On their last day in Sighet, the Hungarian police crammed Wiesel and the other remaining Jews into the synagogue, where they were held for 24 hours. Symbolically, what is particularly upsetting about the treatment of this holy building?

The Hungarians were allies with the Axis forces during the World War II. The main reason for this from the Hungarians was that they thought that they have been robbed of lot of their territory, according to them. The Hungarians wanted parts of Vojvodina (Serbia), western Romania, southern Slovakia, and northern Croatia, thus to have the territory that they had at the peak of Hungarian rule in the past.

The collaboration with the forces of the Axis had some conditions though, one of which was to get rid of the Jewish people, or deliver them to the Germans so that they deal with them. In Hungary this was done at great effect, with most of the Jews being captured very easily and quickly.

The Jews were taken and kept in the synagogues. The symbolism of this is very negative, as the Jews were imprisoned in their sacred objects, which can be seen as a symbol that their religion and ancestry trapped them and judged them.