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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides
 
Created in collaboration with the Holocaust & Human Rights Center, the NYS Education Department, and the NYS Archives Partnership Trust.

Never Shall I Forget

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Elie Wiesel’s powerful and haunting prose poem "Never Shall I Forget" is found in his memoir Night, capturing the indelible horror of his first night at Auschwitz. This passage is a poetic lament that encapsulates Wiesel's anguish and loss. It is significant because it shifts from the personal to the universal, inviting readers to bear witness to the Holocaust's atrocities and the profound impact on its victims' humanity, faith, and hope.

NEVER SHALL I FORGET that night,
the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.
Never.

Elie Wiesel. Night. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006, 34.

Discussion Questions 

  1. How does Wiesel convey the loss of innocence and faith in "Never Shall I Forget"?
  2. In what ways does the poem reflect the themes of memory and trauma?
  3. Why do you think Wiesel repeats the phrase "Never shall I forget"? What is the effect of this repetition?
  4. What is the significance of the imagery of "smoke" and "flames"? How do these symbols connect to Wiesel's experience?
  5. How does the juxtaposition of "silent sky" and the atrocities on earth emphasize the horror of the Holocaust?
  6. How does the poem portray the spiritual and emotional impact of the Holocaust?
  7. How does Wiesel’s account of his first night in Auschwitz help readers understand the psychological toll of concentration camps?
  8. In what ways does this poem serve as a testimony to the events of the Holocaust?
  9. How does Wiesel's poem challenge readers to confront the reality of human suffering and moral responsibility?