open mouths, Left with no words to say. There it was. The chimney, With smoke coming from it. The crematoria What a horrible place With the smells of burning flesh. Soon this would be normal, Everyday life for the prisoners. The smell of smoke. Silent screams and sobs. Everyone could hear them. This was their reality now. You could see the fire, Burning in front of everyone. You could see the fire, Hidden inside everyone's souls, And knowing that one day, That fire would be let out, And gone with the wind, Forever.

Once again, Elie’s memoir has had my emotions riding one big, endless roller coaster. He experiences some bad and some good luck at the camp: “‘They’re bombing the Buna factory,’ someone shouted. I anxiously thought of my father who was at work.” (60) In this passage, the first thing Elie thought about was his father. What had happened to him? Elie’s father is Elie's only sign of relief and comfort. “Happily, I caught sight of my father. ‘Buildings were flattened,’ he said, ‘but the depot was not touched…’” (61) Elie’s luck here is great for his father is alive. Many lives were lost during the bomb though, but everyone on the camp knows that each day could be their last. Elie’s luck was determined for different situations- sometimes his luck would be amazing and would give him some relief. Other times it seemed like luck was not a thing, but just a word without real meaning. During the winter, Elie’s foot froze and could’ve been amputated but luckily was not. Right after he ...

A young boy, Shmuel Robinvitch, plays with his fathers polyphoto machine. In this sequence of photos, he is wearing a Purim mask. Taken February 26, 1937

Reading this book has truly been a struggle. It hurts my heart knowing that all the events that have occurred so far are real, and I am almost certain those are not the worst of them. We as a class are not even that far into the book, yet what has happened already is hard to take in. The screams and cries of children being separated from their mothers, the guards’ harsh voices which gave everyone the feel of helplessness, and not knowing what to do or where to go -- it's all one big scare, both to the people in the story and to us as readers. These innocent people have done nothing, nothing at all, and now they’re being taken away not knowing where they’re headed: “‘There are eighty of you in the car,’ the German officer added. ‘If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot, like dogs’” (24). There is no escape, and that may be how they will live their lives forever. Cries filled the car, leaving everyone full of sorrow. As Elie and his father are heading toward the crematoria, he t...