Night is a memoir written by the Romanian-born American author Elie Wiesel. The work describes his experiences in Nazi concentration camps in the 1940’s. Wiesel’s book, published in French in 1958 and in English in 1960, is considered a classic of Holocaust literature. The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II (1939-1945).
Wiesel narrates the story, beginning in 1941, when the author was 12 years old. He first introduces the reader to his family and the Jewish community in Romania. He then describes how he and his family and other Jews were deported to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, Poland, in 1944. Wiesel’s mother and younger sister were killed at Auschwitz. He and his father then endured a brutal march of more than 40 miles (64 kilometers). They were later transported by train to the camp at Buchenwald, Germany, where his father died.
Wiesel portrays the horrors of the camps, with their hunger, beatings, and mass killings. Wiesel tells his story in clear and straightforward prose, making his descriptions of existence in the camps more powerful and accessible. He reveals his spiritual struggles as he loses faith in God after witnessing the inhumanity of the camps.
Night is the first volume of a trilogy (three related works). Night is nonfiction, but the second and third parts of the trilogy are novels. Dawn (1961) centers on Elisha, a Holocaust survivor who settles in Palestine after the war and joins a Jewish underground organization dedicated to driving the ruling British out of the area. Day (1962) concerns a Holocaust survivor who settles in New York City. He reflects on his experiences during the war while recovering from injuries after being struck by a taxi. This novel was first published in English as The Accident.
