Jewish Concentration Camp Research Paper

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Inside the concentration camps during WWII, the German guards committed many unthinkable horrific actions on the Jewish prisoners. They first peacefully entered numerous Jewish towns, making friends with the Jews living there. They quickly changed, becoming cruel and vicious. “Evacuating” the Jews to the concentration camps, they then either killed or set them to work. Inumerable of the Jews gave up hope and condemned themselves to death. However, despite their many hardships, many of the Jews were kind and compassionate with their fellow inmates, and managed to keep hope alive through their selfless deeds. Through these several acts of affection, Elie and his father were able to persevere through the living hell. The first unprecedented act of compassion occurred when the random unnamed stranger instructed Elie and his father to lie about their ages, and claim to be eighteen and forty years old This was such a simple act on the stranger’s behalf, but it actually meant the difference between life and death in the first selection. The stranger was very adamant in his instructions, saying “‘Listen to what I say... Not fifty, forty. Do you understand? Eighteen and forty,’” (Wiesel 28). So simple, and yet literally life saving for Elie and his father. The stranger had no need to attempt to save the lives of two random new prisoners. But for some reason, he still had enough heart and humanity to try. Elie himself later described how death meant nothing to him after only a short while in the camps, thinking, “Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live,” (32). In contrast, even after experiencing the horrific atrocities in the camp, the stranger somehow still cared enough about living to unselfishly act to help prevent the deaths of even just two more innocent people. This miniscule act of kindness actually required him to care about someone other than himself in that living hell. It seems impossible for anyone to care about anyone else when it was such an endeavor to keep oneself alive in the first place. The stranger’s small yet unmeasurably important instructions to Elie and his father illustrates that even in such a terrible and inhumane place, compassion and empathy can always be found. The second time kindness and benevolence shone through the fog of the camp …show more content…
The girl was a Jew, passing off as an Aryan deportee. Even by muttering a few words in German, she was risking being discovered and forced into one of the camps. She later disclosed to Elie that she had known of the danger, recalling how “‘At the warehouse no one knew I could speak German...Saying those few words were risky, but I knew you wouldn’t give me away,’” (51). The girl was extremely brave and generous with Elie, sharing the little amount of bread she had. The girl had no reason to sympathize with Elie, as they had never spoken and had only worked together. However, her thoughtful and understanding words must have helped Elie deal with the pain. The French girl’s risky and caring assistance to Elie demonstrates that throughout any hardships and traumas people may experience, some will always show compassion to

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