Eliezer Wiesel – author, narrator. 12 years old in the beginning of the story and 15 when he enters the concentration camps

Cholmo – Elie’s father who is respected by the Jewish community

Moshe the Beadle – Elie’s teacher of Jewish mysticism

Dr. Josef Mengele (Angel of Death) - cruel doctor who experiments on prisoners; decides who will live and who will die

Madame Schachter – Jewish womand deported with Elie’s family. Has visions of fire and is beaten for screaming on train

Juliek – musician who is crushed to death Franek – Elie’s cruel foreman at Buna Rabbi Eliahou - devout Jewish prisoner

whose son abandons him on the march to Gleiwitz

Zalman – trampled to death on march to Gleiwitz

Begins in Sighet, Hungry 1941 Elie is very religious and is taught Jewish

mysticism by Moshe the Beadle Moshe is deported by Nazis he survives

and returns to Sighet to warn the other Jews about what he saw no one believes him

German soldiers come to Sighet and start to slowly oppress the Jews: › Arrest Jewish leaders› Take their valuables› Wear yellow stars› Moved into ghettos› Eventually transported from ghettos

Elie is sent to Birkenau and separated from mom and sisters

Sent to showers and assigned a barrack Sent to Auschwitz Then moved to Buna Elie meets Juliek Elie goes to the dentist to have his gold

crown removed, but pretends to be sick Franek beats Chlomo until Eli gives him

the gold crown

Allies start bombing Buna A young boy is hung for stealing food,

Elie must watch him slowly suffocate Elie’s father doesn’t pass The Selection

› Gives Elie his knife and spoon as his inhertiance

› Chlomo passes the second Selection Red Army approaches Buna so it is

evacuated

The “death march” begins towards Gleiwitz

Prisoners are forced to run for long periods of time in the snow and cold › Shot if they stop or slow down

Sent on a train to Buchenwald, the majority of the prisoners die on the train

Chlomo becomes sick from dysentery

The other prisoners steal Chlomo’s food and beat him

Elie is told to let his father go Chlomo dies and Elie is sent to the

children’s block Camp is evacuated American army liberates Elie and the

remaining prisoners