1

NightBy Elie Wiesel

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed….”

Student Study Guide

Name: ________________English 10

Key Terms/Social Context

2

 The Nazis opened their first concentration camp in 1933, just after Adolf Hitler became German Chancellor. Auschwitz, where Weisel was initially taken, opened in 1940. With its reception centers, such as Birkenau, Auschwitz eventually became the largest of these networked camps.

When Hitler invaded Russia in 1941, he was in need of supplies and weapons. Many of these concentration camps became labor centers used prisoners to fuel the Nazi death machine…..

Aryan Race—The ‘pure’ Germanic race, idealized by the Nazis to suggest a superior, non-Jewish Caucasian typified by height, blonde hair, blue eyes.

Cabbala/Kabbalah- branch of ancient mystical Judaism that probes mysteries of the universe.    Genocide—Coined after WWII as a direct result of how some nationalities and ethnic groups, particularly the Jews, were mistreated during the war.  Its intention is the total annihilation of a race or ethnic group. Ghetto—A section of a city in which Jews were required to live. A ghetto typically was surrounded by walls and/or barbed wire

Holocaust—refers to the destruction of 6 million Jews (and, by some estimates, 6 million non-Jews) during 1933-1945.  Its Greek root means “burnt whole.”   Gestapo—the secret police organized in 1933 to uncover and undermine political opposition Kapo: (German term) a concentration camp prisoner who was given privileges in exchange for supervising work gangs, ‘lead prisoners.’ Some may think of Kapos as traitors to their own people. When Kapos were tried for war crimes after WWII ended, some felt this presented a moral dilemma.

Selection—A term used when the SS forced prisoners to line up for inspection and decided which prisoners would live and which would be killed. SS— “Schutz-Staffel”—established in 1929 as Hitler’s bodyguards.  They became the elite guards of the Nazis trained in brutality and put in charge of the concentration camps.

The Final Solution—plan devised in 1941 to speed up killing the Jews and “undesirables.”  This final method used an efficient system of gas chambers and crematories to kills the Jews. 

Third Reich—The Third Republic of Germany which began with Hitler’s rule in 1933 and ended with his defeat in 1945.

Yom Kippur—the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.  This is considered to be the day in which every individual is judged by God, and thus is a solemn day marked by prayer and repentance.  No Jew attends work or school on this day.

Kristallnacht

3

On the night of November 9, 1938, violence against Jews broke out across the Reich. It appeared to be unplanned, set off by the Germans' anger over the assassination of a German official in Paris at the hands of a Jewish teenager. In fact, German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and other Nazis carefully organized the pogroms. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by. The pogroms became known as Kristallnacht, a term translated roughly from German into what we now call "Night of Broken Glass," for the shattered glass from the store windows that littered the streets.

The morning after the pogroms 30,000 German Jewish men were arrested for the "crime" of being Jewish and sent to concentration camps, where hundreds of them perished. Some Jewish women were also arrested and sent to local jails. Businesses owned by Jews were not allowed to reopen unless they were managed by non-Jews. Curfews were placed on Jews, limiting the hours of the day they could leave their homes.

After the "Night of Broken Glass,"life was even more difficult for German and Austrian Jewish children and teenagers. Already barred from entering museums, public playgrounds, and swimming pools, now they were expelled from the public schools. Jewish youngsters, like their parents, were totally segregated in Germany. In despair, many Jewish adults committed suicide. Most families tried desperately to leave.

1. What are the “pogroms”? What does Kristallnacht mean?

2. “The Night of Broken Glass” was significant because “it marked…..? What was it the start of ?

3. What happened to Jews the morning after the pogroms?

4. How did life change for Jews after Kristallnacht?

Define

4

Memoir

Anaphora

Motif

Chapter 1

Why does the story begin with Moishe the Beadle?

Define: Shtibl

Where did Elie grew up? How old was he?

How would you describe Moishe both physically and mentally?

What does Moishe sing and chant about?

Explain why Elie is too young for Kabbalah.

How many siblings does Elie have?

