Night Journals

1) Page 4
Quote: "Babies were thrown into the air and machine gunners used them as targets."

"Through long days and nights he went from one Jewish house to another, telling the story of Malka, the young girl who had taken three days to die, and of Tobias, the tailor, who had begged to be killed before his sons..."

The first quote seems so unreal. I don't understand how people can be so cruel to infants who have no say in anything so its sad how they just kill them. No one believed the stories Moshe the Beadle had been telling everyone when they were actually reality. I would hate to witness such cruel acts upon innocent people. This story is already getting sad, I can't imagine what the rest will be like.

2) Page 11
Quote: "Deportation"

"Each person will be allowed to take only his own personal belongings. A bag on our backs, some food, a few clothes. Nothing else."

Leaving everything behind except food is such a hard thing to do. For the children, they basically have to say goodbye to their childhood. I would hate leaving everything I grew up with behind. They don't even have a say in the whole situation.

Page 16
Quote: "My father wept. It was the first time I had ever seen him weep. I had never imagined that he could."

To see a father weep feels like the end of the world. You always look up to your father for support and you expect them to be strong and keep you together. But when your father weeps you know something terrible has happened and theres nothing you can do about it.

3) Page 22
Quote: "There are eighty of you in this wagon, "added the German officer. "If anyone is missing you'll all be shot like dogs..."

Page 23
"Jews, listen to me! I can see a fire! There are huge flames! Its a furnace!"

Page 27
"And I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever."

The Germans treat the Jews like dogs and its sad to see them going through so much and not even being able to do anything about it. I would want to kill myself if I was treated like that. No one believed Madame Schachter when she said she saw a fire. I bet she pictures the crematory right before her eyes when she saw a fire. To be separated from my mother and siblings forever would just kill me inside. You don't know how there doing and what kind of condition they're in. The boy also didnt know that was the last time they were ever going to see each other so that must be heart-breaking.

4) Page 30
"They were burning something Alorry drew up at the pit and delivered its load- little children. Mabies! Yes, I saw it-saw it with my own eyes...those children in the flames."

Do they not have a heart or soul, because the Germans don't seem affected one bit killing and toruring innocent human beings. I would be scarred for life if I saw a baby being burnt alive right before me, and I couldn't say or do anything to stop it.

5) Page 46
"Actually he was not looking for decayed teeth, but gold ones. Anyone who had gold in his mouth had his number added to a list. I myself had a gold crown."

What is so great about a gold crown? Is it worth a lot of money? I would hate to lose everything I owned, and on top of that they take the gold in your mouth. Do the people who get written down punished?

6) Page 54
"I went up and saw Idek with a yound Polish girl, half-naked, on a mattress."

The boy shouldn't have been so nosy and minded his own business. He should've taken advantage of having no work. Idek and that young Polish girl must have been so embarrassed. But I find it nasty that he doesn't do it on his own time and somewhere more private. Eliezer got hit with the whip a number of times, I don't know how he could stand the pain. I'm sure Ideks message was clearly understood.

7) Page 62
"But the thrid rope was still moving; bieng so light, the child was still alive..."

That poor little servant died a slow agaonizing death. That must have been torture for him, especially since he knew that theres not a thing he can do to stop it. I feel so bad for the boy.

8) Page 74
I cannot stand the cold so I have no idea if I would be able to live in that weather. Eliezer's foot sounds really bad, the sole was full of puss. How did he walk on it before? Good thing he got the surgery done before it was too late.

9) Page 83
"The commandment announced that we had already covered forty-two miles since we left."

Forty-two miles, wow! I get tired after a mile and they had no choice but to keep going. Everyone was a man for himself out there, they no longer cared for there parents or anyone. Most of them just wanted to sleep, but little did they know that most of them were sleeping for good.

10) Page 92
"As we were not allowed to bend down, everyone took out his spoon and ate the accumulated snow of his neighbor's back."

That is a pretty smart idea, it must have quenched their thirst a bit. I can just picture men eating snow off their neighbors backs. Atleast they weren't thirsty afterwards!