Quote 55
We received no food. We lived on snow; it took the place of bread. The days resembled the nights, and the nights left in our souls the dregs of their darkness. The train rolled slowly, often halted for a few hours, and continued. It never stopped snowing. We remained lying on the floor for days and nights, one on top of the other, never uttering a word. We were nothing but frozen bodies. Our eyes closed, we merely waited for the next stop, to unload our dead. (7.23)
Because of their cold and hunger—their basic physical needs—the prisoners are reduced to mere bodies.
Quote 56
One day when we had stopped, a worker took a piece of bread out of his bag and threw it into a wagon. There was a stampede. Dozens of starving men fought desperately over a few crumbs. The worker watched the spectacle with great interest. […] In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other. Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes. An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails. (7.25-29)
The humanity of the prisoners has been stripped away to such a degree that food takes on greater value than morality, human kindness, and affection for family.
Quote 57
He closed his eyes, as if to escape time.
"You don't understand," he said in despair. "You cannot understand. I was saved miraculously. I succeeded in coming back. Where did I get my strength? I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to you my death so that you might ready yourselves while there is still time. Life? I no longer care to live. I am alone. But I wanted to come back to warn you. Only no one is listening to me …" (1.37-38)
There’s more than one kind of death; though he is still physically alive, Moishe has experienced a death of the spirit and the soul through his torture at the hands of the Nazis. Yet he hopes to save others from this living death.