---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is night at the front, a shadow, a…"
description: "\"“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... \"And then, mother, the hair stands up on his head, for only a f..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg"
---

#  It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who…

![“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... &quot;And then, mother, the hair stands up on his head, for only a few feet from him in the darkness the enemy voice is reciting in Hebrew the prayer of the dying. Ai, God, the soldier has cut down a Jewish brother!…” quote by Andre Schwarz-Bart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg)

> ““It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... "And then, mother, the hair stands up on his head, for only a few feet from him in the darkness the enemy voice is reciting in Hebrew the prayer of the dying. Ai, God, the soldier has cut down a Jewish brother! Ai, misery! He drops his rifle and runs into no man's land, insane with shame and grief. Insane, you understand? The enemy fires at him, his comrades shout at him to come back. But he refuses; he stays in no man's land and dies. Ai, misery, ai...!””

Andre Schwarz-Bart

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A soldier, overwhelmed by shame after killing a fellow Jew, chooses to die in no man's land rather than return.

**In simple terms:** Shame can drive self-sacrificial actions in war.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the moral weight of combat decisions.

Themes

war shame morality identity conflict humanity

Mood

somber tragic

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- military training
- peace advocacy
- historical study

Key Concepts

ethical dilemmas psychological trauma cultural reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- What moral conflicts arise in combat?
- How does shame influence wartime behavior?

A Different Perspective

Heroic narratives may romanticize tragedy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [I feel like I've got far more gay fans in America... Maybe they caught wind that I have a cute Jewish brother who's gay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-ware/i-feel-like-i-ve-got-far-more-gay-fans-in-america-maybe-they-caught/)

[Jessie Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-ware/)

> [“guess there is a war on between them and us. But we never do anything about holding up our side of the war, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/guess-there-is-a-war-on-between-them-and-us-but-we-never-do-anything/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

> [“I am not a committed pacifist. I would not hold that it is under all imaginable circumstances wrong to use violence, even though use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-am-not-a-committed-pacifist-i-would-not-hold-that-it-is-under-all/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [I'm sort of exploring where pacifism and socialism come into conflict. How do you reconcile a passionate rejection of might and violence with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-m-sort-of-exploring-where-pacifism-and-socialism-come-into-conflict/)

[Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/)

> [I know there are some Christians who believe that war and their participation in it are morally wrong. While I respect their views and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/i-know-there-are-some-christians-who-believe-that-war-and-their/)

[Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/)

> [“The friends of Galtieri, Saddam Hussein, Mullah Omar and Milosevic make unconvincing defenders of humanitarian values, and it can be seen that their inept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-friends-of-galtieri-saddam-hussein-mullah-omar-and-milosevic-make/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“Pacifism is a tenable position, provided that you are prepared to live with the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/pacifism-is-a-tenable-position-provided-that-you-are-prepared-to-live/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/since-pacifists-have-more-freedom-of-action-in-countries-where-traces/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [I really believe that Bob Dylan and others have speeded up the changes. Pacifism has found a voice at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-really-believe-that-bob-dylan-and-others-have-speeded-up-the/)

[David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/)

> [“Fugitive Peace (Sonnet 2219) In the opera of war, peace is fugitive - thinking soldiers are no good to state, either you kill without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fugitive-peace-sonnet-2219-in-the-opera-of-war-peace-is-fugitive/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“I think about something I once heard on the radio. About Abraham and Isaac." "I was afraid you'd say something like that." "You asked."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-kazinski/i-think-about-something-i-once-heard-on-the-radio-about-abraham-and/)

[A.J. Kazinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-kazinski/)

> [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/)

Marwan Barghouti

> [Pacifism as a mass movement aims to avoid suffering; pacifists often say that no cause is worth suffering or dying for. The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/)

[Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/)

> [“Nonviolence is the very essence of the gospels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-iswolsky/nonviolence-is-the-very-essence-of-the-gospels/)

Helene Iswolsky

> [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

## More by Andre Schwarz-Bart

> [“But after all, dear Mr. Goldfaden," he went on, chilled by fear, "if God did not exist, what would you and I be?" The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/but-after-all-dear-mr-goldfaden-he-went-on-chilled-by-fear-if-god-did/)

André Schwarz-Bart

Explore all 2 Andre Schwarz-Bart quotes

## More Judaism quotes

> [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/)

[Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/)

> [We plan to eliminate the state of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/we-plan-to-eliminate-the-state-of-israel-and-establish-a-purely/)

[Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/)

> [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/)

[Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/)

> [If Christianity had asserted itself in Germany, six million Jews would have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-christianity-had-asserted-itself-in-germany-six-million-jews-would/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [“There have been various attempts to reconstruct the vocalization and pronunciation of classical biblical Hebrew, which certainly differs considerably from that established by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-s-enz-badillos/there-have-been-various-attempts-to-reconstruct-the-vocalization-and/)

[Angel Sáenz-Badillos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-s-enz-badillos/)

> [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/)

[Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/)

> [The Bible is to gays what Mein Kampf is to Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tatchell/the-bible-is-to-gays-what-mein-kampf-is-to-jews/)

[Peter Tatchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tatchell/)

> [“They are strange trees, palm trees, they are so individualistic, so unique, so full of capriciousness, just as Jews are. One palm tree appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dvorah-telushkin-master-of-dreams-a-memoir-of-isaac-bashevis-singer-1997-2004/they-are-strange-trees-palm-trees-they-are-so-individualistic-so/)

Dvorah Telushkin Master of Dreams A Memoir of Isaac Bashevis Singer 1997 2004

> [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [It seems a long time since the morning mail could be called correspondence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/it-seems-a-long-time-since-the-morning-mail-could-be-called/)

[Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/)

> [The question of boundaries is a major question of the Jewish people because the Jews are the great experts of crossing boundaries. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/the-question-of-boundaries-is-a-major-question-of-the-jewish-people/)

[A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/)

> [“Is the Lord’s Supper only for Christians? Whenever I ask this question I immediately remember the character of those that partook of the Last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/is-the-lord-s-supper-only-for-christians-whenever-i-ask-this-question/)

[Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/)

> [We must not forget; but we must forgive. Suffering often such compassion from the Jewish community. It was Jewish groups in the US who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-must-not-forget-but-we-must-forgive-suffering-often-such/)

[George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/)

> [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/once-the-war-began-the-government-could-do-anything-necessary-to-win/)

[Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/)

[Browse all 4,468 Judaism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... \"And then, mother, the hair stands up on his head, for only a few feet from him in the darkness the enemy voice is reciting in Hebrew the prayer of the dying. Ai, God, the soldier has cut down a Jewish brother! Ai, misery! He drops his rifle and runs into no man's land, insane with shame and grief. Insane, you understand? The enemy fires at him, his comrades shout at him to come back. But he refuses; he stays in no man's land and dies. Ai, misery, ai...!”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andre Schwarz-Bart"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Judaism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/andre-schwarz-bart-90773_judaism_it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot_158145.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... \"And then, mother…” — Andre Schwarz-Bart",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Andre Schwarz-Bart",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-schwarz-bart/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It is night at the front,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
