Journal #4: Oprah Interview with Elie Wiesel

Journal #4

Oprah Interview with Elie Wiesel

One of the most interesting videos to watch during this unit was the interview with Oprah and Elie Wiesel. During this interview, Oprah was able to take Elie back to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Germany. What used to be a camp is now a museum in remembrance of the holocaust and the tragedies that occurred. During the interview you could tell the Elie wasn’t very comfortable being back in Germany, specifically at that camp. Elie described that when he was at the camp, he never noticed that there was a forest behind the camp. He never paid any attention to it. He also remembered the first night of his arrival. “It was a beautiful night” he said to Oprah. As they walked around, Elie was able to show Oprah where him and his father slept. Elie described that he never remembered walking around the camp. Anywhere Elie had to go or anything Elie had to do, he had to run for it. As Oprah and Elie walked around, they came to a building that had many suitcases with people’s names on it, mountains of baby shoes, and the most disturbing part, a huge mountain of hair from the slaves at the camp. When watching this part of the interview, I felt really sad because seeing all the suitcases and babies shoes really made an impact on me. It’s very hard to explain. This tragedy is so inhumane. I can’t even fathom the idea that someone can have the power to completely exterminate a human race. Children, babies, men, women, grandparents, they were all ordered to be murdered by one person. Its heartbreaking to see the possessions of people who think they are going to return for their things, but never do.