Auschwitz and Buchenwald are just a few of the names that evoke nightmares of the were greater than any before endured. The Holocaust created a void in the souls of many of those who survived. Elie Wiesel was one of those people. Elie Wiesel tells his heart-wrenching story of his imprisonment in Nazi Germany. He overcame the odds with his strength and will to live. Elie was told by his father to never lose his faith of his religion it would help him through everything, and keep him strong. One should never lose faith or whatever guiding force that may keep them going. This faith was the only force that helped Elie to survive, and without this faith Elie would have surely succumbed to dying. The question now is how far does Elie's belief in God and in his own faith helps him to go on.
Before the Holocaust he had been one of the most devout Jewish children. Up until the end he waited for God's intervention. When that intervention was not forthcoming, he began to doubt in God and in his mercy. He began to accuse God of cruelty against his people. After the torture was over, he had to reevaluate the role of God in his life. He could be forgiving of God and allow him another chance or he could take on the role of God to himself and try to define his own destiny. .
At first Elie wasn't sure of his faith because if there was a God, then why did he create the situation that they were in. Life is not always fair, and people are not either. People give in to power to save them and protect their own lives. People will sometimes hurt others, even those close to them, if put in a life or death situation. Elie was a young boy when he was taken to the concentration camps, and before had led a sheltered life. He did not realize how cruel people could be, and what far measures they would take when faced with power and death. He saw the torture, and the death of his family, which brought him great pain, but also made him grow up and face reality.
