What are the similarities between Moshe Flinker and Elie Wiesel, as reflected in their diaries/books?

There are several similarities between the two authors. Let's examine just a few based on what we know from their books/diaries.

They were roughly the same age. Moshe Flinker was born in 1926 and Elie Wiesel was born in 1928. Sadly, Flinker would die in 1944 in Auschwitz, while just one year later Wiesel would be liberated.

Both were sent to concentration camps with their families. Flinker was sent to Auschwitz, where he perished. Wiesel...

There are several similarities between the two authors. Let's examine just a few based on what we know from their books/diaries.

They were roughly the same age. Moshe Flinker was born in 1926 and Elie Wiesel was born in 1928. Sadly, Flinker would die in 1944 in Auschwitz, while just one year later Wiesel would be liberated.

Both were sent to concentration camps with their families. Flinker was sent to Auschwitz, where he perished. Wiesel was sent to Auschwitz also, but was later transferred to Buchenwald, where he was liberated by Allied forces in 1945.

Both writers wrote about the significant pain they felt for their fellow Jews and questioned their plight, both before and during the Holocaust. They struggled to make sense of the rampant racism and persecution of the Jews, recognizing that the Holocaust was not the first time the Jewish people had been persecuted and often comparing this persecution to others from history.

“In his many lectures, Wiesel has concerned himself with the situation of the Jews and other groups who have suffered persecution and death because of their religion, race or national origin” (nobelprize.org).

“This second question is whether our distress is part of the anguish which has afflicted the Jewish people since the exile, or whether this is different from all that has occurred in the past” (Flinker).

Both Flinker and Wiesel write about turning to their religion for answers and were not entirely satisfied. We see in both of their writing that they constantly question the purpose of the Jewish suffering and where God must be to allow this to happen. Where Flinker became more devout, we see Wiesel’s doubts about his faith growing over time. Just as with so many who endured the Holocaust, their faith was shaken because it caused people to feel forsaken and in the process search for a reason as to why.

Each of these writers, along with Anne Frank, offer powerful insight into what life was like during the Holocaust. It is unfortunate that of the three, Wiesel was the only one to survive, but through his numerous works over the years, we have gained a greater insight and understanding into what many Jews felt during this time frame.