Night by Elie Wiesel Study Guide Questions

True/ False All people are equal. You should never do something to intentionally hurt another person. The Jewish Holocaust is just something that Jewish people made up so that people would feel sorry for them. The Nazis never hurt anyone. If the ruler of your country tells you that it's ok to hate someone then it is ok. The Nazi soldiers were just doing what they were ordered to do. We shouldn't blame them for killing the Jews. Going to a concentration camp was like going on vacation. If someone told you that you had to choose between your life or that of one of you family members, you could choose to let them live. People who went through the Holocaust and survived never fully recovered. The Holocaust couldn't happen again in our society.

Now, take a few moments to give your opinion on the following questions. Imagine that you were told that you had to move away from your home and into a ghetto just because you were of a certain color or religion. How would that make you feel? 2. How would you feel if you were sent to a concentration camp and separated from your family (you weren't sure if they lived or died)?

Vocabulary Please define all parts and give parts of speech Vocabulary Please define all parts and give parts of speech. As we read, we will identify the correct definition of each word. Prostrate: Lying flat or at full length Interlude: An intervening episode or period of time Reprieve: A break from an event Rations: A fixed allowance of provisions Dysentery: An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestines resulting in pain, fever and severe diarrhea Robust: strong Quarantine: To be separated from others because of illness Apathy: Lack of emotion or an impassive nature Humane: Kindness, mercy or compassion Grimace: A contortion of the face when in pain, anger or disgust Nocturnal: Relating to or occurring during the night Livid: Deathly pale, pallid, ashen Pious: Dutiful spirit toward God and an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations Interminable: Never ending Wizened: To dry up wither or shrivel Morale: The feeling of the group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, and a willingness to perform assigned duties Infernal: Hellish, fiendish, or diabolical Refuge: A safe place Oppressive: Burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical Expelled: To drive or force out

Rights and Freedoms Own a telephone/use a public telephone Think of the freedom the following rights allow you and your family, and think of ways you and your family would be affected if these rights were revoked. Remember that if they were revoked, this would mean giving up things you already have. With this in mind, rank the following rights from 1-8 in order of importance to you and your family. #1 is the most important and #8 is the least important. Own a telephone/use a public telephone Date/marry whomever you choose Own a radio, CD player, TV, etc. Own a pet Go to a movie, concert, play, etc Leave your house whenever you choose Own a car Eat what you wish

Chronology of revoked rights 1933 All non-Aryan civil servants forcibly retired Kosher butchering outlawed German nationality can be revoked from those considered “undesirable”

Chronology of revoked rights 1934 Jewish newspaper no longer sold in the streets Jews deprived of the status of citizenship Marriage and sexual relationships between Jews and Aryans forbidden 1936 Jews no longer have the right to vote 1937 Passport for Jews for travel abroad is greatly restricted

Chronology of revoked rights 1938 Jews must carry ID cards and Jewish passports are marked with a “J” Jews may no longer own or bear arms Jews may no longer be the head of a business Jews may no longer attend plays, concerts, etc. All Jewish children are moved to Jewish schools Jews must hand in their drivers licenses and car registrations Jews must sell their businesses and hand over all securities and jewels Jews may no longer attend university

Chronology of revoked rights 1939 Jews must follow curfews Jews must turn in radios to the police Jews must wear the yellow star of David 1940 Jews may no longer have phones German Jews begin being taken into “protective custody” – deported to concentration camps

Chronology of revoked rights 1941 Jews may not leave their houses without permission from the police Jews may no longer use public telephones 1942 Jews are forbidden to subscribe to newspapers, keep pets, keep electrical equipment, own bikes, buy meat, use public transportation, attend school

Jewish Terms Torah: The primary source in the Jewish religion is the Hebrew Bible, consisting of twenty-four books divided up into three sections. The Torah includes the first five books of the Bible. Talmud: Next in importance to the Hebrew Bible is the Babylonian Talmud, a collection of teachings of early rabbis from the 5th and 6th centuries. Cabbala: Hasidic Jews also read this mystical commentary of the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah: Marks the new year of the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur: This is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. This is considered to be the day in which every individual is judged by God. Passover: an eight day festival commemorating the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

Chapter 1 Study questions In what year does the story begin? In what city? Country? Explain the Cabbala. What does beadle mean? Why was Moshe expelled from Sighet? What happened in the forest of Galicia? Why does Moshe think his life was spared? Hoe do the townspeople react to Moshe’s survival? What was the Jews first impression of the Germans? What was the Germans first step against the Jews? What were the Jews forced to wear? Where were the Jews forced to live? Describe the conditions there. What was the next step after the ghetto?

Chapter 2 Study questions Describe the conditions in the cattle wagon. What did Madame Schacter keep seeing? What did this foretell? How did the others on the cattle car react to her screams? What did the men who went for water till people would be happening to them? What was the name written on the train station? Where had they finally arrived? What did they see and smell?

Chapter 3 study questions What eight simple words parted Elie from his mother forever? What argument did the old men use to keep the young men from revolting? What infamous doctor did Elie speak to? What happened to the babies and little children delivered in the lorry? How close did Elie come to marching into the flaming ditch? What were the articles of clothing they could keep when they arrived at the barracks? Who were the sonder-kommando? What did Bella Katz have to do? What is ironic about the warnings on the electric fence? What inscription was written on the iron doors leading to Auschwitz? What was Elie’s first impression of Auschwitz? Elie became known as what number? What new camp were they moved to?

Chapter 4 study questions What was Elie’s first impression of Buna? Describe the head of the tent, how did he treat the children? What was the dentist really looking for? What block did Elie join after leaving the tent? What work did he do there? What became Elie’s “whole life”? Who was Idek? What was he like? How does Elie act when he sees Idek beating his father? Why? How does Idek punish Elie for walking in on him and the Polish girl? What happened to the man who tried to get soup during the air raid? How did the Jews feel about the bombing? Who were the pipels? What happened to the Dutchman’s pipel? How did this make the Jews feel?

Chapter 5 study questions What is Rosh Hashanah? What thoughts about God and religion does Elie have? What is Yom Kippur? What is ironic about that day in camp? What was the SS’s New Years gift? What is a Muselman? Describe the selection process. What was Elie’s inheritance? Why did Elie need an operation? What things frighten him? Why must the camp evacuate? Why does the Jew say, “I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else.”? What happened to the Jews who stayed behind instead of evacuating? What does “another last night” mean?

Chapter 6 study questions What happened to Zalman? The Jews are forced to march at least how far before they could rest? What happened to the Jews who could not keep up? How did the people in the camp feel about Rabbi Eliahou? What happened to him on the march? Who is Juliek? What did he do for the dying man? What happened to him? Describe the weather conditions on the march.

Chapter 7 study questions What were the conditions on the cattle wagon? Why did the train stop in the middle of a deserted field? Describe what happens when bread is thrown to the men on the train car. How many for into the wagons? How many got out? Where had they now arrived?

Chapter 8 study questions What illness strikes Elie’s father? How do the neighbors treat Elie’s father? Why is the water the “worst poison”? What does the SS officer do to Elie’s father? What was Elie’s father's last spoken word? What may have been possible when his father was taken to the crematory?

Chapter 9 study questions What was Elie’s desire now? What announcement was made at roll call? Explain what the resistance movement did. Who arrived at the gates of Buchenwald? What was their first act as free men? What happened to Elie three days after the liberation? What gazed back at Elie as he looked in the mirror?