Reality

In this section of the book, Elie arrives at Birkenau, where he is separated from his mother and younger sister. This occurs because the German officers are splitting those who are fit to work, and those who are not.  Those who are not fit to work, were rid of (cremate). I feel like this was one turning point in Elie’s life. 

He is faced with the horrors of a holocaust camp, and he begins to realize what is actually happening.  He is told to lie about his age (eighteen instead of fourteen) so that he is deemed suitable for labor, and the prisoner who explains all of this tells him that they came to be burned and killed. 

This was very eye opening for Elie and the rest of the arrivals. They now started to understood the full scope of the situation.  What was surprising was when the younger Jews suggested an uprising; the elders told them to have faith.  I would expect the elders to realize what position they were in, instead of immediately turning to blind faith.  

The fact that they were witnessing their own people; men, women, babies and children, being burned did not faze them very much.  I am not going to lie, if I went through the same ordeal, I would have a hard time believing that there was a god.  After making past the “inspection”, they are exposed to the highest degree of dehumanization.  They were shaved bald, disinfected with gasoline, and put in prison uniforms.  

Their individuality was taken from them, and so were their families, and yet their sense of faith remained.  One moment that was very surprising to me was that Elie's father started crying when he saw the people burning in the crematories.  He was the strongest character in the book, and he broke down in front of his son.  I bet that Elie was feeling hopeless in that moment because if his father was that scared and sad, the situation was probably worse than he thought.