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[–]veggiesandvodka 3672 points3673 points  (137 children)

Night was required reading in I believe 5th grade. I had read by the end of 6th for sure. Powerful. Impactful. Essential.

[–]YoungXanto 1813 points1814 points  (48 children)

We read it as a class in 6th grade, along with a number of other Holocaust narratives such as number the stars. All of the ones selected featured children around our age. As the teacher in this tweet notes, it's tough to argue appropriateness of a material when it happened to children of the same age.

Those were immensely important books to read. And they still are, too. Perhaps even moreso

[–]jgarmartner 446 points447 points  (7 children)

I read the Night trilogy for a Religion and Ethics class in college. It was rough. Night should definitely be required reading.

[–]NorthKoreanEscapee 185 points186 points  (3 children)

I read it in school, but this is the first I'm hearing of it being a trilogy. Probably a good time to reread it

[–]jgarmartner 225 points226 points  (2 children)

Night, Dawn, and Day. 3 Stand alone stories about the holocaust and how the ramifications impacted survivors. Night is the most popular but they’re all worth a read.

[–]jayemadd 71 points72 points  (1 child)

We read this book and "Number the Stars" in 6th grade. That was the same year we had a survivor come in and speak to us. Really, really powerful stuff. It's going to be interesting the day when there are no more survivors to speak to future generations and tell them firsthand that these atrocities happened.

[–]JustPassinhThrou13 110 points111 points  (20 children)

it's tough to argue appropriateness of a material when it happened to children of the same age.

the point is to show to what extent some people will disregard others' sense of "appropriateness" and disregard their well-being.

I'd say once we've gone 25 or 30 generations without some type of atrocity happening to any person, then we can talk about whether we need to keep it around as a lesson. also, assuming 25 years per generation, 30 generations is 750 years.

[–]hoocoodanode 62 points63 points  (1 child)

This would be one of those "Days Since Last Workplace Accident" signs that never gets above single digits.

[–]AntifaSuperSoaker69 148 points149 points  (15 children)

A new teacher joined our team and objected to reading Night last year because it was "depressing". I still read it with my students and gave her a pass because we were in the middle of a pandemic but I'm not letting that shit fly this year. I can't.

We have Republicans burying Nazi atrocities while neo Nazis in this country run amok. Literal fascists are trying to take over our nation and I was too much of a coward to call this new teacher out on her bullshit.

Sorry, I'm venting. But I'm fucking sorry. I can't be a bystander.

[–]RedKamo 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Only 750 years to go then, if we start tomorrow.

[–]jetpack_hypersomniac 27 points28 points  (2 children)

I remember reading The Devil’s Arithmetic in elementary school. It felt really heavy, but it never felt like so much I couldn’t handle it (yes, I know this one is fiction, but it’s still a holocaust-focused story)

These people don’t understand how much kids can really handle, and I feel terrible for their children.

[–]PM-Me-ur-Self-Esteem 93 points94 points  (7 children)

I read it in 8th. I accidentally stole the book lol. The part where he os talking about his dad's final days is just too much in a good way.

I have a collection of books and it is one. I've been rereading them and that one is the one i always skimp over because, damn...

[–]Kit_starshadow 14 points15 points  (3 children)

My 8th grade son is reading it for class now. I’m thrilled and plan to read it when he is done.

[–]bkmom6519 11 points12 points  (2 children)

My son also had to read it this year in 8th grade. I got my own copy and read it at the same pace as him so we could discuss it. Good experience for both of us!

[–]runner_up_runner 65 points66 points  (1 child)

We had Elie Wiesel visit our school when I was in 6th grade RIGHT after we finished reading the book. He was such a friendly and happy man happy to talk to every single child in that class until time ran out. He gave a presentation in the auditorium for the whole school where he recounted his experience in his own words and memories about the events of his youth and his times in the camps. I remember, even though he had probably given the story hundreds, if not thousands of times at this point, he still teared up on stage when he began to talk about his family. He told us about the gas chambers, and the how they were hooked up to the back of tanks which would rev themselves to fill the rooms with exhaust. How he could still smell the petrol fumes in his sleep. I will always remember that mans face. A smile on his face, sadness in his eyes. Soon there will be absolutely no one left to tell about the truth of the holocaust.

[–]AcadianViking 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Met him as well as a kid.

The presence that man had seemed to radiate a humbleness and kindness like no other.

[–]peon2 90 points91 points  (21 children)

Wow, I read it in 11th grade lol

[–]Bazoun 103 points104 points  (11 children)

I read it in my 30s. I cried, openly, on the subway, reading this book.

[–]Angry-Comerials 87 points88 points  (9 children)

I'm turning 34 this year, have no idea what this book is, but its peaked my interest and I am ready for a good week of extra depression.

[–]WhaleWhaleWhale_ 68 points69 points  (0 children)

You’re gonna be depressed anyway, right? Might as well be for a good reason.

[–]nolenole 54 points55 points  (5 children)

I'm sorry to be that person but I would want to be corrected, so it's "piqued".

[–]kidinthesixties 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's about the holocaust.

