Wiesel Elie was among the few survivors who escaped death narrowly during the Holocaust World War II. Such names as Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Treblinka remind Elie of nightmares of pains and sufferings the Jews went through in Holocaust. Sometimes a person might wonder about the presence of God in such situations and fail to understand why people are left to suffer and die in pain like those experienced in Holocaust. Elie trusted upon the Lord ever since he was a child, and waited upon God to intervene in every challenging situation. It was not until the outbreak of war in Germany that he waited for God to intervene but nothing took place making him lose hope in God. Elie accused God of neglecting his people and allowing German soldiers to torture and kill them in cold blood. After his survival, Wiesel reevaluated his life towards the role God plays in protecting His people that resulted into many questions about God running through his mind (Wiesel, 1985).
One of the most painful moments reflected in hi s book “Night” was that even though Elie escaped death none of his family members survived. This contributed a lot to his changed faith towards God after the experiences he went through in Auschwitz, the Hitler’s concentration camp. The pain Elie went through seeing people, young and old being slaughtered like animals and others buried alive made him lose faith in God. This was horrific but being fifteen years old the young boy could do nothing but stand and watch God’s people being mutilated. Wiesel never gave up on his life but continued to pray that one day God will intervene thus after going through all these hardships, Elie gained more strength than before (Wiesel, 1985).
Elie changed his identity after shifting his hope from god since before the order on all families to stay in a camp; Elie was dedicated all his life to God. Wiesel was too religious that he cried after praying but when asked the reason, would claim it was automatic. The writer remembers very well that time the Hungarian soldiers forced the Jews into the ghetto he was deep into prayers inside a synagogue. While on their way inside cattle pulled cart, Wiesel went on praying and asking the Lord to protect his people from the offenders. Once in the camp, another incidence occurred that led Elie losing faith in God, the Hungarian police were instructed to kill the young, sick, and weak people. Wiesel speaks of the flames that spread out as the poor people perished in the fire, and he felt as if his spirits were murdered and his dreams turned into dust (Wiesel, 1985).
There before, Wiesel could hardly have doubt towards God, but on the outcome of war made him lose all the hope he had in God. Wiesel remembers the time he was at the crematory pit and cursed all the time he devoted towards the creator only to let his people wail in pain and suffering. In addition, Wiesel referred god as the creator of the universe, the source of all powers, and an external lord but could not use these powers to stop Hungarians from burning the poor Jews. The writer wondered who could save these children, if their creator had less concern towards their sufferings. The situations made Wiesel come into conclusion that the Jews were not part of God’s creation. According to Elie’s camp mentor, Pinhas, everything that took place was according to God’s plan and the only option was submitting to God’s will since he controls everything, even those soldiers were part of God’s creation (1985).
Moreover, Wiesel knew that god was powerful that no man had the capacity to argue with Him. Through this, Wiesel decoded to trip away from God’s word and become an independent person since God betrayed him after all that dedication since he was a child. Wiesel went to the extent of calling God his enemy since and stranger. The Jews were subjected to hard work of making huge bricks manually and elevating them on the building tops for construction. In addition, the slaves were treated like animals by being whipped hard and fed with insufficient food. Wiesel argued that even the most dedicated and faithful people like Pinhas also died while challenging God and waiting for their prayers to be answered. Pinhas was Wiesel’s role model, and this left him with a lot of questions that seemed a burden to him (Wiesel, 1985).
Another burning issue that prompted Wiesel in losing faith in God was the failure to celebrate New Year with the other Jews. Wiesel wondered why Rabbi blessed the name of the highest while at the same time thousands of people were lying lifeless inside the pits. He blamed God the creator on all these deaths. Wiesel also regretted why he spent most of his time praying to God and yet his efforts were fruitless since all these things happened before God’s holy eyes. Wiesel was religious, but his faith dried away while in the camp making him lose his identity. While in the camp Wiesel’s observation on how his people were being treated made him loose his own faith. The sufferings endured by the Jews while in the camp, that included, abuses, starvation, and murders made Wiesel gain a different attitude towards his own life, as seen at the last part of his book. The death of his father accelerated his denial and nothing seemed to reunite hi relation with God (Wiesel, 1985).
Wiesel regretted why he never listened to his father while in his last minutes on earth. Before, Wiesel could watch Nazis abuse his father without reacting but later he discovered that his father had meant a lot in life and wished could get his hands to Nazis’s dead body in order to defend his father. Wiesel was a polite child who followed God’s teachings, but a few days before his father died, he changed his attitude towards God and himself. He saw no reason to leave after his father’s death and blamed God for everything that happened to his family. While in the camp, Wiesel was left with his father as his mother and the three sisters were taken to the valley of death by the Hungarian solders. In addition, Elie behaved in a manner that proved he was less concerned about his own life, and would wish the soldiers could chop off his head and follow his people into the river of death (Wiesel, 1985).
It is clear that Wiesel lost all his faith towards god since he never gave God another chance to prove His power and capabilities. On the other hand, Elie realized God’s existence since he was saved from death while in the camp. Wiesel claimed that at no time in his has he questioned God’s justice, and mercy that he left everything in his arms. In addition, Wiesel accepted all forms of punishments brought to him, withstood all the anger and sufferings, and was ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Holy Spirit. The death of Jews in the camp made Wiesel curse God and announce that all those things he has done were over. He could not continue serving God who deserts His people and leaves them in the hands of murderers. Although Wiesel lost faith in God during those days, he still calls for people to adopt the new theological perspective whereby people should accept God in every situation since he is a worthy God and knows all His actions (Wiesel, 1985).
Finally in his book, Wiesel concludes that God should not be forced to do things because he is never in a hurry and also does not delay. The new faith allows people to hold anger towards God since many are times when God seem to ignore his people, but this should come as a lesson for those who remain behind. Wiesel went through suffering in the military camp for almost two years and managed to fight against death. The betrayal seen from God made him feel like giving up though he later regained his energy and decided to fight for his rights. Giving hope was not in God was not a solution but Wiesel never imagined serving God who once betrayed him and his people.
Reference
Wiesel, E. (1985). Night. The first edition, France: Les Editions de Minuit.
