Jewish Starvation in Nazi Camps During WWII

“Men threw themselves on top of each other, stamping on each other, tearing at each other, biting each other. Wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes; an extraordinary vitality had seized them, sharpening their teeth and nails.” (Weisel, 95). To many this sounds as if it were a scene being depicted from a great battle of war. But to those who have read, Night, by Elie Weisel, they would know that it is a scene from the book. The men being described in this horrifying scene are prisoners of Hitler’s Holocaust.

Starved and on the brink of death these men fight for the only thing that can keep them alive, food. Starvation was a major cause of the Jewish community becoming *wild beasts of prey” while in the concentration camps.

The Jewish community had to live with the food they were given, the torturing starvation that the Nazi’s put them through, and their despair while being held in the concentration camps.

The Jews in the concentration camps went without food for day’s sometimes weeks. When they were feed, they were given small rations of soup, old pieces of bread, and occasionally coffee. An average American would not dear touch the food they would be fed. “At about noon they brought us soup: a plate of thick soup for each person. Tormented though I was by hunger, I refused to touch it. I was still the spoiled child I had always been.” (Weisel, 39). The food was their life source for survival.

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The more food they were given, the longer they believed that they could hold on. Nasty and disgusting to any humane being, this food was what kept them alive. Near the end of the story Elie is quoted as saying, “I had but one desire-to eat.” Starvation is defined in the dictionary as to die of suffer from lack of food. The Jews held in the concentration camp suffered so much more than can be beard.

They were driven to such hunger that sons would kill own fathers for food. Elie witnessed such an occurrence at the age of fifteen. They had been stopped while traveling to a different camp on trains. German workers began to throw pieces of bread into the carts while stopped. Dozens of starving men fought to their deaths. In the middle of this were a son and a father. “meir, my boy! Don’t you recognize me? I’m your fatheryou’re hurting me you’re killing your father! I’ve got some breadtor you toofor you toohe collapsedand died amid the general indifference.” (Weisel, 96). This is something that would never be thought of happening. But this is what the cruelty of the Nazi policy of genocide did to these innocent Jews. Even Elie had to watch as his father was slowly dying of starvation. As his father’s condition g! rew worse each day the Nazi cruelty began defeating him, a man gave Elie advice that was sadly true. “I’ll give you a sound piece of advice-don’t give your ration of bread and soup to your old father. There’s nothing you can do for him. And you’re killing yourself. Instead, you ought to be having his ration.” (Weisel, 105). Faced with the truth lie had to accept the reality of the cruelty, but dismiss the idea of stealing his dying fathers rations.

A terrible thing to be faced with. Each day the Jews had to face the cruelty of being in the concentration camps, through starvation came despair. With despair came the feeling of no longer wanting to live. Many would give up on themselves and die a slow painful death. Some even resorted to suicide. Elie had witnessed on such event. A man killed himself by drowning himself in a soup cauldron. *the man writhed for a few seconds at the foot of the cauldron, then he moved no more.” (Weisel, 57.) After being in the concentration camp for sometime. Elie had lost all of his family. Once his father died “he stayed in a state of total idleness.” He recalled, “from time to time I would dream of a drop of soup, of an extra ration of soup” (Weisel, 107). This is how extreme the despair became The starvation that the Jewish people in the concentration camps had to endure caused them to become “wild beasts of prey” while being held captive.

The food they were given, the cruelty of starvation, and the despair that they had to go through were all contributing factors to these once civilized peoples to react in such a way. It is a shame to think that such a terrible thing did happen. But this did happen are society must recognize that. It must never be forgotten what these people had to go through. You mustn’t ever take advantage of what is merely to be thought of as just food. For it is not known when that food may be gone.