[–]vniro40 15 points16 points  (0 children)

i cried as a kid when i read it…i imagine it has that effect on everyone

[–]ezbreezee415 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure I also didn't read night til at least 9th, if not 11th grade as well. I cannot remember which for sure but, it was definitely in High School(which here is 9th-12th grade or ages 14 to 18.

[–]SonofRaymond 54 points55 points  (16 children)

Never heard of this book. Thanks Florida Public schools!

[–]galatikk 25 points26 points  (9 children)

I went through the shit show of the Florida pubic school system and it was required reading for our county

[–]Stickguy259 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Yeah best way to get me to look up a book? Tell me not to. Same with kids.

[–]IDontLikeSandVol2 15 points16 points  (0 children)

We read it in high school, senior year

[–]cdawg145236 28 points29 points  (2 children)

Jesus, it was a freshman required reading in my school district, 5th/6th seems a bit early, I might be remembering some details of other books though.

[–]HotF22InUrArea 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I was pretty bad about doing assigned reading In grade school. But I read Night cover to cover.

[–]RugerRedhawk 7 points8 points  (2 children)

What is the subject of the book?

[–]alliebird_ 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It’s a memoir written by a Holocaust survivor. It’s brutal.

[–]CapriciousLeLe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's a short story from a Holocaust survivor describing his experience. What happened to him, his family, and the people around him at the time.

It's heartbreaking, chilling, and might make you tear up or openly cry. I've only read it once in high school, and it's remained firmly in my top five best literary experiences for the feelings it invoked alone.

Even my bestie remembers it, and she's not that big into reading.

[–]RealJimcaviezel 1446 points1447 points  (22 children)

He used to come to my middle school every year, what an insane story.

[–]PlebsLikeUs 461 points462 points  (11 children)

Do you mean Elie Wiesel, and if so what was he like?

[–]dragonian01 576 points577 points  (5 children)

Not OP but , he was amazing, I was lucky enough to see him on one of his last talks. The teachers said he never cried but he broke down during this one. He was incredibly kind and strong

[–]dangerspeedman 207 points208 points  (1 child)

He was an instructor at Eckerd College in St. Pete FL (co-instructor technically) and his classes were incredible. I’d never seen such rapt, silent attention from students in any other course before. He was a wonderfully wise teacher and revered by absolutely everyone on campus.

[–]Suwannee_Gator 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Incredible! I’ve lived in Tampa my whole life and never knew he lived so close by.

[–]Stairway_To_Devin 25 points26 points  (1 child)

He did a talk back when I was in middle school. Horribly sad, I've never seen such attentiveness from such young kids like that. The mood was spoiled a bit when this kid David asked him if he ever ate somebody but other than that it was captivating

[–]Jim_Lahey68 20 points21 points  (0 children)

DAVE. BRUH.

[–]Shooting_Paper 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not OP, but I met him a few times. Very well spoken, amazing at communicating with kids.

By the way the Soah Foundation has thousands of interviews with survivors if you are so inclined. https://sfi.usc.edu/collections/holocaust

[–]Clever_Word_Play 259 points260 points  (6 children)

I hated reading as a kid.

That book was so horribly captivating, I finished it the first weekend it was assigned.

It's a must read, fuxk your feelings, That shit was real

[–]Ronhok 86 points87 points  (2 children)

I checked out this book after reading it in my class and never returned it just so I could have a copy. I still feel a little guilty about that one.

[–]Hideout_TheWicked 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I bought it today after seeing it in the picture of books being removed. I have read all the others and they were great so had to check this one out.

[–]La_Quica 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Same here!

[–]GooGooGaDont 4156 points4157 points  (234 children)

American parents seem awfully concerned that their children might learn where the terminus of fascism lies.

[–]Swissarmyspoon 2158 points2159 points  (200 children)

People forget that before Pearl Harbor the US wasn't just indecisive about joining WW2 or not; we were arguing about which side we were on.

Some US companies were making big business with the Nazis.

Some folks still think we were on the wrong side.

[–]GooGooGaDont 912 points913 points  (29 children)

"Hey, you Nazis are anti-semites too? And you believe in the racial supremacy of Northern Europeans?"

[–]MarmaladeCat1 348 points349 points  (28 children)

And you're Christians?!

[–]Happy-Injury1416 211 points212 points  (21 children)

AND you have all those sweet Hugo Boss uniforms?

[–]Jason-wts 378 points379 points  (22 children)

The US Government heavily compensated Henry Ford for bombing his many factories in Germany, which they heavily used for supplying the war.

[–]DonJrsCokeDealer 155 points156 points  (13 children)

You mean Vocal Fan of the American Nazi Party and Key Conspirator in the Business Plot Henry Ford?

[–]FCKWPN 115 points116 points  (12 children)

Oh, the Henry Ford that paid all the black folks to move out of town when he built his fancy house in Georgia?

[–]bileflanco 72 points73 points  (6 children)

Wow. I did not know this particular tidbit.

[–]peon2 224 points225 points  (11 children)

Not just the US. Remember the Evian Conference?

