19 March 2012
Life during the Holocaust:
Life in the ghettos, Dr. Mengele’s medical care, and food in the camps
Genocide during WWII was unbelievably cruel and awful. The Holocaust was sure to be remembered from this time period and have permanently engraved horrible memories into those who survived. During the Holocaust many victims suffered while living in the ghettos, soon to reach the camps they also suffered there as well. The encounters with Dr. Mengele were unbearable too. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night is very important especially the fact that it accurately describes what really happened during the Holocaust. One of these many reasons is that Wiesel was an actual survivor of the Holocaust. His descriptions of his experiences in the ghettos, encounters with Dr. Mengele and his trouble with small amounts of food in the camp greatly make us only able to imagine what he went through. Elie Wiesel in his memoir Night, along with other victims of the Holocaust was faced with many obstacles while living in the ghettos, encounters with Dr. Mengele and forced labor. Living in the ghettos was the first step in being dehumanized. Elie Wiesel describes these experiences in his memoir Night. One example of these experiences that were described by Elie was that decrees were to be made in the Jewish ghettos. “We were no longer allowed to go into restaurants or cafes, attend the synagogue and must be in at sic o’ clock.”(Wiesel 9). These are for the Jews in the ghettos prior to full liquidation. Another example is when Elie describes that living space in ghettos was uncomfortable, but highly appreciated. “Night fell, twenty people gathered in my backyard.”(Wiesel 10). Elie Wiesel’s father sat with groups of people to discuss what was happening in the ghettos and what was going to become of them. Furthermore as soon as the ghetto was going to be liquidated, Jews had no