In the first quote, the speaker, a camp block leader, is addressing Elie, a newcomer, because he sees that the boy is concerned about his father's survival as well as his own. Elie's father is weak and near death, but Elie is determined to keep him alive, even though his actions pose a great risk to himself. The speaker tells Elie that in order to get by in a concentration camp, he must forget about everyone else but himself. Conditions are so abominable that to worry about someone besides himself, even if that person is his own father, will phenomenally decrease his own chances of coming through the experience alive. The block leader is essentially telling Elie that he will have to give up his humanity in order to survive the ordeal that awaits him. Self is the only thing that can matter to him; the determination of his own life and death depends on his ability to shut out his tendency towards compassion for all others.
The second quote expresses a bitter irony. The speaker, a Jew, says he has "more faith in Hitler than in anyone else" because Hitler's promises are the only ones he can be sure of. The irony is that Hitler's promises are all concerned with doom for the Jewish people; still, his promises can be counted on, in a world where nothing else is certain. The speaker is in effect saying that he can rest assured that Hitler will follow through with what he says; if he says that the Jews are to be exterminated, then that is what will happen. In a world gone mad, the promises of others cannot be depended upon. Others may promise hope, but their words are empty; only Hitler seems to have the power at this time to make his promises come true.
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