Chapter 5

This chapter occurs during the month of the Jewish new year. Winter is also rolling around and they all begin to prepare themselves for what it has in store. It is a very trying time and they all question their faith. There are more selections which occur in the weeks before winter which are cut short when the Red Army fights its way very close to Buna, forcing them to evacuate.

They have suffered greatly over the course of their stay in Buna and many of them have either lost faith or lost all hope in God saving them. Rosh Hashanah was a test for them all; some, like Elie, refused to say the prayers because they had been so traumatized. Throughout the service they were"weeping" and "crying." The next day, Yom Kippur, they wondered whether or not to fast. They already had so little to eat regularly that fasting would have been fatal. Some of them just ate in protest of their faith which seemed to be failing them. Soon after all of this, Elie is moved to the construction Kommando, away from his father. They still manage to see each other during the free time they have during the afternoon. One afternoon, things get very hectic when they are ordered to stay in their barracks so that a selection may take place. All of the frail and old fear for their lives because they are almost certain that they will be sent to the crematoria. Elie, not being a particularly big guy, fears that, because of which Kommando he is in, his number will be taken down, sentencing him for the crematoria. He looks to his friends Yossi and Tibi for guidance and help. Oddly enough, their German Jew barracks commander offers them advice on what to do so that they have the best chances of passing the test. This is one of the few moments of humanity that prevail over the evil in the camp. Fittingly enough, the notorious Dr. Mengele was the one doing the selection examinations. When the bell rang, thus ending the selections, everybody rushed outside to find friends and family and discover their fates. Elie and his father were both safe from selection for the time being. A few days later, the numbers written down during the selection were called back. Elie's father was among them. He began freaking out and gave everything he had, a knife and a spoon, to Elie in case he was sent to the crematoria. While those selected stayed back, the rest of the camp marched around elsewhere all day, most likely so that they did not witness the brutality taking place back at the camp. When they returned, those lucky enough to not be selected again and therefore put in the crematoria were waiting in the barracks. Among them was Elie's father.

The weeks after the selcetion only gat worse. The beatings increase and the weather gets cold and unplesant. Much of their thought is lost among this newfound distress. Akiba Drumer, a relatively close friend, was one of those who were not there when the rest of the camp returned. He had asked that they pray the Kaddish for him three days after the selection, when the smoke rises from the crematoria chimneys; they forgot. Elie's foot swells up a week later and he goes to the infirmary were a Jewish prisoner doctor says that it is urgent he go into surgery. While he waits, the man in the bed next to him warns him to leave so that he will miss the next infirmary selection, when practically all of them are sent to the crematoria. As he says, "Germany has no need for sick Jews." This captures the essence of what is happening throughout the camp as it has been "battening down the hatches" for winter. When the doctor returnes, he takes Elie into surgery. After coming around after the surgery, Elie is unable to feel his leg. He fears that it was amputated, something that would make him totally useless and would send him to the crematoria instantly. Luckily for him, it was simply a great abundance of pus which had swelled up his leg and needed to be drained out during the surgery. During his two weeks of recovery, Elie hears rumors of the Red Army advancing very close to their position. Unlike those which came before them, these rumors were well grounded by the fact that they could hear the cannons in the distance. Due to this "unplanned event" the camp prepares to evacuate. They know that the prisoners will be marched somewhere else but they are curious about what happens to those in the infirmary. They think that they will be killed as part of the last preparations for leaving camp. Elie fears this so he decides to walk out with the rest of the camp. So they all assembled and marched out of the camp, block by block. However, it turned out that, when the Russians arrived two days later, they were merely set free.

The daily rations at Auschwitz