Religious fervor is strong in the fall during celebration of Rosh Hashanah, a holy day marking the beginning of the Jewish year (usually in September). At the camp, 10,000 Jews leave their meal and gather to pray. As the chant of the officiant rises, Elie can only accuse God of forsaking the prisoners, for allowing the crematories to operate. Alienation descends so relentlessly that Elie feels himself turned to ash. On return to his father, Elie kisses his hand and, in silence, experiences a deep sense of unity and understanding. During the celebration of Yom Kippur, Elie obeys his father and does not fast. He interprets the act as a defiance of God. In the former devout heart lies emptiness.
An apprehensive shiver unsettles the camp as the SS begin the selection process to separate the strong from the weak. Only older veterans can laugh and recall harsher times when Kapos filled a quota of rejects each day. Elie has transferred to a building unit and daily drags heavy blocks of stone, while fearing for his father, who is rapidly aging. Following Tibi and Yossi, Elie runs past Dr. Mengele to demonstrate his strength and healthy resilience. Days after the selection, the Blockaelteste, the leader of the block, calls Elie's father and nine others from Block 36 for a second examination. Fearful that he will never see Elie again, Chlomo bequeaths his son a knife and spoon, a pitiful inheritance. At the end of the workday, the old man jubilantly reclaims his belongings. Enfeebled by camp life, Akiba loses hope because he realizes that he cannot pass selection and requests that his friends recite the Kaddish in his memory. Three days later, work and punishment become so insufferable that Akiba's friends forget their promise.
In winter, authorities provide warmer clothes, but work conditions and night temperatures torment inmates. In the middle of January 1945, Elie enters the hospital to undergo surgery to drain pus from the sole of his right foot. A Hungarian Jew warns Elie to leave the ward before the sickest patients are selected for death. To Elie's apprehensive questions, the kindly Jewish surgeon promises that Elie will recover in two weeks. Two days after the surgery, rumors and the sound of guns indicate that the Red Army is approaching. The next day, the SS evacuate inmates to central Germany. Hindered by swelling that won't fit into his shoe, Elie consults with his father. They trudge through snow toward an unknown destination. They later learn that the Russians freed prisoners who remained in the infirmary.
