Night Pg 47-65

When Elie and the rest of the prisoners he is traveling with reach their temporary location, they ask which block they should try to enter. The inmates answer without hesitation, "Buna is a very good camp. One can hold one's own here. The most important thing is not to be assigned to the construction commando..." Following his medical evaluation, Elie is sent to the orchestra block. He is told they will be working in an electrical factory where the work is "neither hard nor dangerous." During Elie's first work experience he meets to Czechoslovakian brothers named Yossi and Tibi. They lost their parents at Berkenau. Judging that they were roughly the same age as Elie and myself, I can almost imagine myself in their shoes. They are in a weird situation and alone. They dont have their parents to turn back to. How horrifying an experience it must have been for the two boys. Their only strength lied in the fact that they could rely on each other.

We are then told that they have a "blockaleste" or a German Jew as their leader. Isnt this ironic that Hitler wanted to exterminate all the jews, but yet there was a Jew with some authority at one his death camps? He was named Alphonse and he took it as his job to defend the people of his block. One day when Elie returns from work, his number A-7713 is called to go to the dentist. Originally Elie is unsure why he of all people is going because he doesnt have the slightest toothache. "It didnt take long to learn the reason for our summons: our gold teeth were to be extracted." The dentist is also a Jew. Unfortunately he is the complete opposite of Alphonse and his face looks to be the "mask of death." Elie cleverly says that he is sick and asks to come back another day. As if almost by amazement of Elie's return, the dentist grants him another delay. When Elie returns for the third time the dentist office closed. The dentist to be hung for trading in the gold teeth for his own personal gain. It looks like Elie would be keeping his teeth after all.

I find Elie's conversation with a woman several years later in life simply remarkable. He is sitting there reading his newspaper and recognizes her from his their days in Buna. They get into quite a conversation and she tells Elie from the moment she saw him she knew he could be trusted with her secret. During a time like this how could Elie be thinking about anyone but himself? I know my thoughts would have been focused solely on saving my own skin first and if possibly my family and closest friends. Somehow Elie is able to form strong bonds with the people he meets in Buna. FIrst it is Yossi and Tibi, then he makes a relationship that wouls survive many years down the road when they would cross again during normal circumstances. Utterly astounding..........

the crematorium at Auschwitz http://youtube.com/watch?v=xptP9Hk0vPw
The National Holocaust Museum in DC http://www.ushmm.org/