Elie Wiesel's Night: The Existence Of God

Followers of the Jewish faith follow thirteen main principles, the first one being the belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists. Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel describes throughout his memoir Night his curiosity and profound belief of God and Judaism. Before he and his family are deported to Auschwitz, Wiesel explains the disbelief and doubt the Jewish people had about the Holocaust was substantial. Wiesel later describes throughout his book the frustration some of the prisoners had towards God for not helping them, and he also explains how some prisoners, like himself, stopped hoping for God to help them. Prisoners who lost …show more content…
Wiesel states “Every two yards or so an SS man held his tommy gun trained on us” (27). The Jewish people do not know what they did to be here and why God is not doing anything to get them out of Birkenau. Walking through the front gate, an order is given, “Men to the left! Women to the right!” (Wiesel 27) This is the last time that Elie sees his mother and his younger sister Tzipora. The only thought he had after the separation of his family was staying with his father. The prisoners were formulating a plot to get themselves away from the death camp, but the older ones announce “You must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That’s the teaching of our sages…” (Wiesel 29) Clearly, there are two sides staring to form in the camp: those who want to rebel, and those who want to wait for God to help them. Prisoners are then separated again being deemed healthy enough for work or to be sent straight to their death. Wiesel and his father both lie and they are on the same side with each other. Experienced prisoners claim that they are being sent straight to the crematorium. They march and approached a ditch with a raging fire. Before entering the pits of flames, Elie exclaims “For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? […] What had I to thank him for? Despite this revolt, Elie thought he …show more content…
Multiple hangings had occurred, and people just did not seem to care as much as they would have before they were sent to Auschwitz. This is evident when Juliek asks “Do you think this ceremony will be over soon? I’m hungry….” (Wiesel 59) The attitude of prisoners changes from caring about others to straight up survival. The faiths in the camps are diminishing. One prisoner asks “Where is God now?”(Wiesel 62) Wiesel answers “Where is He? Here He is – He is hanging here on this gallows….” (62). Elie has clearly lost all of his faith in God. This response is a clear sign that he does not care about God or anybody else except his father. Other survivors, like Akiba Drummer, have simply just given