History Literature / Night

-> ''When he said Jesus again I couldn't take it, and for the only time in my life I was discourteous, which I regret to this day. I said, "Mr Mauriac . . . ten years or so ago, I have seen children, hundreds of Jewish children, who suffered more than Jesus did on his cross and we do not speak about it." I felt all of a sudden so embarrassed. I closed my notebook and went to the elevator. He ran after me. He pulled me back; he sat down in his chair, and I in mine, and he began weeping. I have rarely seen an old man weep like that, and I felt like such an idiot . . . And then, at the end, without saying anything, he simply said, "You know, maybe you should talk about it."''

Then in 1955, he interviewed the Christian (and Christ-obsessed) novelist Francois Mauriac, with the results described in the page quote, and with Mauriac's help he published a greatly abridged edition in France, then America, calling it ''La Nuit'' (''Night''). The book's story centres around a man named [[AuthorAvatar Eliezer]] and his father Shlomo, and their experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The book has been translated into over 30 languages and is considered to be a quintessential work of Holocaust literature.

''Night'' is also notable in that it's not really a novel, or a memoir, or an autobiography, or a nonfiction story, being [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory somewhat loosely based on Wiesel's experiences]]. There's still lots of debate over how much of this book is factual, and for that reason, scholars still have trouble trying to approach it as a straightforward account.

Wiesel published two follow ups to the book: ''Dawn'' in 1961 and ''Day'' in 1962. These installments are more allegorical than autobiographical, but nonetheless continue Wiesel's examination of his thoughts and experiences as a Holocaust survivor in the years after the genocide's end.

* BasedOnATrueStory: It's not entirely clear how much of the book is based on actual events. Wiesel himself said that "Some events do take place but are not true; others are, although they never occurred," and he tended to get offended when people call it fiction.

* CassandraTruth: Moshe, who can't prove his citizenship, is the first to be hauled off in a cattle train, but manages to escape. No one listens to his warnings.

* LesCollaborateurs: The majority of the cruelty depicted on-page doesn't come from the SS, but from Kapos, prisoners who became slave-drivers in exchange for better treatment. Elie seems to remember their brutality more vividly than the actual German instigators of his suffering, who, for the most part, are more distant.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler:Shlomo dies after receiving one from an SS officer.]]
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Subverted. During the march from Birkenau to Auschwitz anyone who moves too slowly is shot. Rabbi Eliahou can no longer manage to run, and loses his son in the crowd, but is determined to find him. Eliezer declines to tell him that said son abandoned him after seeing him limping, and prays to God for the spiritual strength never to abandon his own father. [[spoiler:He doesn't get it, and is ultimately too cowardly to help the dying Shlomo.]]

* {{Anaphora}}

* BittersweetEnding: Shifts very, ''very'' much towards the "bitter" side. Buchenwald is liberated and Eliezer survives, although not without extreme loss and most specifically (and recently) at the cost of his father's life. But at the very end, when Eliezer stares in a mirror, he realizes how much the experience has dehumanized him despite the liberation.

* BookEnds: See IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming below.

* DeathOfAChild: Starting in the ''very first chapter'', we hear of [[spoiler: babies being used as target practice for the SS soldiers. Then we see children being shot, thrown into fire-pits, hanged...]]

* {{Determinator}}: Eliezer embodies both the good and bad sides of this trope, surviving no matter what he has to do and who he has to abandon.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming [=/=] ThemeNaming: Though they're far lesser-known than this book, Wiesel wrote two fictional follow-ups to his memoir, both exploring the plight of Holocaust survivors and their efforts to reconcile with the past. The first was called ''Dawn'', and the second was called ''Day''. Together with ''Night'', they form a trilogy.
** [[WordOfGod Elie had said]] that this represented his state of mind during and following the Holocaust, and how everything [[BookEnds ends up coming right back to night]].[[note]]This also ties into the Jewish tradition that new days begin at nightfall.[[/note]]

* OneWordTitle

* TomatoInTheMirror: A grim (and literal) example in the ending when Eliezer looks in a mirror and sees himself for the first time since the Jewish ghettos, and realizes how much the camps have done to him.

* AdultFear:
** Definitely comes to mind when you think of the children burning in the crematorium and [[spoiler:the '''babies''' being used for target practice]].
** Camps like these have existed throughout history and it's likely there are some today.

On April 11, 1945, the Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated, and among the freed inmates was a young man named Elie Wiesel. He had lost his father, his mother, and one of his sisters. For a decade he worked as a journalist and refused to even discuss UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. In 1954, he poured his experiences into a Yiddish book that was originally [[{{Doorstopper}} almost 900 pages long]][[note]]that was just the manuscript; it received quite some compression into just 245 pages[[/note]] and called ''And the World Remained Silent''. However, the public was generally apathetic to it.

Then in 1955, he interviewed the Christian (and Christ-obsessed) novelist Francois Mauriac, with the results described in the page quote, and with Mauriac's help he published a greatly abridged edition in France, then America, calling it ''La Nuit'' or ''Night''. The book has been translated into over 30 languages and is considered to be a quintessential work of Holocaust literature.

It's a novel--er, a memoir--no, an autobiography--um, a nonfiction story--eh, [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory this book doesn't really fit neatly into one of these categories]]. There's still lots of debate over how much of this book is a memoir, and for that reason, scholars still have trouble trying to approach it as a straightforward account.

