The phrase “Arbeit macht Frei” is formed in iron above the gates of many concentration camps including Auschwitz camp in Poland, where Elie Wiesel was held by the Nazis during the Holocaust. While this statement is often met with cynicism, for those who shared Wiesel's position there was an ironic truth in this phrase. The most obvious example of the irony of this statement was the hard work carried out within the camps under the direction of the guards which ultimately led them to escape selection. Alternatively, there are less direct interpretations of this expression as an extreme effort that frees the mind from feeling pain or thinking about the horrible conditions and working to preserve someone's life only to free oneself from the role of caretaker. Ultimately, the truth of the saying "Arbeit macht Frei" rings true throughout Elie Wiesel's Night and can be interpreted as a common thread throughout his book. If you consider the phrase that was posted above the countless concentration camps during World War II, the main interpretation of this was always that working for the Nazis would prevent them from killing you properly. In Wiesel's Night this very interpretation is used to explain the enormous amount of work that the Jews performed under Nazi command and why they endured countless hours of this hard work. For this reason, when Jews were chosen during the selection process for transfer to the crematorium, they asked to be spared, insisting that they could still work. This same situation was expressed in the fifth chapter, when the prisoners who had been promised to be saved discovered that, in reality, they would be killed anyway: “Save us! You promised...We want to go to the depot. We are strong enough to ... middle of paper ......d his desire and gain freedom from the need to care for him. In conclusion, the interpretation of the statement “Arbeit macht Frei” has many meanings, both direct and indirect. Of course there is the simpler interpretation that the job freed you from crematorium selection, but there are also more significant indirect interpretations. From these implicit explanations the meaning one gets is that severe physical stress allows a person's mind to wander, essentially freeing them from reality both physically and mentally. It also provides an explanation for Wiesel's struggle to abandon and free himself from his father. Ultimately, "Arbeit macht Frei" is confirmed throughout the Night and can be seen as an overall theme. Works Cited Wiesel, Elie and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1982. Print.