On April 5, 1945, Eliezer, along with other prisoners, is waiting for an SS officer with a routine check. However, something unusual is happening – the officer is late. It is announced that the camp will be liquidated. These events mean the approach of the opposing forces and the end of the Nazi regime.
Detailed answer:
The prisoners, standing in the block and awaiting a recount from the SS officer, have already lost hope for freedom. Captives look like shadows – jaded bodies and exhausted minds. The Nazi is late, and soon the information about the liquidation of Buchenwald reaches camp’s inhabitants. The Allies are already close. Yet, it seems that the military is doing everything to execute the Jews before the German defeat. They begin to remove the captives before the explosion of the camp. However, underground resistance warns Eliezer and others not to leave. As a result, they wait for the American troops to release them.
Eliezer becomes a free man on April 11, 1945. His biggest desire is to eat. After hungrily having a meal, he, unfortunately, gets food poisoning and recovers in a couple of weeks. Looking at himself in the mirror, he no longer recognizes his reflection. The corpse looks at him, who will later appear to Eliezer in his memories. Many people were killed. For example, Elie was the only person from his family who survived. The fall of the Buchenwald concentration camp paves the way for the end of the Nazi rule over Jews. However, their sacrifices are not forgotten and revered.
