“The opposite of love is not hate, its indifference,” is one of the countless quotes recited by the legendary Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel as he reflected upon his time spent in Auschwitz at the concentration camp. As the Star of David glistened over and engulfed the concentration camp in Auschwitz, the oppressed had no idea what was going to happen to them at any given moment on any given day.
Billy Joel once stated, “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning. Since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire. No, we didn’t light it. But we tried to fight it.” As I comprehend this short but powerful verse, I could only imagine how Jewish people felt when their names were replaced with black and gloomy numbers. Numbers that did not tell a story, but stripped a person from their liberty and dehumanized them as a living, breathing individual.
As I began to thoroughly read each survivor story one after the next, I came to the realization that I would choose Elie Wiesel. I pondered the thought of selecting Elie Wiesel because I remembered reading this memoir in the seventh grade and after reading the notable memoir for the second time in ninth grade, my entire overview changed drastically and my understanding in relation to the topic changed as well. Elie Wiesel’s testimony spoke to me from the book with the use of his articulate figurative language and word choice.
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Elie Wiesel’s testament not only inspired me but also future generations and future leaders of America. The one key element that I learned from Elie Wiesel’s testament was the importance of faith and that it is better to hold on to the little faith that you have as opposed to losing faith in its entirety because once you lose faith and trust in God, it is hard to gain back. We must keep our heads held high even when the pain becomes unbearable and the times get too tough.
In the outstanding memoir Night, Elie loses faith in God’s justice. As Elie watched innocent Jews die without God’s intervention, he wondered how God could be fair when innocent Jews were being killed by the millions. Wiesel’s inner thoughts and emotions are illustrated by the quote, “Why should I bless his name. The eternal, lord of the universe, the all-powerful and terrible was silent. What had I to thank him for (Night, 31)? However, later in the memoir Wiesel regains his faith in God and remembers that everything God does is for a reason.
I recollect a time in my earlier childhood where my mother and father would impose upon me to go in the church choir and recite the “Faith Decree” every Sunday. The first words that I would utter out of my mouth was “Because I am a believer in the only living God.” Now that I am older and more mature, I know the importance of saying that decree and I say it proudly every Sunday. By providing this recollection from my childhood, this indicates a prime representation of how Elie Wiesel wanted the future generation to keep faith in God