The story centres around a man named [[AuthorAvatar Eliezer]] and his father Shlomo, and their experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

* AnAesop: The book is based on his own experience as a child prisoner in Auschwitz. There's a very clear message here: the Holocaust happened, and we have to come to terms with that. It was a ''very'' dark mark on human history that should never be repeated. Real human beings with feelings were slaughtered for no reason other than the fact that they came from a different ethic group. Genocide is bad. It cannot happen again.

* ATasteOfTheLash: As DisproportionateRetribution for discovering an affair between an SS and a young Polish girl.

* FriendToAllChildren: [[MengeleUsefulNotes Josef Mengele]] plays himself up like this. Subverted, given that he was Josef Mengele and had a ''[[PlayingWithSyringes reason]]'' for being so outwardly nice to the children.

* OneWordTitle

* FriendToAllChildren: UsefulNotes/JosefMengele plays himself up like this. Subverted, given that he was Josef Mengele and had a ''[[PlayingWithSyringes reason]]'' for being so outwardly nice to the children.

* DeathOfAChild: Starting in the ''very first chapter'', we hear of babies being used as target practice for the SS soldiers. Then we see children being shot, thrown into fire-pits, hanged...

* InfantImmortality: Averted thoroughly. Starting in the ''very first chapter'', we hear of babies being used as target practice for the SS soldiers. Then we see children being shot, thrown into fire-pits, hanged...

-> ''When he said Jesus again I couldn't take it, and for the only time in my life I was discourteous, which I regret to this day. I said, "Mr. Mauriac . . . ten years or so ago, I have seen children, hundreds of Jewish children, who suffered more than Jesus did on his cross and we do not speak about it." I felt all of a sudden so embarrassed. I closed my notebook and went to the elevator. He ran after me. He pulled me back; he sat down in his chair, and I in mine, and he began weeping. I have rarely seen an old man weep like that, and I felt like such an idiot . . . And then, at the end, without saying anything, he simply said, "You know, maybe you should talk about it."''

It's a novel--er, a memoir--no, an autobiography--um, a nonfiction story--eh, [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory this book doesn't really fit neatly into one of these categories]]. There's still lots of debate over how much of this book is memoir, and for that reason scholars still have trouble trying to approach it as a straightforward account.

The story centers around a man named [[AuthorAvatar Eliezer]] and his father Shlomo, and their experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

* AuthorAvatar: Eliezer, if you don't already believe he and the author are the same person.

* DeathMarch: The Buna concentration camp is evacuated due to approach of the Red Army, and the inmates are forced to walk more than 50 miles to a train hub at Gleiwitz for transport to Buchenwald.

* FlashForward: Eliezer relates that he was beaten by a man called Idek in a fit of rage and afterwards a young French girl helped patch him up. He then relates that years later he met that same woman in an underground.
* FriendToAllChildren: UsefulNotes/JosefMengele plays himself up as this. Subverted, given that he was Josef Mengele and had a ''[[PlayingWithSyringes reason]]'' for being so outwardly nice to the children.

* OpposeWhatYouSuffered: Applies to the author. Elie Wiesel, a surivor of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, spent his life after the Holocaust as an advocate against genocide.

-->"''Blessed be God's name? Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves? Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death?''"

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Eliezer can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the SS officer Idek moving a hundred prisoners just to have sex with a girl. Unfortunately, Idek heard this and [[ATasteOfTheLash punished Eliezer for it]].

It's a novel--er, a memoir--no, an autobiography--um, a nonfiction story--eh, [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory this book doesn't really fit neatly into one of these categories]], and there's still lots of debate over how much of this book is memoir, and scholars still have trouble trying to approach it as a straightforward account. This story is based off of [[AuthorAvatar Eliezer]] (or some semi-fictionalization) and his father Shlomo, and their experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

Then in 1955, he interviewed the Christian (and Christ-obsessed) novelist Francois Mauriac, with the results described in the page quote, and with Mauriac's help he published a greatly abridged edition in France, then America, calling it ''La Nuit'' or ''Night''. The book has been translated into over 30 languages and is considered to be a quintessential work and a cornerstone of Holocaust literature.

On April 11, 1945, the Buchenwald concentration camp was liberated, and among the freed inmates was a young man named Elie Wiesel. He had lost his father, his mother, and one of his sisters. For a decade he worked as a journalist and refused to even discuss UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. In 1954, he poured his experiences into a Yiddish book that was originally [[{{Doorstopper}} almost 900 pages long]][[note]]that was just the manuscript; thankfully, it received quite some compression into just 245 pages[[/note]] and called ''And the World Remained Silent''. However, the public was generally apathetic to it.

* {{Doorstopper}}: When Elie wrote his Yiddish book ''And the World Remained Silent'', the manuscript was over ''800 pages long''. However, [[InvertedTrope it was reduced to 245 pages]].

* DueToTheDead: Shlomo recites the Kaddish for those who die.
** Even Eliezer himself.

* TheCanKickedHim: It's heavily implied that Zalman, a young Pole appearing near the end of the story, is trampled to death whilst attempting to relieve himself in the snow during the long run from Buna to Gleiwitz.

* AnyoneCanDie: [[CaptainObvious Duh.]]

It's a novel--er, a memoir--no, an autobiography--um, a nonfiction story--eh, [[GenreBusting this book doesn't really fit neatly into one of these genres]], and there's still lots of debate over how much of this book is memoir, and scholars still have trouble trying to approach it as a straightforward account. This story is based off of [[AuthorAvatar Eliezer]] (or some semi-fictionalization) and his father Shlomo, and their experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

-->"''The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it....''"

* AdultFear: Definitely comes to mind when you think of the children burning in the crematorium and [[spoiler:the '''babies''' being used for target practice]].