Night By Elie Wiezel

Setting Night is set in 1941, when Nazi Germany is fighting Poland. Elie Wiesel is born in Sighet, Transylvania and is twelve years old when the first real information about the Nazis comes out.

Key Quotes “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Chapter 3, pg. 27 This quote is the first example of how brutal the Nazis were. This was the first opportunity for them to show that they really meant business. The women were taken to the furnaces and fire pits and killed. “Where is He? Here He is-He is hanging here on this gallows....” Chapter 4, pg. 62 This is Elie referring to their god. He means that if god is supposedly so great, then where is he to stop everything. He asks where god is, and says he is here in the gallows, and that he has suffered the same fate as all the other prisoners.

Chapter 1 The tiny cattle carts which the Jews were crammed into Chapter one of Night opens up with a description of Moche the Beadle who is Elie Wiezel's home town of Sighet, Transylvania. Moche works in the Hasidic Synagogue and is looked up to and respected by many. When Elie is twelve years old, he tells his father he wishes to study the Cabbala, a form of Jewish “bible”, but his father tells him he is too young and doesn’t wish him to learn it. Elie goes against his fathers wishes and talks to Moche about it. Elie’s father is highly respected in the Sighet Jewish community. Elie also has two older sisters, named Hilda and Bea, and a younger sister called Tzipora. He also has a mother but her name is unknown. During their time in Sighet, Moche the Beadle is transported out of Sighet with other non-Hungarian Jews. The other Jews quickly forget about it as the assume it is just a wartime practice. Moche returns after escaping from his concentration camp in Poland and warns everyone of what he had seen. No one believes him and thinks he has just gone crazy. In 1944, when people are still optimistic after the Germans were defeated in the war, German soldiers enter Sighet. The Jews were forced into their homes for three days, and then into two ghettos. One night Elie’s father attends a meeting informing him that he and all the other Jews are going to be deported. The location; unknown. The Jews are forced into cattle trucks on the the train line. The tiny cattle carts which the Jews were crammed into The Sighet ghetto

Chapter 2 The cattle cars are overcrowded. So much so that the people have to take turns sitting down. They travel for two days, with their whereabouts or destination still unknown to them. The young people on the train openly have sex with the other people pretending not to notice. The train stops at Kaschau, on the Czechoslovak border. At this point the Jews are aware that they are not going to be staying in Hungary like they were promised. A German soldier opens up Elie’s carriage, explaining to them that they are now under control of the German Army. He took all their possessions and valuables and threatened to shoot all of the people if just one person escaped. There is a lady on the train called Madame Schachter. She slowly loses it and starts screaming about a flaming furnace she can see. The people on the train start beating her and gagging her to try and make her stop. Other people on the train are disturbed by her visions. During the night she breaks loose and starts screaming again. At this time most of the people are tired and going mad themselves from the conditions and don’t try to restrain her. As the trains near Auschwitz, they are told that the conditions here are good. Everyone’s mood lifts until they can see the flames and the chimney that Madame Schaechter had illusions of. At this time, Madame Schaechter stops screaming. Everyone is forced out of the cattle trailer and to greet them; the smell of burning flesh. This was Birkenau, the entry point for Auschwitz.

Burning bodies in the fire pits Chapter 3 The Jews were sorted into female and male at Birkenau. Elie was told to say that he was eighteen, and his father was told to say he was forty. A selection is carried out by Dr Mengele, who selects who will live and who will go to the crematories immediately. Elie tells Dr Mengele that he is eighteen and a farmer. The doctor places Elie and his father into the same group, who are told they are the group that are destined for the crematories. The group is instructed to walk towards the fiery pits. As they near, they see a truck full of young children’s bodies being emptied into the pits. The group marched closer and closer towards the pits but at the last minute, they were redirected away. Elie tells how he will never forget that moment he was turned away nor the sight he saw of all the children’s faces in the pits burning away. The group are then made to march to Auschwitz. They then undress, run, shower and then redress. Burning bodies in the fire pits

Entry gates to Auschwitz Chapter 4 At Auschwitz Elie was told and realised that the conditions were a lot better. Their first meal was thick soup, but he refused to eat it. However, he is more happy to see people sitting around in the sun talking to each other. For a few weeks, the schedule is very simple; strict meal times and types, roll call times and bed times. Elie and his father bump into an old friend in the camp. His name is Stein of Antwerp, and is asking about his family. Elie and his father lie to him, telling him that his family are fine and that his father is keeping his head up. The prisoners are soon transferred to a new camp called Buna, which is an electrical warehouse camp. Entry gates to Auschwitz

