Night

About the book

In this memoir, Eliezer, a Jewish teenager from Sighet, Transylvania, is deported to Auschwitz and Buchenwald during the final years of World War II. After being separated from his mother and sisters, he clings to his father as they endure forced labor, starvation, and the constant threat of the gas chambers. The narrative documents the physical degradation of the prisoners and Eliezer’s internal struggle as he witnesses the mechanics of the Holocaust. He records the transition from a life of religious devotion to a state of spiritual void, where the survival of the body supersedes the obligations of faith and family.

Students of history and ethics read this account to understand the granular reality of the concentration camp system. It serves as a primary source for those investigating how state-sponsored genocide strips individuals of their identity and moral framework. Readers gain a stark perspective on the fragility of human dignity under extremity. The text provides a direct witness to the logistical details of the death camps and the psychological trauma of those who survived the liquidation of their communities.

Details

Published

1956

Publisher

Hill and Wang

ISBN

9781466805361

Language

EN