Studying the holocaust through any media is a trying event considering the viciousness and hatred a single man evolved into an entire movement. Night reinforced the horror of the anti-Semitic force that swept through and reduced people to mere shells of people, a fate that no one should suffer, let alone an entire people. The small acts of humanity that were shown in both the movies and book shone brightly against the darkness of the atrocities of others, a sign that there was still good left in the world. Unthinkable events happened to the Jews, and by hearing and realizing what it was all about, it is possible to take valuable lessons from the past.
The deportation and incarceration of the Jewish people was a significant guide to the times attitudes towards other human beings. Since they were seen as inferior to other more "pure" races, it was permissible to degrade, beat and kill innocent people without consequence. When the Wiesel family was shipped off in cattle cars with their peers to the concentration camps, they knew nothing of what was to become of them. Further into the experience they learned what utter cruelty could be done to people, and how in the face of such evil there seemed that there could be no God. Their faith in humanity was challenged, and by simply reading about such experience mine was as well. It is hard to imagine that the actions displayed in the book and movies are real, it leaves a bitter taste of reality behind.
With the control the Kommondant and his staff has over so many people it was near impossible to retain any hope. However, several people provided enough instances of kindness to keep what sanity the prisoners had. Some provided simple necessities or even a few kind words from one human being to another, and it was enough to spark a degree of hope. The Kapo who wished the prisoners a good night; Jakob who took in a child; the Frenchwoman who spoke to Eliezer, they all did something that proved that there still was good in the world. Those little rays of goodness were enough to alleviate the sheer numbing comes across with the ghastliness of the time.
I was alternately sickened and inspired by the suffering of those locked away in those specially designed hells. Every experience I heard or read of simply dug a hook into me until I was so drawn into the brutality that it fascinated and disgusted me. On one side, such immorality severely challenged my perception of the potential people have to good and evil. I know that there are and have been terrible people in the world, and there always has been intolerance. To come into contact with actual accounts of such an appalling past as what we have seen opened my eyes open further and informed me of what has and can happen. The fascination involved with this unit comes from the interminable strength of the human spirit.
Witnessing the holocaust through people both fictional and real was enough to open my eyes further to the range of acts humankind is capable of. In the best of times it is hard to see the worst in people, and in the worst of times it is hard to see the best. The treatment of those in the camps, between staff and prisoners and between the prisoners themselves was enough to prove the scope of behavior people can have. Eliezer and his relationship with his father, the instinctual drive to live and the lies spread to generate hope were enough to prove the existence of what little good was there present. Seeing the narration of the dire times portrayed offered an insightful enough look that the entire spectrum of humanity was visible to scrutiny.
