Wiesel, Berek Latarus And The Survivors Of The Holocaust

Imagine being a victim of the Holocaust. Anywhere between a Jew, which was the main casualty of the Holocaust, to a German child that was hypnotized by Hitler’s power. They were all the major sufferers of the Holocaust, who was tortured, starved, and killed. Elie Wiesel, Berek Latarus, and Alfons Heck were a few of many of these people. Wiesel and Latarus were both Holocaust survivors, well Heck was a Nazi German. Heck was convinced during the Holocaust by Hitler to join the Hitler Youth for the German and Hitler’s support. Latarus was a victim that lost his family and was smart during the Holocaust and survived. Wiesel was also a victim of the Holocaust that had no idea what was going on until he had to face it. Alfon Heck, Berek Latarus, …show more content…
He went from being depressed and miserable to having hope and optimism. In the story “A Survivor Remembers” it says, “Everybody was waiting for their turn. I really didn’t think about surviving; I thought more that I was going to be dead.” The whole time during the Holocaust Latarus was thinking about death. He was very depressed because he had no idea whether he was going to live another day or die the next. Latarus was also very miserable during the Holocaust because the story “A Survivor Remembers” it says, “They gave you a piece of bread that’s supposed to last you two or three days….I saw with my own eyes, sons stealing food from their own fathers. People don’t realize what hunger means.” Latarus was miserable because he was starving from hunger because they barely fed the Jews, so some of them would starve from hunger. When the Holocaust was ending and when it was over Latarus's tone changed to hope and optimism because in the story “A Survivor Remembers” it says, “We were walking through this little town....when some farmers came running out on the highway, saying, “The war is over!” Since the war was over Latarus had hope that everything was going to be alright. He knew that he was going to be safe because the Nazis wouldn’t come after him. Elie Wiesel, on the other hand, was a Hungarian Jew and also a Holocaust survivor who’s tone stayed the same throughout “For the Dead and the Living.” His tone developed a lot of bitterness and passion during the Holocaust. In the story “For the Dead and the Living” it says “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” For not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are also responsible for what we do with those memories…..And yet we are duty-bound to try. Not to do so would mean to forget. To forget would mean to kill the victims a second time.” Wiesel is very passionate when it comes to getting