Think of the kapos and the little blonde pipel who is hanged on page 64. Who are the bystanders? Who are the perpetrators? Who are the victims in Night? Do these roles sometimes overlap?
I think that in a way, the rest of the prisoners were the bystanders and the S.S, the Head of the camp, and the Lagerkapo was also. Some might not agree that the lagerkapo was a perpetrator, however whether he hung the three "suspects" or not, he had probably acted with violence before on the prisoners. Just because he did not want to commit a crime of violence on a child doesn't make him any better of a person. The victims of Night are the prisoners in the concentration camps and everyone else the Nazi party was discriminating against. Franek was the only one whose role overlapped in my opinion. From what I understood, Franek was a Jew in the concentration camp, however, he was acting as a soldier or a bully when Elie refused to give up his gold crown.
I think that in a way, the rest of the prisoners were the bystanders and the S.S, the Head of the camp, and the Lagerkapo was also. Some might not agree that the lagerkapo was a perpetrator, however whether he hung the three "suspects" or not, he had probably acted with violence before on the prisoners. Just because he did not want to commit a crime of violence on a child doesn't make him any better of a person. The victims of Night are the prisoners in the concentration camps and everyone else the Nazi party was discriminating against. Franek was the only one whose role overlapped in my opinion. From what I understood, Franek was a Jew in the concentration camp, however, he was acting as a soldier or a bully when Elie refused to give up his gold crown.
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