Summary: As the Jews arrive in the Concentration Camp, they are to leave their belongings in the train car. Men are sent to the left, women to the right. Already, some Jews are being beaten and shot. Eliezer’s one thought is not to lose his father. A kind prisoner comes up to Eliezer and his father, asking them their ages. On hearing that Eliezer is 15 and his father is 50, the prisoner tells them they should be 18 and 40. Age can mean the difference between life and death. Another prisoner tells them they would have been better off hanging themselves than to come here. Hadn’t they heard of Auschwitz in 1944? The prisoner points to the smokestacks and asks if they know what’s being burned there? He says, that’s where you’re going to die. The
…show more content…
The male prisoners, including Eliezer’s father, are weeping. Some are even saying the prayer for the dead. Within himself, Eliezer begins to feel the first stirrings of rebellion against God. Eliezer contemplates killing himself by throwing himself onto the electric wire rather than be burned alive, but his group is directed away from the fires. Both Eliezer and his father are assigned to labor units, so death is not immediate. Eliezer starts to lose faith in God’s justice and mercy. The new male prisoners are beaten, forced to strip off their clothes, beaten, and sent to the barber to get their hair shaved off. After the barber, all of the men are standing around, naked, finding acquaintances and old friends. They are joyful at finding each other still alive. The men are forced to run outside in the cold to a bath of disinfectant, and then forced to run again to the storeroom to get striped prisoner’s …show more content…
At daybreak, they see prisoners at work, digging holes and carrying sand.An SS officer arrives and lectures them about the realities of the concentration camp. It’s not a "convalescent home," he says. It is a place where you are expected to work hard. It’s a concentration camp. If you don’t work, you can expect to go straight to the smokestacks. Eliezer and his father are moved to a new barracks where they are at least allowed to sit, but Eliezer has to watch his father be beaten, and is horrified that he’s watching this without rebelling. They continue marching, for half an hour, to another camp. The iron gate to this camp has an inscription: "work makes you free." They arrive in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The prisoner in charge is Polish and when he greets them he tries to encourage them that liberation is on the way. He also tells the new prisoners that the only way to survive is to help each other. They sleep and the next day their spirits are improved, and even get a bowl of soup for lunch. The next day, they are given numbers, tattooed on their arms. Eliezer becomes A-7713. They look for friends and relatives among the latest
The male prisoners, including Eliezer’s father, are weeping. Some are even saying the prayer for the dead. Within himself, Eliezer begins to feel the first stirrings of rebellion against God. Eliezer contemplates killing himself by throwing himself onto the electric wire rather than be burned alive, but his group is directed away from the fires. Both Eliezer and his father are assigned to labor units, so death is not immediate. Eliezer starts to lose faith in God’s justice and mercy. The new male prisoners are beaten, forced to strip off their clothes, beaten, and sent to the barber to get their hair shaved off. After the barber, all of the men are standing around, naked, finding acquaintances and old friends. They are joyful at finding each other still alive. The men are forced to run outside in the cold to a bath of disinfectant, and then forced to run again to the storeroom to get striped prisoner’s …show more content…
At daybreak, they see prisoners at work, digging holes and carrying sand.An SS officer arrives and lectures them about the realities of the concentration camp. It’s not a "convalescent home," he says. It is a place where you are expected to work hard. It’s a concentration camp. If you don’t work, you can expect to go straight to the smokestacks. Eliezer and his father are moved to a new barracks where they are at least allowed to sit, but Eliezer has to watch his father be beaten, and is horrified that he’s watching this without rebelling. They continue marching, for half an hour, to another camp. The iron gate to this camp has an inscription: "work makes you free." They arrive in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The prisoner in charge is Polish and when he greets them he tries to encourage them that liberation is on the way. He also tells the new prisoners that the only way to survive is to help each other. They sleep and the next day their spirits are improved, and even get a bowl of soup for lunch. The next day, they are given numbers, tattooed on their arms. Eliezer becomes A-7713. They look for friends and relatives among the latest