Great Works of Literature II

The books that I’ve read so far regarding the Holocaust (including Night) basically told the experiences of Jews. So, I actually found it quite interesting to read the perspective of a Polish man who actually aided in the process of helping Jews face their deaths.. While he did not bear so much torture and extreme hostility during the Holocaust, I feel that his position within the concentration camp brought him just as much torture, and the more he witnessed people suffering, or the more he worked, the more he was burdened with guilt. Having to witness the horrible things that humans are capable of, having to see those Jews being treated as less than human beings and having to help them endure that torture made him break. Furthermore, the fact that he could do nothing to help prevent any of this, or even help some of those Jews, just made things worse for him. This shows that when it comes to trying to save your own life, you’re willing to do almost anything, regardless of how inhumane it may be. I think that the author was well aware of this fact all along, and as time progressed I think that the guilt was just eating away at him. He even becomes uncertain of how to view himself because morals no longer play a huge role, and this shows that Jews were not the only ones who underwent major change and lost all hope. For instance, just as Jews were dehumanized, people who were forced to help Jews endure their fate were slowly becoming less human as well, throwing away morality and ethics, becoming more detached from everyone else and growing less concerned about what it is they’re really doing..

The effects of the Holocaust expand beyond the execution of millions of Jews.. This story is proof that it also took a major toll on people who helped carry out this massacre.