How we cite our quotes: (Sentence)
Quote #1
In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. (50)
According to Elie Wiesel, when you make the choice to stop relating to other people, to stop understanding them and what they're going through, you lose the part of you that makes you human.
It isn't always easy, but empathy is part of being human. Losing that means losing touch with what humanity really means.
Quote #2
The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees—not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. (64-65)
Defining humanity may not be simple, but in terms of basic rights, it's pretty clear that all people deserve certain things just because they're human—and one of those things is a recognition of their worth.
Ignoring starving children and refugees means telling those populations they're worthless and they don't matter, that their situation is hopeless. And no one deserves to feel they're without hope.
Quote #3
But then, there were human beings who were sensitive to our tragedy. Those non-Jews, those Christians, we call the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless act of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Why were they so few? (93-95)
Elie Wiesel acknowledges the Righteous Gentiles as people who weren't indifferent, who did everything they could to help the Jews and other persecuted populations during the Holocaust. The Righteous Gentiles were a bit of a light in the darkness. But the question remains—why did so few people step up to try to help?