We were exhausted. We were without strength, without illusions. In the blizzard and the darkness, the prisoners from Buna are evacuated. Anybody who stops running is shot by the SS. Zalman, a boy running alongside Eliezer, decides he can run no further. He stops and is trampled to death. Malnourished, exhausted, and weakened by his injured foot, Eliezer forces himself to run along with the other prisoners only for the sake of his father, who is running near him.
After running all night and covering more than forty-two miles, the prisoners find themselves in a deserted village. Father and son keep each other awake—falling asleep in the cold would be deadly—and support each other, surviving only through mutual vigilance.
Rabbi Eliahou, a kindly and beloved old man, finds his way into the shed where Eliezer and his father are collapsed. The rabbi is looking for his son: throughout their ordeal in the concentration camps, father and son have protected and supported each other. Eliezer falsely tells Rabbi Eliahou he has not seen the son, yet, during the run, Eliezer saw the son abandon his father, running ahead when it seemed Rabbi Eliahou would not survive. At last, the exhausted prisoners arrive at the Gleiwitz camp, crushing each other in the rush to enter the barracks.
In the press of men, Eliezer and his father are thrown to the ground. His denial of faith leaves him alone, or so he believes, among the 10, Jewish celebrants in Buna.
Leaving the service, however, Eliezer finds his father, and there is a moment of communion and understanding between them. Eliezer decides to eat on Yom Kippur, the day on which Jews traditionally fast in order to atone for their sins. Soon after the Jewish New Year, another selection is announced. Eliezer has been separated from his father to work in the building unit. Eliezer is then forced to leave, never to see his father again. When Eliezer returns from work, it seems to him that there has been a miracle.
Akiba Drumer, however, is not so lucky. Having lost his faith, he loses his will to live and does not survive the selection. Others are also beginning to lose their faith. Eliezer tells of a devout rabbi who confesses that he can no longer believe in God after what he has seen in the concentration camps. With the arrival of winter, the prisoners begin to suffer in the cold. While he is in the hospital recovering, the rumor of the approaching Russian army gives him new hope.
As a result, they decided to move. However, they were not sure whether they would manage the march physically. After the characters spent some time in a new location, they found out that the Russian army liberated Buna. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our Cookies Policy.
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