Auschwitz Killed Faith
Jews used to celebrate; then they suffered. Jews used to beseech to God; then they burned. Jews used to sing; then they were sullen. There were lively synagogues; then Jews prayed surrounded by death and destruction. The Holocaust was the event that stripped Jews of their livelihood and turned humans into animals. In the book Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie recalls his experiences in the death camp Auschwitz. Arriving at age fifteen, Elie experiences horrors alongside his father no one should go through. Elie was just starting to grow up and realize he desired to be a mystic. He prayed constantly and sought guidance from the learned beggar, Moshe. Moshe was the first one abducted. He miraculously survived and told his tale but no one believed him. The people of Elie’s town were unaware the Holocaust had begun until they were taken as prisoners and persecuted. Moshe’s warning was not heeded. They were transported to Auschwitz, the most deadly of all the death camps. The guards in Auschwitz were vicious. They dehumanized the prisoners and many lost their basic beliefs and values. Elie has provided us with his account of the sins against him and humanity committed by the guards. Because of what the guards did to the prisoners, Elie lost his faith in God.
Since the Nazis killed so many Jews, Elie is furious with God and believes God is weaker than him. Elie used to be a devout Jew seeking guidance from God even crying while he prayed. But when he is imprisoned children get slaughtered without a thought and he questioned the faithfulness of God to his people. His irate feelings toward God drove him to doubt the wisdom of God:
“And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from paradise. When You were displeased by Noah’s generation, You brought down the flood. When Sodom lost Your favor, You caused the heavens to rain down fire and damnation. But look at these men You have betrayed, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned. What do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!” (Night, pg 68)
Elie provided a compelling argument against God. He let go of some of the pent up sorrow and fright that had turned to anger. Through all that he had seen and experienced, Elie rejected his former life as a mystic and started to argue with his God of no mercy. Elie doesn’t discount the existence of God but is blaming Him for the persecution the guards forced upon the Jewish people. Instead of seeing the guards and the Nazi power that inflicted the punishment he connects this event with other catastrophic events in history to determine God was responsible. He is enraged at God for letting his people pray and praise His name while they were slowly killed by starvation and the brutal conditions in Auschwitz. He thought he was the only sane one who had realized God was not there. At the time it was understandable for him to make these remarks because of the horrors he witnessed, but it was wrong of him to be mad at God. If he would have kept his faith it would have given him vigor and a determination to live.
Because of the physical pain he is going through, Elie rejects certain former beliefs about God. At one time nothing would have made Elie reject his God. But when he realized he was in danger he blamed God for not intervening and protecting him; his beliefs were tested:
“I suffer Hell in my soul and in my flesh. I also have eyes and I see what is being done here. Where is God’s mercy? Where is God? How can I believe, how can anyone believe in this God of mercy? (Night, pg 77)
Elie was not complaining, but he was merely crying out for help. He was reaching a point of no return. He cursed God and was astounded that God was not assisting. Elie says “I also have eyes and see what is being done here.” He was angry with God for not being merciful and seeing what it was really like for the prisoners. His feelings toward God had changed. No longer was he the young mystic. The physical agony he was put through clouded his judgment and he began to doubt God and his merciful ways.
Even though people around him still had faith and were being treated inhumanly, Elie was furious with God and believed him no longer of worth. The death and torture had become too much to bear for him. In his previous life Elie would have thought these events through, but in the moment he reacted and did not think:
“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? How could I say to Him: blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, end up in the furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine alter.” (Night, pg 67)
When he had first arrived at the camp Elie prayed constantly seeking insight and guidance as to what to do next, but later the horrific events penetrated his mind and he used God as a scapegoat for the death of children, the crematoria, and for the creation of these death camps. Elie’s rage was boiling over. His feelings toward God were not just. Elie was frustrated, tired of seeing all of these people dying slowly while he couldn’t do anything. When he could not do anything he assumed the burden was God’s. When no change came and Elie continued to fight with the fact he could not do anything he blamed God and created a void where once a healthy spiritual bond was residing. Without God to look to for guidance Elie was alone.
Because of the torture Elie endured, his views toward God became dramatically lessened. Elie thought he was greater than God which gave him no motivation to try to survive. His physical being was tested and he rejected certain areas of his faith. Elie had come to a breaking point and concurred with himself he would no longer view God in high regard. When someone goes through the amount of suffering the Jewish people did during the Holocaust it can make them change their views, force them to think about what is really important in order to survive. Through the end of the Holocaust Elie had abandoned faith but now, years later, has he forgiven God or has he remained at peace with his lack of belief.