apparently did not believe they were doomed, since they cooperated with their oppressors instead of scattering and making the round-up difficult. They would not have such an opportunity again.
The Wiesel family and the others were then cramped into cattle cars, eighty persons to a car, for a journey that they were told would take them to a labor camp. All were informed that a failure to obey orders would mean death, a few were beaten by guards, but most simply tolerated the journey. It took them to a place called Auschwitz.
Upon arrival, there could no longer be any question about the reality of the horrors the Jews hoped were exaggerations by previous escapees. Everywhere were guards with machine guns. Immediately upon leaving the train, men and women were segregated -- this was the last time young Elie saw his mother and sister. Stories of ovens and death camps began to penetrate the consciousness of the Jews: perhaps the worst fears were true after all. The younger men spoke of revolt, but the older men urged them to have faith.
Although Elie was a religious boy, keeping faith was difficult, if not impossible. During his first day at the camp, his fourteen-year-old eyes witnessed the burning of babies and children in a pit. His horror was matched with disbelief: "How could it be possible for them to burn people, children, and for the world to remain silent? No, none of this could be true. It was a nightmare . . . " (Wiesel, 1960, p. 42). Believing he too was about to die, he questioned the God that allowed this. He was about to throw himself on an electric fence, rather than burn, when his group was temporarily spared, and ordered to a barracks.
Prisoners were processed by having their heads shaved, being disinfected and tattooed (Elie became A-7713). The camp slogan, "Work is Liberty!", held the promise of survival for the strong. Elie's group was ordered to work, and despite the brutality of the experi...