Indifference During the Holocaust (Elie Wiesel's Speech Analysis)

When Wiesel spoke at the White House in 1999, "More dangerous than anger is indifference. Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end, and it is always the friend of the enemy. "Indifference is not different; it is a middle ground between cruelty and compassion; it is not on the border of good or evil. As a result of World War II, a historic event was widely known as the Holocaust. For days on end, Jews were forced into concentration camps, separated from their families, and tortured for days on end under dehumanizing working and living conditions during this period. When Elie Wiesel was a kid during that time, he had to suffer through all kinds of hardships.

While the Holocaust was ongoing, there were many instances of indifference. Several Jews also showed indifference to foreign Jews. Throughout the novel, Elie Wiesel, the author, illustrates indifference. Foreign Jews moved from place to place by force without any thought to what was happening to them. As Elie Wiesel explains, “How had he, Moishe the Beadle, been able to escape? By a miracle. He was wounded in the leg and left for dead” (Wiesel 6). The above quote explains how the people of Sighet ignored Moishe. He escaped and was wounded. Moishe was trying to inform the people about what they would face. In the book, Elie Wiesel didn't care about anyone or what was happening in their lives. All the Jews were becoming mad. They didn't know what to do. Others showed indifference, even though they could have helped. According to Elie Wiesel, "Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? (Yes, we did see the flames.) Over there—that's where you're going to be taken. That's your grave, over there "(Wiesel 26). People would not have done this if they had cared for each other, as evidenced by the quote. A woman had become crazy. She was seeing things that mentioned fire. This is foreshadowing as that happens. If the people of Sighet had taken it more seriously, this wouldn’t have happened.

In addition to the Jews, the Germans and Nazis also showed indifference. As Elie Wiesel notes, "As we were passing through some of the villages, many of the Germans watched us, showing no surprise" (Wiesel 46). This was another example that proved indifference to the Jews. The Jews, as individuals, felt as if they were trash and meant nothing to the villagers. This would lead the Jews to feel worthless in the world and not have a say in society. The last example of indifference in the book, Night, was how the people around the world reacted to the Holocaust. As the prisoners were running to the Gleiwitz camp, Elie heard a lot of gunshots in this scene. Many Jews died because of the guards' acts of indifference. As Elie Wiesel claims, "Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of the pleasure. If one of us stopped for a second, a quick shot eliminated the filthy dog " (Wiesel 85). According to this quote, there is no hope left and everything had gone away. If you didn't decide to work, you would die.

Many people knew what was going on during the Holocaust, but no one decided to stop the Nazis and Hitler, which made the Holocaust go on for years. The whole world, including the U.S, showed indifference to Jews. 

As Elie Wiesel mentions in his speech at the United Nations, "Like most other countries, the United States did not welcome Jewish refugees from Europe." In 1939, 83% of Americans opposed the admission of refugees. There was a time when Adolf Hitler said that all the Jews could leave the country. During this horrible period, even the United States didn't want to help the Jews.