Night by Elie Wiesel recounts the true story of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. When he was a young teenager, Wiesel and his family were taken from their home in Transylvania and sent to Auschwitz, where he and his father are separated from his mother and younger sister. Wiesel then spent many months as a prisoner before the Allied troops liberated his camp.
The following excerpt tells of his trip to Auschwitz crammed in a train's cattle car with almost one hundred other people:
"Lying down was not an option, nor could we all sit down. We decided to take turns sitting. There was little air. The lucky ones found themselves near a window; they could watch the blooming countryside flit by.
"After two days of travel, thirst became intolerable, as did the heat.
"... There was still some food left. But we never ate enough to satisfy our hunger. Our principle was to economize, to save for tomorrow. Tomorrow could be worse yet."
Night is available for borrowing from the PRHS library.
Reviews written by teenagers: Review #1, Review #2.
Book's website.
No comments:
Post a Comment