If fate never existed, everyone who has ever lived would have the life they had always dreamed of. The choices you make in life not only affect who you are but your fate as well. Choices such as who to associate yourself with, who you trust and of course your beliefs and or religion. People are able to choose their personality. The Nazi’s were judgmental, unfair and brutal human beings. They discriminated against the Jewish people because of their beliefs. There are terrible people out there who are willing to hurt you because of what you believe in. When reading this book that is the message I got.

The world is filled with a variety in personalities, races, hair and eye color, just plan different and for someone to starve, torture, burn, kill, scar people the way the Nazi’s and Hitler did is just sick. Eliezer’s journey throughout the book, to survive and to be able to pass on such vivid details and emotions is life changing. Going through something like this would change or damage a person completely, as it did to Eliezer along with his friends and family.

When reading the book and imagining the horrible obstacles the Jewish people had to endure in order to survive…its mind blowing. Hundreds would literally be killed by being over worked starved or burned. The Jewish people had no power in this, all they could do was wait for the Red Army and keep fighting to survive until then. When put in a position of life and death the relationships that you had built with people no longer exist, its all about surviving on what you can. The Jewish people began to steal food, clothes and anything they could have more of to survive in the concentration camps. This book is filled with very descriptive scenes and emotional moments. Eliezer made good decisions from when he lied about his age and when he pushed through everything the concentration camps threw at him.

The line in the book that meant the most to me was “yitgadal vetitkadach shmé raba,” this means may hid name be blessed and magnified. It was the prayer for the dead. Throughout the book the prayer was said less and less due to how weak the Jewish people became. Towards the end of the memoir n o one had the strength to even speak. This book how strong the human body is and how much emotions change when put in difficult situations as well how much they are willing to go through before they give in and how long they are willing to wait to be rescued. This book is a test of the mind, the body, beliefs and their relationships.