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Idek is the Kapo, or prisoner in charge of supervising others, for Eliezer’s worksite at Buna. His job is to ensure that the prisoners diligently complete their work under his watchful gaze, and in return, the Nazis allow him unique privileges. Despite the fact that he also endures suffering at the hands of his captors, Idek has absolutely no compassion for the workers in his unit. Instead, he has a reputation for violently lashing out at others, often for no clear reason. Eliezer encounters his wrath one day when he happens to walk past him. This seemingly harmless act enrages Idek, and it drives him to mercilessly beat Eliezer before sending him back to work. While Wiesel offers very little about Idek’s personal history, events such as this one seem to suggest that he uses violence towards others as an outlet for his anger and despair. Asserting his physical dominance allows him to feel like he has personal agency despite the fact that, as a prisoner of the Nazis, such a concept is virtually nonexistent. The fact that anyone can be a victim of Idek’s outbursts also highlights how numb he is to the suffering of those around him. His assault of Shlomo, for example, comes across as particularly cruel because of how weak and helpless he is. Controlling his workers, however, is the key to maintaining his position, and Idek seems unwilling to give up the relative freedoms that come with it. Eliezer wanders from his post one Sunday morning and finds Idek having sex with a young Polish girl in a back room, an act which would not have been possible as a regular prisoner. The fact that he beats Eliezer afterwards in order to silence him reinforces just how valuable Idek believes his position is.
