“They fought alone, they suffered alone, they lived alone, but they did not die alone, for something in all of us died with them.” - Wiesel Elie Wiesel’s Night

Elie Wiesel “To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.” - Wiesel

1928 Born in Sighet, Romania Population of 15,000 Jewish people before World War II Only a handful live in the town today

Holocaust Systematic persecution and eventual murder of the Jewish population in Europe. Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Catholics, and mentally retarded people were also victimized. Hitler is responsible for the death of over six million (6,000,000) Jewish people.

Night A memoir about what the Holocaust did to Wiesel, to Jews, and to humanity. Wiesel shows the spiritual beating the Jewish people suffered, the loss of faith they suffered, and the physical brutality they suffered.

Definitions Concentration Camp: a camp primarily used for slave labor. Death Camp: a camp dedicated to the efficient murder of Jewish people. The term was also used for concentration camps where 1000s died of starvation and disease.

1944 Deported to Auschwitz - Auschwitz was a Nazi death camp during the Holocaust Over 4 million Nazi prisoners died Mostly Europeans of Jewish decent Prisoners were transported there from 20 different countries. Elie Weisel’s family perished while at the death camp Liberated by Russian troops on January 27, 1945

Entrance to Auschwitz “Work makes you free”

Guard station at Auschwitz

Timeline of the Holocaust 1933: The Nazi Party takes power in Germany. Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor, or prime minister, of Germany. The Nazis set up the first concentration camp at Dachau. Books contrary to Nazi beliefs are burned in public.

Holocaust Timeline Continued 1934: Hitler combines the positions of chancellor and president to become “Fuhrer,” or leader, of Germany. 1935: Jews in Germany are deprived of citizenship and other basic rights.

Holocaust Timeline Continued 1936: The Olympic Games are held in Germany; signs barring Jews are removed from public places until the event ends. 1938: Nazi gangs physically attack Jews throughout Germany and Austria on Kristallnacht (the “Night of Broken Glass”). A Jewish synagogue burns during Kristallnacht

Holocaust Timeline Continued 1938: Germany takes over Czechoslovakia and invades Poland, and World War II begins. Hitler orders the systematic murder of the mentally/physically disabled. Polish Jews ordered to relocate.

Holocaust Timeline Continued 1940: Nazis begin deporting German Jews to Poland. German Jews are forced into ghettos. 1941: Mobile killing units begin the systematic slaughter of Jews. 33,771 Jews killed in 2 days. 1942: Nazi officials present the “Final Solution” – their plan to kill all European Jews. Death camps begin operation March: 20-25% of Jews who die in the Holocaust have already perished.

Perimeter fence surrounding Birkenau (barracks in background)

The Deaths Continue 1943: About 80-85% of Jews who will die have perished. 1944: By June the Germans are deporting 12,000 Hungarian Jews a day to Auschwitz.

The End Approaches 1945: Nazis begin to evacuate death camps. About 1/3 of all the Jews in the world have been murdered and the survivors are homeless. 1946: Nazi leaders tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Surviving children evacuate Auschwitz upon liberation.

Childhood Wiesel had a typical childhood in Romania; his world revolved around family, religious study, community, and God. All of these things were destroyed when he was deported in 1944. Since this time, Wiesel has dedicated his life to making sure none of us forget what happened to the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Life During the Holocaust Wiesel survived Auschwitz and three other concentration camps. After the liberation of the camps, Wiesel spent a few years in a French orphanage. Separated from his mother and sister upon deportation. His father died in the last months of the war. Later learned his mother and sister perished in the gas chambers.

Wiesel the Statesman Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. Appointed to chair the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Achievement. Responsible for the creation of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Elie Wiesel and the Nobel Prize for Peace

Night Vocabulary Yellow Star: After 1935 in Nazi Germany and later in other countries, Jewish people were required to wear a Star of David in public. The star was black on a yellow background with the word “Jew” in the middle.

Vocabulary Continued Ghetto: Beginning in 1939, the Nazis forced Jews into restricted sections of cities surrounded by walls, guards, and barbed wire. In reality, the ghettos were holding stations before deportation. SS: a highly trained force who protected the Nazi state. Gestapo: a secret police and division of the SS, much feared and in charge of imprisoning all enemies of the Nazi state.

Kapos: prisoners who supervised other prisoners. Vocabulary Continued Kapos: prisoners who supervised other prisoners. Crematory: a furnace for burning dead bodies to ashes. Aryan: In Nazi ideology, the pure, superior German race.

“Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.” – Wiesel in Night

Memorial at Auschwitz Birkenau