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In 1941, Elie meets Moishe the Beadle. He was thirteen at the time, and wanted to study Kabbalah. After they met, and Elie admitted to this, Moishe spoke to him about this hours every day.
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Moishe and other foreign Jews are deported to Galicia.
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Jessica
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Moishe gets back from Galicia by sneaking out, and tells everyone his story. Needless to say, no one believes him and they all think he has gone mad.
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On the seventh day of Passover, the Germans stationed in houses of Sighet arrested the Jewish leaders. New rules were pit in place and they had to wear the star and the people of the small ghetto were removed.
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Maria, their former maid offers them a seprate place to live, yet they all refuse.
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Elie's family gets deported on Saturday, the day of rest.
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When they finally arrive at Birkenau, they see the fire the crazy mother was talking about, made from burnt people.
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This is the last time Elie ever sees Tzipora and his mother in his life.
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The male Jews are in line, waiting for their fate to be decided by Dr. Mengele. The young men want to revolt, but are stopped by the elders who urge them not to act. Elie and his father are told to lie about their age and profession to Dr. Mengele, which at first appears to have hurt their cause, but end up helping them survive.
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Natalie
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The first night in the camp was a memorable one, but for terrible reasons. It was the night he first saw people, some mere children, turn to smoke. It was the night he lost his faith in God, and the first night people praying to God caused him to become angry. It was the night that made him lose his desire to live.
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After the first selection, they were herded into barracks to get their hair cut and their clothes changed. They used this time to find friends and acquaintances who they had not seen since they were deported. They are moved into yet another barrack and are told by an SS Officer that they must work to survive. Elie truly realizes how much he has changed in such a short time.
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ARBEIT MACHT FREI. (Work makes you free.) They arrive at Auschwitz and at first, it seems better than Birkenau, their last camp. They took hot showers and were promised new clothes. They met their Block 17 leader who was the most human of all the people they had met so far. After a good night's sleep, their morale was restored. They got their numbers tattooed on their left arm and Elie got the number A-7713. The following 8 days were generally the same.
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Stein, a relative who was deported in 1924 comes looking for the Wiesels to ask them about his wife and two sons. Elie doesn't actually know, but he lies and says they are okay to give Stein hope. Stein later finds out the truth and is never seen again.
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Elie begins to think about his mother and sister. His father reassures him that they are okay, but Elie knows that they are just pretending to believe that. They get moved to Buna and go through the same routine as before. They get placed in the Orchestra Block. They learn that they will be working in a warehouse of electrical materials and that it is easy, safe work as long as you stay out of their Kapo, Idek's, way when he gets into an angry fit.
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Elie was called in to see the Dentist who was in fact looking for gold crowns to sell for money. Elie managed to avoid getting his gold tooth extracted by saying that he wasn't feeling well. The Dentist was soon thrown into prison because he was using the gold crowns for his own profit. Elie is glad to have been able to keep his gold crown because it could prove useful.
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When Idek was venting his fury, Elie happened to cross his path and get beaten until he was almost senseless. The beating stopped almost as abruptly as it had started and Idek acted like nothing had occurred. The French girl Elie had come to befriend risked her life to give him words of encouragement. Many years later, he runs into the French girl in Paris and they start talking about the time they shared in the concentration camp.
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Another time, Elie's father crossed Idek's path and was beaten severely. Elie thinks about stealing away to avoid any blows that could possibly be directed to him and actually grows angry towards his father for not staying out of Idek's way. Elie realizes how much he has changed in the concentration camps. He also learns what desperation can turn people into when a once pleasant man, Franek, turns into a greedy and savage man, just for Elie's gold crown.
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Idek leaves Franek in charge of them and goes off to do something. He says that they can do anything as long as they keep busy, so Elie decides to explore the warehouse. He hears noises and sees Idek with a half naked Polish girl. He is caught and punished by Idek, who whips him 25 times to teach him to keep his nose out of other people's business.
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As the camp goes on lockdown, the prisoners are sent to their blocks. Two cauldrons of hot soup sit, unattended next to the kitchens-free for the taking. No one, however, is willing to take the risk of being shot. Suddenly, a man crawls out of his block and dares to eat some soup. Upon thrusting his head into the soup, he is shot and killed on the spot.
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Morgan
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A young boy from Warsaw who had been in the camp for 3 years is found guilty of stealing during the raid. His last words are "Long live liverty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My-" before he is hanged and killed. The men are happy as there is one less person for the camp to accomodate, meaning more rations for the living.
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A Dutchman and his pipel were found guilty of harboring weapons as well as the Oberkapo who was sent away. The Dutchman and pipel were to be hanged for their crimes. The Dutchman died instantly, but the beautiful, angel-faced pipel was not heavy enough for an instant death. He suffered for 30 minutes before finally dying. Everyone is shaken up by the death of an innocent child, and are not happy at all.
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Another selection is taking place, and Elie is not confident that his father will pass. Both Elie and his father believe they have passed. Later on, the men are separated by who will stay in the camp and who will work. Elie is to work and his father is to stay.
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Many men in the camp are convinced that God is no longer with them and have simply given up. Akiba Drumer and a Rabbi were sent away. The men were supposed to say Kaddish 3 days after he left, but they forgot.
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The cold of winter has caused widespread suffering, and Elie has developed a sore foot. He goes to the hospital where he is admitted and told he needs surgery. The man in the bed next to him speaks of doom and a loss of hope. He believes they wil all be killed once the red army reaches the camp. Elie undergoes a successful surgery on his foot.
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Elie and his father decided to abandon the hospital instead of staying there waiting for the red army. They march, not knowing their destination. They make sure to clean the blocks so that the red army would know they "lived as men not as pigs". It was snowing constantly and the men marched on.
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The men are forced to run most of the journey, and anyone who fell behind was shot and killed. Elie is miserable and watches the boy next to him go down, probably trampled by the others. He is fascinated by the idea of dying and of being free of his suffering.
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Elie during the night was stranggled, but was freed by Meir Katz. Meir felt weak and that he could not continue. Meir lost his son to the first selection and now the emotions were getting to him.
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Elie and his father see all the dead bodies and feel that death is approching both of them. They both thought if they sleep it means death for the both of them. Fear
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Sami
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They stayed in Gleiwitz for three days without anything to eat or drink. The selections were still going on at this point in time. All the men felt death apon them. They questioned everyday when they were going to die.
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None of the men wanted to give up they have come to far to stop the fight to Gleiwitz now. They are all waiting to see the bared wire of Gleiwitz.
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Elie did not think that his father was going to keep awake during the wagon ride so he slapped him to wake up. His father at this point is so weak and hopeless. All of the men recieved no food and lived off snow.
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The men arrived to the camp and were counted. Elie tried to give his father support and to tell him to keep going. His father is not hopeful that he will make it much longer, he can barely breath,
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Elies father was being beat up after eating, because he is weak and the men was his resources. The men keep beating his father and stealing his bread. All Elies father wanted during this time was snow.
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Elies father was taken at night, when Elie was sleeping. Elies father was taken to the crematorium by the officer. In the morning Elie came down to see his father gone.
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The men were all freed from camps, when the American troops came and saved them all from more pain and hurt.
