The "reason" - because the front was moving too close to their town, so it was for their benefit to move into a ghetto.
When they get to the ghetto, they find that there are two separate sections of.
housing. Elie and his family are placed into the second group of houses, the better of the two. The felt that they were lucky; the ghetto was not too bad of a place to live. They went about their lives rather normally, and could come and go as they pleased. Then one day, the families in the first group of houses were evacuated, loaded onto a train, and never heard from again. The next day, German troops forced the group within the second housing district to pack their belongings and move into the first group of houses. Elie and his family were forced to live in a smaller apartment, with more people. Things were beginning to get suspicious, and uncomfortable. Then one day, Elie's father returned to the house and tells his family that they are going to be taken on a train to a place where they can work. He was not given details, just told to be prepared, and not to bother hiding.
When the day of the deportation came, members of the Gestapo flooded the streets screaming, "All Jews out!" And they had all obeyed their every command, running through the streets of the ghetto towards the train. There were eighty people placed into each car, along with a few loaves of bread, and a few pails of water. For Elie and his family, the train ride was the longest, most uncomfortable journey of their lives, but only a taste of the hell they were to shortly experience. .
Two days into the journey, the train stopped in Kaschau, Checkoslovakia. A German officer opened the door of the car and said, "From this moment on, you are under the control of the German army. Those of you who have gold, silver, or watches in your possession must give them up now (Wiesel, 21)." He proceeded with threatening instructions, "there are eighty people in this car, if anyone is missing, you will all be shot, like dogs .
