Eliezer is both the author ("Elie" is short for Eliezer) and narrator of the memoir. When the story begins, Eliezer is a deeply religious teenager from the Romanian town of Sighet (part of Hungary from 1940–1944). During his time in Nazi concentration camps, he witnesses unimaginable acts of brutality that challenge and ultimately destroy his religious faith. It becomes his duty to look after his father, Chlomo, as the older man weakens and finally dies in the camps.