What results after the Germans take over Hungary has not been easy reading, as you watch the deaths of innocent people, of the innocence in one person, and in that person's great belief in God.
After Wiesel somehow survived Birkenau, Auchwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald, he did not speak of his experiences for ten years. When he was finally ready to tell his story, he could not find a publisher, as this story of the Holocaust was considered too depressing for people to read. His story was published in France in 1958 and was translated into English and published in America in 1960.
He wrote his story both to honor the millions of dead, but more importantly to teach the living in hopes that such evil will never be repeated.
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
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.