Chapter 5 At Buna, Elie is placed in a building warehouse with musicians, but without his father. All he has to do here is count electrical light bulbs and fittings. The only problem with this place is that the Kapo (Idek, who is the head of the block) is very violent and has violent mood swings. He meets a violin player, Juliek, and also becomes friends with two Czech males, Yossi and Tibi. They all hum music together whilst they work throughout the day. One day, Elie is delighted to find out that the foreman, Franek, gets Elie’s father placed in the same group as him. One day Elie is taken to the dentist to have his gold filling removed. However, Elie lies and says he is sick to buy more time. One day, Idek has a violent mood swings and starts violently bashing Elie. He continues until Elie agrees to give up his gold filling. A young Jewish girl comes up to him and comforts him in German. A few years later, Elie meets this girl accidentally in Paris, France. One day, Elie walks in on Idek and a young Polish girl. When Elie laughs out loud at him, Idek looses his cool and publicly lashes him twenty five times. When Elie can no longer hold himself up, Idek threatens him with his life if he tells anyone about what he saw. One afternoon the air raid sirens sound. All the prisoners are forced back into their blocks and orders are given to shoot anyone outside. The prisoners all develop some hope again that Buna will be bombed, or that the Nazi’s will soon be defeated.

Auschwitz Map

Elie Wiesel Eliezer Wiesel was born on September 30 1928. Fifteen years later, his home town of Sighet was taken control of by Hungary, controlled by the Nazis. He is taken to the concentration camps along with his father, mother, and three sisters. Elie is the main character in Night, and is also the narrator. Elie’s mother and three sisters are separated from his father and him in Auschwitz, and were presumed to be burned. Elie and his father support each other throughout their time in the camps and traveling from each one.

Shlomo (Elie’s father) Shlomo, Elie’s father, was a Jewish store owner in Sighet. He was also highly respected as a Jewish Community leader in Sighet. Shlomo had a strong bond with his son, Elie, as they went through an unforgettable experience at the death camps. Shlomo Wiesel

Moshe the Beadle Moshe the Beadle worked in a Jewish synagogue in Sighet, Elie’s home town. In 1942, Moshe was deported to a Polish camp where he witnessed the killing of Jews. He escaped the camp and returned to Sighet, but no one believed him when he told them. Elie talks to Moshe the Beadle about being taught the Cabbala, which his father refused to teach to him as he believed he was too young. Moshe always told Elie to believe in god and use him for guidance.

Madame Schachter Madame Schachter was in the same cattle cart as Elie and his father when they were being taken from the Ghetto to Birkenau. She was about fifty years old and had a child accompanying her. During the train ride to Auschwitz/Birkenau, Madame Schachter had violent outbreaks about visions she had. She constantly started screaming about flames and a furnace she could see. People on the train thought she was crazy and kept hitting her to shut her up. When the train arrived at Auschwitz/Birkenau, the people could see she was actually right.

Idek the Capo Idek the Capo is the head of the unit where Elie works at Buna. He is known for having fits of rage and violent mood swings At one point during the novel, Idek starts beating up Elie until Elie says he’ll give him his gold tooth filling Elie accidentally walks in on Idek with a girl having sex. Idek publicly gives Elie twenty five lashings and threatens him if he tells anyone about what he saw

Zalman Zalman is the boy who he worked next to at Buna. When they are walking from camp to camp, Zalman falls behind. Elie looks for him but realises he got stamped to death.

Meir Katz Meir Katz was around every now and then in Night. He was one of the strongest and most healthy people in the camp. He was a very close from of Shlomo Wiesel and helped Elie and Shlomo a few times.

Rabbi Eliahou Rabbi Eliahou is known by many in the camps and respected and almost liked by the Capos. Everyone has time for Rabbi Eliahou and he has time for everyone, making him very popular. We meet Rabbi in Night when he comes into the hut that Elie and his father are sheltering in during their walk from camps. He says he can’t find his son and asks Elie if he had seen him. Elie lies, saying he saw him alive and well, even though he can remember seeing him fall behind the group.