Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel An introspective teenager, Elie first begins to hate when Hungarian police strike out with billy clubs and force Jews from their homes. At Auschwitz's Block 17, he berates himself for being a spoiled child and rejecting his first plate of prison soup. He redeems himself by multiple acts of kindness, such as giving up his gold dental crown to spare his father torment for marching out of step. At the end of his incarceration, an emaciated, demoralized Elie bears little resemblance to the teenage boy who left Sighet.
Chlomo Wiesel An esteemed grocer, adviser, and religious leader in the village of Sighet, Chlomo is cultured, but realistic. His dedication to others is evident in his accompaniment of the first convoy of deportees to the gates of the ghetto. At the Birkenau ditch where infants are burned, he wishes that Elie had gone with his mother. Elie assumes that his father does not want to witness the murder of his only son.
Mrs. Wiesel Elie's mother remains silent and casts questioning looks at her family as she cooks food for the departure from their Sighet home. As the family marches from the large ghetto, her face is expressionless. In Elie's last view of her, she is stroking Tzipora's hair in a reassuring gesture.
Hilda Wiesel As she nears the time of betrothal, Elie's oldest sister works in the family store.
Beatrice "Béa" Wiesel The second child of the Wiesels, Béa also assists in the family grocery store.
Tzipora Wiesel A miniature vision of stoicism during the march to the cattle car, Elie's seven-year-old sister wears a red coat and struggles without complaint under the heavy load she must carry.
Batya Reich A relative who lives with the Wiesels in the larger ghetto, Batya hears ominous knocking on a window overlooking the street.