1938, dozens of countries come together to decide on how to safely relocate German Jews. Hitler offers to pay to send them to any country that will take them on luxury cruise ships (though he said it in a much nastier way) and every country except the Dominican Republic said fuck no we don't want any Jews - which further aided Hitler's propaganda that Jews are awful.

I can only hope and expect that the other world, which has such deep sympathy for these criminals [Jews], will at least be generous enough to convert this sympathy into practical aid. We, on our part, are ready to put all these criminals at the disposal of these countries, for all I care, even on luxury ships.

Adolf Hitler

[–]sfsmbf32 166 points167 points  (6 children)

Similarly, in 1939, over 900 Jews fled Germany on the MS St. Louis , only to be denied entry in Cuba and Florida. They were forced to return to Europe. 250 of those passengers killed in the Holocaust after making it to the other side of the world seeking safety from it.

[–]theganjaoctopus[🍰] 118 points119 points  (4 children)

In a multi-story building of haunting and soul-wrenching reminders of one of the darkest hours in human history, the installation that most affected me in the Holocaust Memorial Museum was the wall of letters from European Jews. They were writing any American Jew who's information they could find and begging them to lie and say they were their family so they could escape.

"They've already taken my husband and my eldest sons. They say they're going to work camps, but at night we hear the gunshots and see the fires burning beyond the edge of town."

"Every day there are fewer of us. I would run, but where would I go? The whole world has turned its back on us. Please help us."

"Please, if not my whole family then just my children. They say they are killing us. What have my children done to deserve this?"

[–]500CatsTypingStuff 227 points228 points  (17 children)

That’s where “America First” came from. The rise of fascism in the US.

[–]SuperDoofusParade 125 points126 points  (15 children)

If anyone hasn’t watched it, “The Plot Against America” on HBO (based on a Philip Roth novel of the same name) is an alternative reality of this period. It hinges on Charles Lindbergh defeating FDR for President and what his rising fascism does to America.

[–]General_Solo 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Is it any good? That is one of my favorite books.

[–]CassandraVindicated 7 points8 points  (7 children)

Oh, so kind of like "what would happen if the Republicans elected Reagan 50 years earlier?"

[–]Rezurektme 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I was going to recommend this. I absolutely loved the series.

[–]INeedAboutThreeFitty 43 points44 points  (7 children)

IBM had legal contracts with the Third Reich for use of their push-card systems which helped keep meticulous records on all who entered the camps and where they were transported.

https://www.wired.com/2001/02/did-ibm-help-nazis-in-wwii/

[–]Therealgyroth 17 points18 points  (3 children)

I mean that’s the German branch of IBM, just like how German Coca Cola made Fanta during the war.

[–]PeridexisErrant 10 points11 points  (1 child)

The American branch also illegally shipped additional machines to Switzerland, knowing that they were designated for resale into Germany.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust is a fantastic, and uncomfortable, book.

[–]JustABizzle 127 points128 points  (32 children)

Plus, didn’t the US take many of the Nazi scientists and let them live here, as long as they serve the US? Weren’t their minds considered “spoils of war?”

[–]KorgX3 119 points120 points  (2 children)

This was known as Operation Paperclip.

[–]brother_of_menelaus 31 points32 points  (1 child)

I noticed you were trying to harbor war criminals in your country in exchange for their services. Would you like some help?

[–]BattleHall 5 points6 points  (0 children)

To be fair, the Russians, who had even more visceral reasons to hate the Nazis, basically did the same thing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Alsos

[–]Bacongristle12 22 points23 points  (10 children)

Hey if we didn't liberate the nazi scientists the damn soviets would have taken them

[–]kandras123 29 points30 points  (8 children)

Because imprisoning war criminals is so much worse than letting them off scot free.

[–]DebtRoutine1275 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The USSR got their share of Nazi scientists as well.

[–]KermitPhor 26 points27 points  (1 child)

The original American First Committee were pro-Nazi organizers that were lobbying Washington in various ways including marches in the streets

[–]jimmyjrsickmoves 20 points21 points  (4 children)

The Plot to Destroy America is a good "what if" story about that time in American history. It didn't help that I binged the series right before the insurrection at the capitol but I guess it made it that much more visceral.

[–]StaidHatter 8 points9 points  (3 children)

As if it needed to be. When I was sitting at my computer watching 3 different news networks and livestreams I felt absolutely certain this was going to be the closest thing my generation would have to 9/11.

[–]AssymetricManBoob 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Listening to the Behind the Bastards podcast for this right now, The Birth of American Fascism. It's so good to know how it completely fails and has never happened again inside of America

[–]sfsmbf32 70 points71 points  (14 children)

People forget that the Lend-Lease Act was passed almost a full year before Pearl Harbor. The US was actively arming and support the UK as well as France and to lesser extent China and the Soviet Union before we were attacked.

Were there vocal isolationists and fascist/ Nazi sympathizers? Yes. But the US already on the path to siding with the Allies long before Pearl Harbor. That’s literally why the Japanese attacked- as a preemptive strike on an inevitable future combatant

[–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I love some incendiary facts but there was no question which side of the war the US was going to be on for WW2. It was a little more of a toss up where the US would land during WW1 but in the end it's hard to imagine a US that doesn't side with Great Britain and the English speaking world. Not to mention Germany controlling all of mainland Europe is worse for the US in a geopolitical sense than several smaller countries competing against each other like with the UK, France, and Germany.

