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(Ch 1) Beginning
A young boy named Elie is introduced in his ordinary world in 1940's Sighet, Transylvania. What will soon be the Holocaust is beginning. Elie starts hearing stories about the German soldiers brutally killing Jews, but is unsure of what to believe, as the German officers seem very kind and friendly. Eventually the officers kick the Jews out of their homes and build ghettos. Elie learns of the "transports" that will take place soon and becomes nervous. -
(Ch 1) Transports
After going through the two ghettos in his town, Elie and his family were forced to leave their town in large cars, packed full of other Jews of Sighet, and this is where chapter one leaves the reader. -
The Ride (Ch 2)
While on this mysterious trip, a recently widowed woman accompanied by her young son breaks down and continually screams about a fire, which they only find to be accurate when they arrive at a camp called Auschwitz, where they immediately see Jews are being burned to death by the truckload. -
The Camp (Ch 3)
Once in the camp, Elie is separated from his mother and sister. He and his father have a close call with death when they are lead to believe they were to be burned. At this point, we really see Mr Wiesel show true emotion and this when we really see the relationship between the father and Elie begin to improve. -
Life in Camp (Ch 3)
This chapter really shows the dehumanization of the Jews and the brutality of the way they were treated. They get old ragged clothes, they get shaved, and get numbers tattooed to identify them. Just when they begin to understand the new routine, they are scheduled for a transport to another concentration camp known as Buna. -
(Ch 4) Buna
After arriving at Buna, Elie and his father get a job at a warehouse, a very easy job. There he makes a couple friends and eventually is asked to give his only gold filling to a dentist in the camp. He stalls until the dentist is arrested and eventually the boss of the warehouse forces him to in exchange for mercy. -
(Ch 4) Leaving Buna
One day as Elie strays from work and accidentally sees his boss "laying" with a polish girl, which turned out to be the reason for the 100 person transfer that was soon to happen. Elie began laughing, and of course got caught. This lead to a severe whipping and vicious threats.. -
Rosh Hashanah (Ch5)
In this chapter, the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah is celebrated by much of the camp, however we see Elie and his father do not take part by either fasting, or prayng. Elie becomes infuriated because the other prisoners are worshipping the God Elie blames for all that's happened to him. -
Selection (Ch 5)
On Yom Kippur, the so-called "New Year's gift" from the SS was another selection.Elie was determined with every fiber of hs being not to get picked, he knew if he did, he'd be killed.
After selection passed, Elie is hospitalized for a swollen foot. He goes through surgery and then learns that the camp will be evacuated before the Russians can get to it. Elie and his father are faced with the decision to stay behind in the hospital or to leave with the camp. Unfortunately, they decide to leave. -
Death Marches (Ch 6)
Elie and his father, along with hundreds of other prisoners begin the deadly march to a location unknown to them. It's cold and they are given little to no food. Many get sick and die, many stop and are shot on the spot. After eventually reaching the camp, Elie gets trampled and trapped beneath dead bodies and is forced to claw and bite his way out to survive. After three days in this camp, they began moving again. -
The Train Ride (Ch 7)
The prisoners are placed on a train, to another location unknown to them. Soon after they step on the train, Elie's father becomes weak and is mistaken for dead when the SS come around to throw off the corpses. Elie fights and yells at his father to wake up, eventually he does and is allowed to stay on the train.
By the end of this chapter, the train had reached a camp called Buchenwald. -
Buchenwald (Ch 8)
At this point in the book, Mr Wiesel is in horrible shape. He can barely keep on his feet, and all his motivation to live has been lost, though Elie is desperate to save him. Struck with dysentery, everyone knows Mr Wiesel won't make it much longer, and he doesn't. After an officer dealt him a violent blow on the head, he lost his battle with death and soon after died. There were no prayers. No proper burial. Elie didn't even get to say goodbye. -
Liberation (Ch 9)
Elie and the rest of the prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp are liberated by the Americans on April 11, 1945