16. The Last One

"... The trapdoor opened, the body wriggled horribly; the band began playing again and we were once more lined up and filed past the quivering body of the dying man." (pg. 149)

In this chapter, the ‘last’ one was executed, the pride and dignity of the prisoners, the Jews, were destroyed. The SS soldiers had achieved victory upon their plans for genocide. The soldiers not only demolished the physical bodies of the Jews, but also their mental and spritual minds. Jews worked hard throughout the endless days in the concentration camps, but they were gifted with death and torture. The Jews were now worthless on earth due to their loss of self-esteem and dignity. They were defeated from the beginning to the end.

Through this chapter, I learned an unforgettable life lesson. This chapter realized how great environment I was bestowed upon. Not only teenagers like me, but also people of all ages often complain how better our lives could have been and how more we deserve than what we have. We desire what others have, and envy wealth and prosperity. But what really matters is what we were given. Because God has created each and everyone equal with gifts, there is a reason to why we were gifted with such situations in the environment.