The event that leads to the first hanging is stealing some soup by a youth. It happens during the bombing when someone leaves the meal unattended. Another event is the damage to the electric plant Buna. The Gestapo supposes it is sabotage and arrests a boy who is a servant of a suspect.
Detailed answer:
The first event that leads to hanging is the stealing of soup during the bombardment. The young man who tries to eat some food is desperate with hunger. As this event happens during the bombing, it shows that he does not have fear. Other prisoners have no courage to commit such a brutal crime as this one.
Starvation is more substantial, and the boy is not afraid of the consequences because he does not realize them. If there is a possibility of eating something nutritious or getting something useful, he will take this chance. After the hanging, Wiesel realizes that the soup he is eating has a wonderful taste. He understands that everything can change in a moment. It is impossible for him to control his life.
As for another hanging, a servant is under arrest because of the damage in Buna. The Gestapo sees this action as sabotage. The commander tortures him first and then sentences him to hanging. It is a unique murder because the criminal is a teenager. What is more, the boy is too light, so he does not die immediately. The prisoners have to watch him moving, breathing, and suffering. At this moment, Wiesel realizes that God is dying, and he loses his faith. He compares this cruel event with the death of an “all-powerful” God.
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