Holocaust
The Holocaust was the most horrific time that man has known. To survive this atrocity, the Holocaust victims man upon man atrocity, one had to summon bravery, strength, courage, and wisdom that many did not know they possessed. One survivor is Elie Wiesel, whose exquisite writings have revealed the world of horror suffered by the Jewish people. Elie Wiesel's statement, "...to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all..." stands as a succinct summary of his views on life and serves as the driving force of his work. Elie Wiesel was born as Eliezer, a free Jewish male, on September 30, 1928, in the remote town of Sighet, Hungary. The third child and only male of four, his family was prosperous and respected within the town. In 1941, life was good for the Wiesel family, and the Sighet Jews. Unaware of the turmoil in the world around him, Eliezer was content with studying his religion, and enjoying life as the son of a father with high political connections. He was devoted to his studies to love and serve his god. He was befriended by one of the locals, Moche the Beadle, who agreed to be his spiritual Master. Gradually, in seemingly insignificant, isolated instances, life for the Sighet Jews began to change. Sometime tow
ard the end of 1941, the foreign Jews were expelled from this town, sent to destinations unknown to any of them. This included his Master, Moche. Moche returned in late 1942 with horrific accounts of what he had witnessed. "He (Moche) told his story and that of his companions. The train full of deportees had crossed the Hungarian frontier and on Polish territory had been taken in charge by the Gestapo. There it had stopped. The Jews had to get out and climb into lorries. The lorries drove toward the forest. The Jews were made to get out. They were made to dig huge graves. And when they had finished their work, the Gestapo began theirs. Without passion, without haste, they slaughtered their prisoners. Each one had to go up to the hole and present his neck. Babies were thrown into the air and the machine gunners used them as targets. This was in the forest of Galicia, near Kolomaye. How had Moche the Beadle escaped? Miraculously. He was wounded in the leg and taken for dead. ... Throughout Europe, similar horrific tales of slaughter and abuse began to surface as Adolf Hitler became more successful and aggressive in his quest to create a purely Aryan nation. "Another, considerably more violent phase of anti-Jewish activity took place in 1938 and 1939; it was initiated on November 9-10, 1938, the infamous Kristallnacht, or night of shattered glass." Passports were still being issued for Jews to travel to Palestine; however, many elders refused to leave. The task of starting over in a foreign land proved to be overwhelming, and no one believed these conditions would intensify nor continue. As long as the Jews did not cause trouble, they were left to manage themselves with minimal daily interference from the soldiers. As the war in the outside world escalated, their world started to disintegrate. The soldiers moved them every couple of weeks to a new location, leaving behind personal belongings, and suffering through humiliating personal searches. The soldiers were becoming more visible and interjecting themselves in the daily routines. They started imposing strict restrictions, including house arrest for the entire town. Eventually the yellow star was to be worn by all Je
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Approximate Word count = 1470
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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