Upon the entry to Auschwitz elie was exposed to the horrifying site of babies being used as target practice he didn’t believe this form of cruelty to be possible when Moishe the beetle had told him of it earlier but this was not the only faith shattering sight. They were made to walk up to the fires in which the bodies were being tossed as though that fire would be the end of them. Eli not wanting to suffer such a fate began to summon the will to throw himself upon the electric fence but as his father squeezed his hand he threw away those thoughts and continued walking at that time they had turned from the fires and were now walking towards the blocks. If schlomo hadn’t been there elie wouldn’t have survived.
Hunger can eat away at any mans will. When eli received his first ration of bread he wolfed it down only after finishing it did schlomo tell him he should save his food “tomorrow may be worse” and then set his food beside “as for me, im not hungry” elie took this knowledge and saved his bread later in the text only to swap bunks for some pieces of bread so he could be closer to his dying father.
Even after death schlomo wanted to help elie in any way he could. In the days leading up to his death schlomo told elie that the gold that was buried