In the first chapter of his book Night, Elie Wiesel conveys the happenings of the days and years leading up to their deportation from Sighet. He relays the emotion of all the town's inhabitants as they prepared for the worst while still hoping for the best. The way he writes this first chapter fills one with all of the emotions which the Jews of Sighet mush have been feeling at the time, abandoning their homes.
The people of Sighet were aware of the war's progression and that Germany was losing. This, they thought, meant that they were safe from being rounded up and deported like some of the Jews from German-controlled lands. However, this was overturned when the new fascist leader rose up and allowed the Nazis into Hungary. They tried to remain optimistic through it all. However, this was simply trying to deny the truth and depth of the situation which was about them, which they had been warned about by neighbors and such people as Moishe the beadle. They looked for "alternate explanations" for what the German officers were doing, pushing them out of Sighet, such as "the war is almost upon us and soon we too will hear the gunfire." The reality of their situation bore down on them when they were finally moved to the smaller ghetto while they awaited the convoy that would take them away from there, and to where, nobody knew.
These such mass-deportations were oppressive and ill-mannered attempts by the Nazis to control what they saw as a threat. They singled out Jewish families and those who sympathized with them for the brunt of their harassment. Those who witnessed this and and survived the whole ordeal were not only lucky but were also indebted to keep alive the memories of those who didn't.
These scenes of great distress and anguish became commonplace among Jewish communities during World War II.
Bryan, I like how you express the Jews of Sighet's emotional detatchness as they hear the rumors of the deportation of other Jews, and then their surprise and fear as they finally were transported to the unkown. Your brief paragraph at the end is also good in showing Wiesel's strong cause to write this book. Even the way that you tie the picture into your post is good.
ReplyDeleteBrian, I once again agree with Andrew. You conveyed the Jews of Seight detached emotion states perfectly. They were unwilling to believe that they were in any danger. You also talked about their surprise at riding on the train into the unknown very well. I also really enjoyed how you tied the picture into your summary. It was very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting how you analyzed the German's reason for attacking the Jews the way that they did. However, I think that it was less a fear of the Jews as a desire to assert a cruel dominance of a people. The Jews were just the group unlucky enough to fall prey to this. I think the psychological justifications for these atrocities must have been interesting.
ReplyDeleteBryan, could you please post a short biography or summary of your education for citing purposes? You have done a good job here and I am sure that more people than myself would like to cite your work. Thanks.
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