Dear Elie Wiesel,
I
read the first part of your book and so far it’s hard for me even to turn to
the next page. Throughout the first 30 or so pages, I realized that everything
that I’ve known about humanity is wrong. I knew that the German’s treated the Jews
like animals during the Holocaust, but to hear about the horrendous experiences
that you’ve had so early in your journey is truly eye-opening. Early on in the
book you mention that the Germans threw infants up in the air and used them as
target practice for their machine guns. You remember that, “Infants were tossed
in the air and used as targets for machineguns” (Wiesel 6). When I read this,
not only did my initial reaction cause chills that ran up my spine, but it
immediately also drove me to consider the Nazi party to live in absence of
morals and a soul. This entry was just one of the powerful experiences that you
were so strong to write about. It destroys my morals, degrades my views and humiliates
my faith in humanity. Just the thought of throwing infants in the air and
shooting them is something that I could’ve never imagined.
All
my life I’ve grown up being, in a way, sheltered from the horrors of the
outside world. For example, I did not know about September 11, 2001 until about
two years later. I assume it was appropriate to shelter me from this seeing as
I was almost 6. However as I grew up, we learned nothing about the horrors of
the Holocaust, the stealing and transformation of children in Africa into war
machines, or even events in the Middle East. I believe that the entirety of
your book is to remind people that we cannot forget about such a tragic event
like the Holocaust and if we do, then we will be forgetting the millions of
lives lost during it. I’ve learned nothing of such tragic events and due to
that, I perceive the world and humanity as having some “downs” and flaws, but
really we’re all in this together. As I read just the short part of your book,
the realization that humanity is not at all what my conception of it initially
was. I figured that if something bad would happen, the United States and its
allies would take care of it. But back when WWII was happening I realized that
everyone else if comfortable remaining voiceless when everyone else has had
their rights stolen. I’m going to continue reading this book because, although
how painful it is, I need to learn more about other cultures and the blood,
tears, sweat and death that they went through. I know that it’s not easy to
talk about something that was so hard to you, I can relate to it, however it’s
not nearly as tragic as the issues that you had to go through. Thank you for
the strength that you acquired to write your memories and share it with the
world.
Sincerely,
Nate Brown
Dear Nate,
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate your kind words and your relation to my story. The truth is I wrote the book to remind everyone that our society does have flaws and we should never forget the millions of people whose lives were taken from them. But, I also wrote it to show that we, as humans, do have a bit of evil in us, and there is a constant fight in whether we let that side win. In the case of the Holocaust, with surrounding countries, as you put " staying out of it", it was not just one fight, but many turning their heads and refusing to hear our cries for help.
I can't help to understand of your parents protecting you from the horrors that occurred in 9/11, many at a young age still have their innocence and that should be preserved as much as possible. For when we grow older our innocence plummets and our primitive side rises. Thank you for taking the time to write to me, it brings me much happiness to hear that my story is changing lives and influencing adolescents.
Deep appreciation,
Elie Wiesel