World War II was a devastating time for many people. Auschwitz is only one place that holds many stories of terror from many people. Auschwitz made people vulnerable and made it hard for people to overcome their terrors after the war. Three stories that explain the terror and the aftermath of Auschwitz are Elie Wiesel, Zuzana Ruzickova, and Maximilian Kolbe.
It is evident that Hitler was the reason WWII had begun. Concentration camps were places to send people for forced labor and to expand construction of the SS business. Also, concentration camps were a killing site to thin out the population of those who were Jewish, criminals or just those who did not support the Nazi- regime (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d.a). This was a …show more content…
Auschwitz effected many individuals including Elie Wiesel. Wiesel was born and lived in Sighet, Transylvania. He lived in a Jewish community and started to study religion in Hebrew at a very young age. Wiesel lived a good life, he had everything a young boy wanted until his Romania was Occupied by the Germans. Wiesel and his family were put on a train to travel from his home to Auschwitz (Wiesel, 2006).
Many tragedies happened when he first arrived at Birkenau. He was separated from his mother and sisters in Birkenau. All Wiesel had left was his father. When being walked away from the women Wiesel also saw many children being thrown into fires and watched as they turned into smoke. At that point and time, Wiesel thought he was going to die. Although Wiesel did not get thrown into the fires, these were the events that led to his life being changed forever. He had thought things he never thought he was capable of thinking. Also, Wiesel ended up doing things he never thought he would do. He started to doubt God and his faith. More and more he would ask where God was and why he would let people suffer. At one point he just stopped believing. Also, Wiesel did not shed a tear over his father’s death. In a way, he was relieved that he did not have to live for his father anymore. Wiesel father was very sick and ended up being a burden for Wiesel. Once his father had passed away he felt like the burden …show more content…
He opened the monastery as a temporary hospital and hid up to 2,000 Jews there. After a while of helping people, Kolbe was arrested, and the monastery was closed. He was sent to the Pawiak prison for three months. After his three months, he was then sent to Auschwitz (Catholic Online, 2017).
Kolbe experienced violence and harassment during his time in Auschwitz. Two months into his time at Auschwitz the soldiers where choosing men to be put to death by starvation. This was a warning made by the Germans for those who tried to escape. Kolbe volunteered to take a man’s spot. After two weeks of no food or water, Kolbe was still alive. The Germans had to inject Kolbe, so he would die. Kolbe never lost faith in God and was calm throughout his journey. It is even said that he was calm when they were going to inject him. Kolbe himself lifted his hand for them to kill him (Catholic Online, 2017).
Being able to read these stories one can see the traumatic effect it had on millions of people. It is terrifying even thinking about this, but this still happens in other countries around the world. It is evident that Auschwitz had caused so much damage to peoples’ lives, that lead to difficulty in
It is evident that Hitler was the reason WWII had begun. Concentration camps were places to send people for forced labor and to expand construction of the SS business. Also, concentration camps were a killing site to thin out the population of those who were Jewish, criminals or just those who did not support the Nazi- regime (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d.a). This was a …show more content…
Auschwitz effected many individuals including Elie Wiesel. Wiesel was born and lived in Sighet, Transylvania. He lived in a Jewish community and started to study religion in Hebrew at a very young age. Wiesel lived a good life, he had everything a young boy wanted until his Romania was Occupied by the Germans. Wiesel and his family were put on a train to travel from his home to Auschwitz (Wiesel, 2006).
Many tragedies happened when he first arrived at Birkenau. He was separated from his mother and sisters in Birkenau. All Wiesel had left was his father. When being walked away from the women Wiesel also saw many children being thrown into fires and watched as they turned into smoke. At that point and time, Wiesel thought he was going to die. Although Wiesel did not get thrown into the fires, these were the events that led to his life being changed forever. He had thought things he never thought he was capable of thinking. Also, Wiesel ended up doing things he never thought he would do. He started to doubt God and his faith. More and more he would ask where God was and why he would let people suffer. At one point he just stopped believing. Also, Wiesel did not shed a tear over his father’s death. In a way, he was relieved that he did not have to live for his father anymore. Wiesel father was very sick and ended up being a burden for Wiesel. Once his father had passed away he felt like the burden …show more content…
He opened the monastery as a temporary hospital and hid up to 2,000 Jews there. After a while of helping people, Kolbe was arrested, and the monastery was closed. He was sent to the Pawiak prison for three months. After his three months, he was then sent to Auschwitz (Catholic Online, 2017).
Kolbe experienced violence and harassment during his time in Auschwitz. Two months into his time at Auschwitz the soldiers where choosing men to be put to death by starvation. This was a warning made by the Germans for those who tried to escape. Kolbe volunteered to take a man’s spot. After two weeks of no food or water, Kolbe was still alive. The Germans had to inject Kolbe, so he would die. Kolbe never lost faith in God and was calm throughout his journey. It is even said that he was calm when they were going to inject him. Kolbe himself lifted his hand for them to kill him (Catholic Online, 2017).
Being able to read these stories one can see the traumatic effect it had on millions of people. It is terrifying even thinking about this, but this still happens in other countries around the world. It is evident that Auschwitz had caused so much damage to peoples’ lives, that lead to difficulty in