Pg 85-97

Elie and the other prisoners who are being evacuated from Buna are no longer marching but are running through the cold winter night. If they stop running and begin to walk they will be shot. Zalman, who is running alongside Elie, stops running. He isn't shot but rather is trampled by the people running behind him who are too afraid to slow down in fear that they too will be shot. I understand that they are all underfed, tired, and probably sick, but i find it hard to believe that Zalman would just give in when he knew that death would surely follow. After they had gone through so much and the Russians were soon to be upon the Germans, why quit now? Elie with his injured foot and all keeps up for his father's sake.

Once Elie and the rest of the evacuee's reach a deserted village after a 42 mile run, they stop. Elie and his father rest in the shelter of a shed. Rabbi Eliahou find Elie and his father and questions them if they had seen his son at all during the whole ordeal. Elie lies to the Rabbi and says that he has not seen his son. Truthfully Elie did see him and couldnt find the strength to tell the Rabbi that the son had abandoned him because he thought that surely his father would fall behind and be killed. I know for sure that i wouldnt be able to tell any father this. Maybe just in fear of the father's reaction at the realization that the one who raised had abandoned him for his own good. Elie then prays to God that he will never have to or be tempted to abandon his father. Elie is beginning to return to his faithfullness in God.

Finally, the prisoners arrive at the Gleiwitz camp. Elie meets up with his friend Juliek but when he wakes up Juliek is dead. Another selection is made and Elie's father is once again condemned to die. Elie runs after him and in the confusion they are both able to sneak to safety. They are then loaded onto cattlecars and are forced to throw out the bodies of the dead Jews that still remained in the cars. They are forced to survive on snow because they have not been fed for three days. Occasionally, a villager along the way would throw bread into the cars just for the entertainment of watching the Jews fight each other to death for it. If you think that dog-fighting is wrong, this is that much worse. Everyone onboard is going crazy. A son kills his father and then is killed by other men. One night Elie is strangled in his sleep and Meir Katz is called to help him. By the time they reach their destination only 12 of the 100 men on the train remain alive.