Lindsay's First Reader Response (Preface-Page 46)

I don't believe the expression of shock was erased from my face for one minute while reading this memoir. In fact, my face reflected the utter disbelief and disgust that I felt long after I had stopped reading. I have read several accounts of the Holocaust, but none have been as truly haunting as Night. How could something this appalling have occurred in our history, especially so recent? How is it possible that a human being could treat other human beings so atrociously? Wiesel's story is truly disturbing, but I am grateful that he has survived and passed on his experiences to the rest of the world. We, as humans, need to be exposed to this material. Some feel the need to turn away, to hide their eyes from events such as this. But to do this would be an insult to the victims, and, as Wiesel states, a victory for the criminals. We cannot turn a blind eye and pretend that the Holocaust never happened. Rather, we must regard it with respect and remorse, and learn from this heinous occurence.

What really struck me while reading was how inhumanely the Jews were truly treated. It was astonishing how the officers would truly dehumanize these people, and make it as if they were mere animals or objects. My heart pained when I read about how the men were forced to remove all of their clothing, and how Wiesel noted how they were all becoming the same, without separate identities. All of their hair was cut off. Wiesel recalls being tattooed, saying, "We were told to roll up our left sleeves and file past the table. The three "veteran" prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name" (42). I couldn't believe it; they were being stripped of everything they were, taken away from their identities. The officers made them all the same. They would look the same and would be labeled with numbers, not names. Did this make it easier on the Germans? Did they do this so it would be easier to pretend that they were not killing innocent humans, but objects? It is so wrong on so many levels. How could anyone assess the situation and honestly believe what they were doing in the concentration camps was right? Wiesel recalls, "Was I still alive? Was I awake? How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent? No. All this could not be real" (32). This quote stuck with me as I continued reading. How could people allow this to happen right under their noses? Before arriving at Auschwitz, the Jews had never even heard of the camp. This shows how little the world, especially the would-be victims, were informed of these events, at least at this time. This is why this book needs to be read; this is why this information needs to be spread.