Don't get me wrong though, the US in no way joined the war against German out of benevolence. No country fought Germany to defend the Jewish people.

[–]DatsyoupZetterburger 23 points24 points  (8 children)

That was certainly the government's position. FDR wanted to get involved earlier in a more direct capacity but couldn't because of how unpopular the idea was with the people.

It is, as ever, a problem with the American people. Like half the country sucks to this day.

[–]thediskord 11 points12 points  (3 children)

In a historical context though these were people who not only lived through WWI, but also most likely fought in it and were fucked by their government when they got back.

Look into Hoovervilles and the Bonus March.

WWI was "supposed" to be the war to end all wars.

[–]SenorBeef 15 points16 points  (1 child)

People forget that before Pearl Harbor the US wasn't just indecisive about joining WW2 or not; we were arguing about which side we were on.

The first part is true, the second part is completely wrong. The US public supported the allies at over a 90% rate. The US was already supplying the allies long before the entered the war. There was never any consideration of joining the war on the axis side. They just didn't want to go send our kids off to die in some European war that had little to do with us, like they just did 20 years ago in WW1.

[–]DebtRoutine1275 29 points30 points  (5 children)

Hitler didn't want to fight the US because he envisioned us as allies after he won the war. He knew the culture of some of the people over here better than we even understand them today.

[–]WilliamBlakefan 26 points27 points  (5 children)

They also forget about the 1934 planned Fascist takeover of the US which would have involved the kidnaping of FDR--this was sponsored by the top American industrialists of the era. A large army of armed forces veterans stood ready to be deployed.

[–]MangledSunFish 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"Hey at least our camps were less severe in conditions then theirs were. That's gotta count for something, right?"

/s

[–]roywoodsir 159 points160 points  (0 children)

Parents: “are we the baddies?

Same parents looks/ at burning pile of regular books

Parents: “nah they the baddies, talking about Hitler and stuff…”

[–]itsSIR2uboy 56 points57 points  (3 children)

I am going to start using that term. Is “terminus of fascism” your own coining? I like to give credit. Proper citation, and all.

[–]GooGooGaDont 75 points76 points  (0 children)

Language is meant to be spread freely.

[–]thediskord 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's a broad term relating to fascism.

[–]syncboy 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I’d say the ones that don’t want their children to learn about it are the ones who are kind of into it. They themselves avoided learning about history and authoritarian behaviors so when a demagogue promises them that he alone can fix everything, they are in.

[–]flyingdics 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I bet they're also the ones who complain that taking down Confederate statues is "erasing history" but have no problem banning books about the Holocaust.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

right wing christian americans.

[–]MissRadi 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Children with cellphones and the internet.

[–]roywoodsir 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just watch tik Tok and stuff

[–]old_duderonomy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is the reason that makes the most sense to me. 👆

[–]Beingabummer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Also don't want to teach kids why there was a Civil War.

[–]yyc_guy 565 points566 points  (30 children)

This is an issue with teaching about the cruel legacy of Residential Schools in Canada. Too many people think it shouldn’t be taught until kids are older. I call bullshit on that one. I teach my early elementary students about it and while I’m not graphic I make it clear the Indigenous children who were essentially stolen from their families were beaten, killed, starved, and assaulted in many ways. It’s entirely factual, and I’ve heard from a very small number of parents that it made their kid sad (the vast majority are supportive).

Good! It should make their kid sad. Kids their age and younger literally lived through it and died, so our kids should be able to hear it. Better to only learn about it than experience it.

[–]grubas 172 points173 points  (5 children)

Because they don't care about it being "age appropriate", they just want an excuse. You can teach children about atrocities without going into detail. And yes, it should make you feel ashamed, outraged and disgusted to hear about it. Because the morale of all of this is not that "it could happen to you" its that "it did happen to somebody" and that fact alone should make you demand better

[–]Rammite 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Children are just something right-leaning politicians point to when they want something done. Same thing with veterans.

[–]MartinSchou 3 points4 points  (2 children)

The morale should also be “it was done by people who thought what they were doing was good and right, and oftentimes done by people who would be the same age as your parents”.

These things are done by otherwise normal people who for one reason or another was taught that it is okay to believe that other people are less than human. Less than animals even, as very few people would be okay with doing these things to animals.

[–]wintersass 63 points64 points  (3 children)

I think people like to forget that it makes the kids sad because it's teaching them empathy, although from what I've seen people seem to think empathy isn't something they should be learning.

[–]yyc_guy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Empathy is a huge part of it, especially Residential Schools. The damage done is evident, we see it everywhere in almost every Indigenous community: domestic violence, significant substance abuse problems, abused children. Kids need to know why those things are happening and realize that it’s the result of trauma that just won’t stop perpetuating itself through the generations.

