Chapter 4 - pp. 45-62 of Night 1. What were the objectives of the medical examinations?2. Why were the Jewish musicians not allowed to play...

The objectives of the medical examinations were to determine if the inmates were in good health capable of discharging their duties as required by the Germans. The dental examination, on the other hand, was for the sole purpose of looking for inmates with gold crowns so they can be removed.

The Jewish musicians were not allowed to play Beethoven because the Jews were prohibited from playing German music.

One of Idek’s bout of madness occurred...

The objectives of the medical examinations were to determine if the inmates were in good health capable of discharging their duties as required by the Germans. The dental examination, on the other hand, was for the sole purpose of looking for inmates with gold crowns so they can be removed.

The Jewish musicians were not allowed to play Beethoven because the Jews were prohibited from playing German music.

One of Idek’s bout of madness occurred when he physically assaulted Elie. He later calmed down and asked Elie to resume his duties like nothing had happened.

Elie feigned sickness to avoid losing his gold crown. He informed the dentist that he had a fever, and so the dentist postponed the procedure. He did this until the dentist’s office was shut down.

Years later, on the Paris Metro, Elie met the French lady who worked at the electrical warehouse as a forced laborer. The lady comforted Elie after his first encounter with Idek.

After Elie refused to give Franek his gold crown, Franek took to harassing Elie’s father because he could not march in step as required in the camps. He physically assaulted Elie’s father until Elie decided to teach his father how to march correctly. Eventually, Elie was forced to give away his gold crown because the assault persisted.

During an alert, all inmates and officers took cover in the buildings leaving behind two cauldrons of soup unattended. The inmates saw this, but they also understood that they risked their lives if they dared venture outside during an alert. However, one of the inmates made his way to the cauldrons of soup by crawling on his belly. He made it to the cauldrons, but he was shot dead before having its contents.

Juliek whispered that “They’re expecting trouble” because the inmates were surrounded by the SS. They were just about to witness the hanging of one of their fellow inmates.

Elie and other inmates cried during the hanging of the pipel belonging to the Dutch Oberkapo. They cried because the pipel was just a child.