Eliezer's survival of the Holocaust was influenced by both chance and the choices he made. When first arriving at Birkenau, Eliezer chose to give a fake age on the advice of a prisoner, allowing him to avoid being sent to the furnace. Later, chance played a role in keeping Eliezer with his father in the same camps and blocks. Ultimately, American troops liberating Buchenwald in 1945 was the biggest chance that saved Eliezer's life. Both chance occurrences and the choices Eliezer made allowed him to survive experiences that took the lives of many others.