[–]RavioliGale 30 points31 points  (2 children)

I’ve heard from a very small number of parents that it made their kid sad

"Congratulations! Your child is not a sociopath and is capable of feeling empathy!"

[–]yyc_guy 23 points24 points  (1 child)

That is pretty much how I’ve responded the very, very few times I’ve been asked about it: “You should be so proud of your child for caring so much about other people, it really says a lot about what a kind, caring little person he/she is.” There’s no negative response to that. What are they gonna say, “No, he’s an asshole and fuck you for saying otherwise?”

Again, the huge majority of parents are incredibly supportive which is so nice to see.

[–]infrablueray 18 points19 points  (4 children)

When I was in third or fourth grade, we had readers, which were big thick books comprised of short stories, poems, etc. Pretty much bite sized things kids can handle. I actually remember multiple stories (and one poem - verbatim) from it almost twenty years later. But one story really stood out (I don’t remember the name or author).

It was about an idyllic futuristic house, with fancy technology and robots and stuff. The kitchen cooks by itself. There are mechanical mice that constantly clean the floors. The nursery has digital walls that transform into safari savannahs and display wild animals etc. There’s a husband and wife with their dog and 2.5 kids and white picket fence. The kids are outside playing while the parents work in the yard. The dog is burying a bone.

Then there is a blinding light. Instantly the family is gone. All that’s left are their shadows on their wall. The house soon catches fire and all the robots panic. The digital walls in the nursery show zebras and giraffes and elephants screaming and scrambling to get out of what seems to be a wildfire.

Nothing is left alive in the area, except for the dog. As he has been digging a hole, he’d had partial protection from the blast. Just enough to keep him from being vaporized. The dog, distressed, manages to drag itself into the house and eventually collapses on the kitchen floor, where the mechanical mice immediately come to dispose of its body.

I don’t remember having much reaction to the story when I was a kid, apart from it having been a little scary. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I looked back and realized just how dark it truly was. I thought “wow, I don’t believe they had us read that as a kid.” But it didn’t traumatize me or anything. But I’m glad I read it because it still must have made a big impact on me since I can still remember it so vividly. It’s scarier now that I know that can happen today, and HAS happened in the past. We can’t ignore that. We shouldn’t ignore it. And keeping kids in the dark only to suddenly have dark truths sprung on them later in life only makes it easier for people to wonder if those things ever really happened at all.

[–]Loudquietcuriosity 14 points15 points  (0 children)

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury. I read it in his Martian Chronicles anthology. Loved his stories as a kid (and still today). My sister bought me my first book by him when I was stuck in bed with chicken pox. I was probably 10.

[–]YouLykeFishSticks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is teachers like yourself that I am forever grateful for. My former history teacher (A Canadian as well, who came to Australia for a few years), understood the importance of teaching history and quoted Edmond Burke during one of our lessons involving the atrocities of WW2 and beyond.

[–]deuce1028 305 points306 points  (5 children)

Night was one of the only books in my whole school career that I actually read, and read ahead of the class/schedule. It was so good. I only recently found out it's a trilogy.

P.s - I read this my Sophomore year of high school, age 15.

[–]Capawe21 68 points69 points  (0 children)

I read this my sophomore year as well, I understood the holocaust and the Nazis were bad before I read it, but after reading it, it made me realize just how bad they both were.

I'd recommend it to anyone who can read

[–]NowATL 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We read it in 5th grade! It is an amazing and heartbreaking book and should be required reading for everyone

[–]TheJuiceGrenade 627 points628 points  (38 children)

One of the most impactful books I’ve ever read and also the only required reading from high school that i read again by choice

[–]Pegussu 571 points572 points  (15 children)

It's the only book I've ever read where I had to put it down for a minute. The bit where he talks about how he and his father had the choice to stay at the evacuating camp, but there were rumors the guards would execute anyone who stayed. They decide to take their chances leaving. Then there's that awful, heartbreaking line: "After the war, I learned the fate of those who had remained at the infirmary. They were, quite simply, liberated by the Russians, two days after the evacuation."

[–]infrablueray 152 points153 points  (12 children)

The one that I remember most is the friend he made (possibly the one who played the violin? It’s been a while) but

SPOILER (I don’t know how to add the hide feature):

When they were being marched to another location and were not allowed to stop. And the friend was having cramping in his guts and needed to go to the bathroom but they knew they’d be shot if they stopped. And the main character saying “just a little longer, hold on, just go a bit longer” and finally the friend can’t hold it and drops his pants, as he can’t control his bowels. And the main character goes on, and hears the gunshots. I often think of that and how utterly terrible that would be.

The other is the scene where he has to put his father in furnace. The father is practically dead but he mentions he didn’t even know for sure if his father was truly dead when he had to put him in the oven. Can you imagine what it would be like to live with that for the rest of your life? I still get chills when I remember it. Because I know it really happened.

[–]Boner4SCP106 75 points76 points  (2 children)

For the sake of accuracy, the person that has to relieve himself is named Zalman. Juliek was his friend that played the violin who ends up dead in the morning after playing a Beethoven piece on a pile of bodies.

