As soon as Elie arrives at the work camp of Buna he goes through a perfunctory medical inspection. The primary purpose of the inspection is to see which prisoners had gold crowns. They would be examined by the dentist who would extract them. Elie avoids the extraction by telling the dentist he is sick. Elie reveals that this dentist had been running a "private traffic" of prisoner's gold. He was hanged by the SS. Soon,...
As soon as Elie arrives at the work camp of Buna he goes through a perfunctory medical inspection. The primary purpose of the inspection is to see which prisoners had gold crowns. They would be examined by the dentist who would extract them. Elie avoids the extraction by telling the dentist he is sick. Elie reveals that this dentist had been running a "private traffic" of prisoner's gold. He was hanged by the SS. Soon, however, Franek, a foreman at the electrical warehouse, discovers Elie's gold tooth and demands it. Elie refuses but Franek begins to torment Elie's father. Because the old man is not good at "marching in step," Franek takes the opportunity to beat him every time he takes a misstep. Eventually Elie gives in and agrees to allow Franek to extract the gold crown. Franek laughs and even tells Elie he will take his ration of bread because the boy had kept him waiting. The tooth is pulled by a "famous dentist from Warsaw" in the lavatory "with the aid of a rusty spoon." Afterward, Franek becomes much kinder to Elie by sometimes giving him an extra ration of soup, but then, ironically, is quickly transferred. Elie comments, "I had lost my crown for nothing."
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