The novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, has had much sociological significance on society. Night is Wiesel's attempt to trace the dissolution of the Jewish community in Sighet, the ghettoes, deportations, concentration camps, crematoriums, death marches, and, finally, liberation. In Night Wiesel uses his experiences to give humanity an in depth look at how horrific the German occupation was.
The holocaust brought many social changes to the Jews. The Jews were forced to leave their homes and business to move to concentration camps and housing projects: ghettos. Night tells of how Wiesel and his father were first separated from the rest of his family in Auschwitz, and it was also here that they first learn of the crematoria. As they stand outside the crematoria Wiesel describes the stench of burning flesh and dead bodies. Night also goes on to tell of how the Holocaust affected the Jews religiously. Night goes on to trace the growth of adolescent courage and the loss of religious faith. Wiesel tells of how after witnessing the death of a little boy, by hanging, so too dies his faith in God: .
"Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments, which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.".
Wiesel's original Yiddish title for Night was Un di velt hot geshvign, or in English, And the World Remained Silent. I think this title would have been appropriate because until the release of Night, the world was silent because no one truly knew of the pain suffered the Jews during the Holocaust.