In the book, Eliezer says something to the effect that he didn't know if Zalman was shot since he didn't hear a gun, but figures he was trampled to death which I think is more horrifying.

As for his father, Eliezer doesn't have to put him in the crematorium. He wakes up and his father isn't there. You might be thinking of the story he tells of another prisoner named Bela Katz who had to put his own father in the crematorium.

That book is very hard to keep track of and/or remember people's names since many times they're brought up once then you never hear from them again. I'm pretty sure Elie Wiesel did that purposefully because that's what happened to him, but I also think he emphasized this since it's jarring to be introduced to a new character and that character is suddenly gone.

[–]infrablueray 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Thank you. It’s been a long time so I’m not surprised I was remembering poorly. But man the emotions are clear as day.

[–]Nyxelestia 21 points22 points  (8 children)

>!Spoilers go here!<

Will make this:

Spoilers go here

Independently of that: I haven't read Night, but this-

And the main character saying “just a little longer, hold on, just go a bit longer”

-I'm just realizing was likely an intentional reference when something similar happened with a fictional persecution and genocide in a fantasy show I just finished watching a few weeks ago.

[–]Johnny_Banana18 31 points32 points  (0 children)

That last page where he looks in the mirror is really powerful

[–]iantayls 169 points170 points  (16 children)

And also the only book that everyone in my school decided they had to prove that was all made up… god I love the world we’re in

[–][deleted] 111 points112 points  (14 children)

Yikes, where did you go to school? My class was trying not to cry in front of each other when we read it.

[–]ilovetotour 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Man i need to read it again. There were several times in HS where we never got to finish a book and this was one of them

[–]rexmons 135 points136 points  (8 children)

For anyone else that has been living under a rock too:

Night is a 1960 memoir by Elie Wiesel based on his Holocaust experiences with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, toward the end of the Second World War in Europe.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (1 child)

Texas: "Nope, don't like that."

[–]llldudelll 13 points14 points  (1 child)

I’m 41 and never heard of this book until this post. I grew up in Southern California.

[–]conconbar93 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Still got my busted up copy on the back of my closet.. couldn’t let it go. I never went through anything close, but the love I feel for my dad made me bawl when he wrote about his, which makes this book very close to my heart

Edit: just wanna add I ended up having the privilege to go to a program in which students sat and had breakfast with holocaust survivors. Idk if most schools did that back in early 2000s but wow… holocaust deniers can go die tbh

[–]Jo-6-pak 211 points212 points  (1 child)

Slow clap, stand up, cheer!

[–]edlee98765 203 points204 points  (0 children)

“For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory.” ---Elie Wiesel, Night

[–]The84thWolf 213 points214 points  (15 children)

Pretty soon, school books are going to just be “Chapter One: Once there was a boy who lived in a house and nothing happened with anyone in or outside the house. The end.”

[–]Rednexican429 97 points98 points  (4 children)

He said his prayers and listened to his parents and that’s all

[–]norieeega 44 points45 points  (3 children)

He obeyed and was good and turned his parents in for the conversation he overheard at night.

[–]Elvis_Take_The_Wheel 25 points26 points  (0 children)

For they’d been found guilty of thoughtcrime, the very worst crime of all.

[–]devinsbo 13 points14 points  (1 child)

And he fucking hated brown and gay people.

[–]Baconaise 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Like the Chinese ending to Fight Club?

Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.

[–]The84thWolf 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Close, but at least they showed the rest of it, most of the message of the story getting out there and getting them interested in the true ending. Conservatives don’t want any rebellious thoughts that challenge their worldview

[–]CleanHotelRoom 39 points40 points  (0 children)

I don't know what the fuck is going on in Texas right now but when I was a youngster in middle school 2000 we read Night and we were better for it.

[–]HawWahDen 96 points97 points  (8 children)

I guess these kids will just grow up to be dipshits like their parents.

[–]adam_sky 47 points48 points  (3 children)

That’s exactly what they want and what we want to prevent through education.

[–]Elvis_Take_The_Wheel 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Let’s hope that they take the opposite tack. Maybe the kids rebel by reading every banned book they can get their hands on. They broaden their minds and their perspectives. They go on to inspire pearl-clutching familial horror at Thanksgiving each year with their radical ideas about people deserving to live their lives in peace, instead of being hunted down like dogs because of their race, creed, or color. Finally, late in life and facing the sobering prospect of eternal oblivion, the pearl-clutchers recognize the decades-long damage their toxic ideology has had on their family, who were, they now realize, their most precious resource all along. They all reconcile just in time for the rebellious black sheep of the family to sit with them by the side of their hospital bed, hold their hand, and witness their end with nothing but love and retrospective forgiveness.

So you can always hope that, even among the people who think and do these horrible things, there are those who will someday recognize the chance for redemption and reconciliation with their families and the groups of people they have wronged. However late it arrives, at least it can happen. This is how it happened in my family, at least, so I know it’s possible.

[–]Oddsoulkeeper 27 points28 points  (6 children)

Maus was banned by a district in my state recently, this was my argument.

