Topic > The terrible experience of being a prisoner of the Holocaust

Running through the freezing, pitch-black night, with pain enveloping you. Thousands of bodies pushing you from behind. How will you survive? The Holocaust was a very harsh and rigorous time for many people. They had to find things or methods that would help them survive. They desperately needed these factors to survive. These things could be as small as a piece of cutlery or as large as a family. In The Night of Elie Wiesel, Elie and his father go through the horrible experience of being prisoners of the Holocaust. Somehow, Elie eventually found himself free thanks to his survival factors. Elie Wiesel survived through love for his family, for his own and others' humanity, for his health and his appearance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayElie Wiesel had so much love for his father and kept telling himself that he had to survive because his father couldn't live without him. He knew that his father was weak and could not live without his son's help and love. “'Come, father. It's better there. You will be able to lie down there. We'll take turns. I will watch over you and you will watch over me. We won't let each other fall asleep. We will take care of each other.'” Elie and his father ran for endless kilometers in the dark and freezing night. If someone fell asleep there was a good chance they would never wake up again. Elie was protecting his father when he said they should take care of each other. He couldn't let his father die, so he forced himself to stay alive to help his father. Additionally, Elie comforts his father as he cries. « 'The world? The world is not interested in us. Today everything is possible, even crematoriums..." His voice broke. “Father,” I said. «If it's true, then I don't want to wait. I will come across electrified barbed wire. It would be easier than a slow death in flames.' He didn't answer. He was crying. His body was shaking." It was then that the Jews left the ghettos and were deported to Auschwitz. When his father is devastated by his wife and daughters, Elie tries his best to comfort him because he knows he cannot lose his entire family. She is telling her father that she will fight for what is right or die because she knows she cannot live without him. Another factor in Elie's survival was humanity. He knew he had to do something to remain human. “He reached the first cauldron. Hearts beat faster: he had succeeded. Jealousy has devoured us, consumed us. We never thought of admiring it. Poor hero who commits suicide for a portion or two or more of soup… In our minds he was already dead.” The prisoners were rarely fed, and Elie knew he needed food. He knew he would have to overcome his limits to survive, which he did. He had to put himself in danger to remain human. Many times, Elie and the rest of the prisoners would have to stare death in the face only to barely survive. Elie's survival has to do not only with being human but also with the other people in his life. For example, the very nice French girl Elie met. “He looked me straight in the eyes. I knew she wanted to talk to me but she was paralyzed by fear. He remained like that for a while, then his face lit up and he said, in almost perfect German: 'Bite your lips, little brother... Don't cry. Save your anger, your hatred, for another day, for later. The day will come, but not now... Wait. Grit your teeth and wait.'” The French girl found Elie after he had been beaten by Idek. Elie was in very bad condition and the French girl took care of him and even fed him. For Elie to survive, he wasn't the only one who had to.