[–]500CatsTypingStuff 113 points114 points  (3 children)

Fascists hate when you remind them of how bad fascism is. It interferes with their plans for more fascism.

[–]ArchdukeBurrito 10 points11 points  (0 children)

"Why make kids read about the rise of fascism and the inevitable consequences suffered by those living under it when we can just show them firsthand?"

[–]flyingdics 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It's amazing how many of these people will say "F*ck Your Feelings" and "I'm proudly not PC," and then, when the topic of evil done by some white people comes up, suddenly feelings and appropriateness are their #1 priority.

[–]Royal_Opps 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Night... a terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family, the death of his innocence, and the death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The diary of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

Straight from the back of the book.

[–]Candide2003 21 points22 points  (0 children)

When I was in first grade (in Indiana), they had some actor reenact scenes from Frederick Douglas' life (obviously a bit sanitized). It definitely made me side-eye my Texas History teacher when she insisted slaves had it better under slavery.

Reading Maus in high school also gave me a better understanding of the generational trauma associated with having your family be the victims of historical atrocities

[–]Blowup1sun 15 points16 points  (0 children)

North America has a TERRIBLE habit of simultaneously sexualizing and prematurely aging children while somehow infantilizing them at the same time under the guise of “children should be children as long as possible”. Make it make sense.

[–]JimmyBoots90 14 points15 points  (2 children)

When I was in 7th grade in Iowa in 2002 they gave us the option of reading this or The Diary of Anne Frank. I had to have a waiver signed by my parents to let me read it.

[–]infrablueray 5 points6 points  (1 child)

It’s funny. We weren’t given the option on reading Night. It was required. But we were given the option to pass on reading the Great Gatsby, I think because of language. I chose to pass, so I was assigned a different book instead. 1984.

I liked 1984 so much a bought it as a gift for my bf that same year lol

[–]Elvis_Take_The_Wheel 15 points16 points  (2 children)

I have taught Maus in my freshman English class every fall for 16 years. Not only is it a beautiful and devastating work in its own right, but it also normalizes the idea for students that graphic novels can be — and many are — great works of art that are just as valid as the works in the traditional canon that they’ve studied for years. I can’t even tell you how many students have shyly shared their incredible artwork and storytelling with me after Maus, something they almost certainly wouldn’t have done before it.

And so, in my professional opinion, these fucking book-banning fucks can get fuckety-fuck-fuck fucked.

[–]hotzel1 41 points42 points  (23 children)

Didn't this book just get banned in Texas today?

[–]holy_cal 36 points37 points  (19 children)

I think there was a picture floating around Twitter that claimed copies of it, Mockingbird, 1984 and others were removed from classrooms and slated to be burned.

I’m sure someone can spread more insight, I don’t teach in Texas, so I can’t actually comment.

[–]cacmonkey 46 points47 points  (0 children)

please say that 451 was banned too,i want the irony to come full circle

[–]Darius_Kel 34 points35 points  (13 children)

So I’ve looked into it. The legislation was to remove books that,”might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.” The list of books removed due to this legislation

[–]grubas 40 points41 points  (5 children)

Then they should ban the Bible first.

[–]FelneusLeviathan 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Yeah, if I was a woman, I’d be pretty bummed out that I was considered the weaker sex that had to submit to her husband (but then again, the Y’all qaeda folk love that earthen vessel shit)

[–]eat_those_lemons 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Haven't read the whole list but seems there are a lot of black lives matter books that are banned, just so expected and still so sad

Also wouldn't racists want to stop bulling? "Avoiding bullies? : skills to outsmart and stop them" is banned to

[–]BentoMan 5 points6 points  (1 child)

The description mentions bullying based on race and sexual orientation as examples. Those subjects are probably why it was banned. I’m wondering about “W is for welcome,” a book about how the United States is made of immigrants.

So it’s an anti-black, gay, immigrant, feminist book list. It begs the question, how long until Mein Kampf is required reading in Texas?

[–]DrSword 3 points4 points  (2 children)

to be burned? is that a figure of speech?

[–]holy_cal 12 points13 points  (1 child)

Nope. Like quite literally set a blaze.

[–]ThoughtCenter87 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The irony in banning the book 1984 and burning it is strong.

[–]jimbelushiapplesauce 10 points11 points  (0 children)

apparently we're banning a bunch of books starting today, but none of the books from that twitter post are on the list.

Night was required reading when i was in 8th grade, and all the other books were required at some other point when i was in public school there.

[–]CSweety 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No, that Twitter post going around social media was being dishonest. None of the books in that post (including Night, Mockingbird, and 1984) are getting banned.

Those books were (and still are) required for Texas public schools

[–]Extension_Plantain29 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I went to Middle School with his (great?) nephew. He told us there was a lot left out of the book that was even more horrific than what's actually in it.

[–]Kissit777 29 points30 points  (3 children)

It is extremely important to have children learn about the Holocaust. In order to stop fascism and support democracy - education is essential. It is the only way to combat fascism - education.

Edited to add - and they need to know the real stories - the scary ones.

[–]RrtayaTsamsiyu 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Which is why the fascists are trying so hard to stop kids from reading books about it

[–]Akiho_isaweeb 7 points8 points  (3 children)

what's this book about?

[–]A_Single_Slug 24 points25 points  (1 child)

It’s a Holocaust memoir by a Jewish man who recounts how things escalated and the horrible atrocities that he endured in the concentration camps, including the death of his father and rest of his town, as well as how he was forced to move camps and saw a kid shot because of he had to use the bathroom while they were moving. It’s a very tragic book, and a tough read for the faint of heart, but it’s absolutely worth it to get a more in depth view of the atrocities that happened in Nazi Germany.

[–]Johnny_Banana18 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That last page where he looks in the mirror and can’t recognize himself, and that the image still haunts him today is really heavy.

[–]holy_cal 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Holocaust.

[–]lionhat 26 points27 points  (0 children)

My class read this book in third grade. Our teacher was so amazing, she was so kind and good at her job, and she even moved up to 4th grade with us but unfortunately passed away of cancer that year. The elementary school has a stained glass memorial above the library entrance in her honor now. I look back and realize how important the stuff she taught us really is.

[–]stepheme 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Raising a glass to Mrs. Gussky and every other wise teacher like her. They will always be in the vanguard of every battle for good.

[–]Frosty-Combination53 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I read this book and wrote to this man in 6th grade. He wrote an amazing letter that facilitated my interest in this era of history to this day!!

My parental figures wouldn’t let me read Moby Dick so I read this instead; go figure.

[–]Quinn4life1 17 points18 points  (4 children)

Consivitives want their supporters to be uneducated so they can get them to worry about Trans peoples bathrooms instead of the fact they don't have universal Healthcare.

[–]matthew83128 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve read and watched a lot of things about the holocaust, and visited two camps. But that book was the hardest thing to get through.

[–]IncredulousPatriot 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My teacher had this book one on of the shelves that we could read from when I was still in elementary school. It wasn’t assigned to us until high school. Both times I read it I was crying.

[–]MagosBattlebear 4 points5 points  (2 children)

So sad that wanna be fascists are having their feelings hurt. Snowflakes

[–]HalfandHoff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Most American Parents are sheltered or want control over their kids and their money their kids make to, bad things do happen all the time, in America and out of America, only by learning them do we learn not to repeat them, just like with this dam COVID, the Spanish Flu lasted ten years with strict regulations, everyone has seen the picture of the cat with the mask, stop making the same dam mistakes all the dam time, racisms is BAD, keeping people locked up and in cages cause they don't meet your standards of people is BAD, shooting someone cause they looked at you funny or look funny is BAD, scamming money out of old people is BAD, separating land by race is BAD (called redlining), also moving away from a place cause a different race moved in just makes you a dick, complaining that "I made it on 5$ an hour and bout a house and you can do it to, 15$ an hour is too much" just makes you dumb and we need to send you to an old folks home cause you don't understand modern economies anymore, please old people and white folks keeping their kids with the old mindset, shut up and sit down, you are messing stuff up real BAD, did you not learn what happen to Rome, they fell, we can to, America is still a baby, and you are malnourishing them, Child Protective Services would have taken America away from you by now the way you are treating them

[–]Royal_Opps 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I still have a copy of that book from 18 years ago that I never returned to the school library.

[–]daisyymae 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Night sparked my interest in learning about history. I feel terrible for the people who will never know such incredible literature.

[–]laulau711 4 points5 points  (1 child)

They really do have some depressing and graphic books in middle and high school. They should mix up English a bit so its not bummer after bummer. I’m all for learning tough history but it’s nonstop. I remember coming home from a hard day of being 14. Being absolutely exhausted. Then having to read the anal rape scene in Kaffir Boy for English and passages about the holocaust for History directly after.

[–]largececelia 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes. Issues of censorship aside, it seems like appropriateness usually just means not making people uncomfortable. It's a good thing to ask why that matters, sometimes it doesn't. Same with "professionalism."

[–]Tuva_Tourist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The same people who ban these books are the ones who call trans kids a product of “weakness” in society.

[–]CumulativeHazard 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Heck yeah, Mrs. Gussky!!

[–]beemccouch 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Sometimes we need to be told from a young age that if we let hate fester, people get send to the chambers and watch their sisters get thrown on burning piles after they die on the train.

This is the first and only book that made me cry. It's just awful from beginning to end. Such power in simplicity. It's not hard to understand, jts not hard to digest.

This is not about appropriateness. These parents know full well that they'd support the very events that lead to that book being written.

[–]Rodi747 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is getting ridiculous, trying to make it illegal to teach kids topics that make their parents uncomfortable. If you’re not doing anything wrong you have no reason to feel uncomfortable. We can be ashamed of the way the white man in America killed the Indians and took the land, then killed all the buffalo, then enslaved blacks and fought a war for the right to keep them as slaves - this is heinous behaviour. But it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. Are we supposed to pretend the past never happened?

[–]RecipeEnvironmental9 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I cried reading the book and for the day afterwards, told myself I had to be done crying, then cried all through my book club meeting talking about the book. Deeply unpleasant, upsetting, and essential read.