5

Why is Elie troubled with Moishe’s questions about prayer? Why did Eliezer pray, and why did he cry when he prayed?

What is Moishe’s perspective on God?

Define: indulgently

Why is Moishe’s dialogue about the orchard perplexing?

What is the Zohar?

What happens to the foreign Jews in Sighet? What is the reaction to people taken away?

Upon his return, what story did Moishe tell? How is Moishe after his experience?

How did the townspeople respond to him? Why do you think they responded this way?

6

Read the following passage and then answer the questions in italics:"Jews, listen to me! That's all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen to me!" he kept shouting in synagogue, between the prayer at dusk and the evening prayer.

Even I did not believe him. I often sat with him, after ser-vices, and listened to his tales, trying to understand his grief. But 5all I felt was pity.

"They think I'm mad," he whispered, and tears, like drops of wax, flowed from his eyes.

Once, I asked him the question: "Why do you want people to believe you so much? In your place I would not care whether they 10believed me or not…"

He closed his eyes, as if to escape time. "You don't understand," he said in despair. "You cannot under-

stand. I was saved miraculously. I succeeded in coming back. Where did I get my strength? I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to 15you my death so that you might ready yourselves while there is still time. Life? I no longer care to live. I am alone. But I wanted to come back to warn you. Only no one is listening to me …"

Find two similes in the passage. Why might these comparisons be made?

What are Elie’s thoughts on Moishe?

Choose 1 sentence that best explains the main idea of this passage. In 3-4 sentences explain why this is the best sentence?

Describe Elie’s life in 1943.

7

How do the Jewish people feel in Spring of 1943?

Explain what the following quote means, “Of course we had hear of the Fascists, but it was all in the abstract.”

“Optimism soon revived” is an example of what literary term? Define this literary term. Why is this literary term important in regards to this quote?

What is the initial impression of the Germans in Sighet?

8

Read the following passage and then answer the questions in italics:THE EIGHT DAYS of Passover.

The weather was sublime. My mother was busy in the kitchen. The synagogues were no longer open. People gathered in private homes: no need to provoke the Germans.

Almost every rabbi's home became a house of prayer. 5We drank, we ate, we sang. The Bible commands us to rejoice

during the eight days of celebration, but our hearts were not in it. We wished the holiday would end so as not to have to pretend.

On the seventh day of Passover, the curtain finally rose: the Germans arrested the leaders of the Jewish community. 10

From that moment on, everything happened very quickly. The race toward death had begun.

First edict: Jews were prohibited from leaving their residences for three days, under penalty of death.

Moishe the Beadle came running to our house. 15"I warned you," he shouted. And left without waiting for a

response. The same day, the Hungarian police burst into every Jewish

home in town: a Jew was henceforth forbidden to own gold, jew-elry, or any valuables. Everything had to be handed over to the 20 authorities, under penalty of death. My father went down to the cellar and buried our savings.

As for my mother, she went on tending to the many chores in the house. Sometimes she would stop and gaze at us in silence.

Three days later, a new decree: every Jew had to wear the yel- 25low star.

Some prominent members of the community came to consult with my father, who had connections at the upper levels of the Hungarian police; they wanted to know what he thought of the situation. My father's view was that it was not all bleak, or per- 30haps he just did not want to discourage the others, to throw salt on their wounds:

"The yellow star? So what? It's not lethal … " (Poor Father! Of what then did you die?) But new edicts were already being issued. We no longer had 35

the right to frequent restaurants or cafes, to travel by rail, to attend synagogue, to be on the streets after six o'clock in the evening.

Then came the ghettos.

What literary term best sums up lines 1-7. In 2-3 sentences explain why.

9

From the context of the passage, what does the word edict (line 13) mean?

What does the mother do (line 24)? Why does she do this.

What does line 34 indicate? Why is it in parenthesis? What does it mean?

Cite examples of how the Jewish citizens of Sighet began to lose their rights.

What is the importance of the street name?

Why is “normal” in quotations?

10

Define apparatus in the context of governmental apparatus.

Find one example of anaphora in the chapter.

Why is the ghetto ruled by “delusion” – what does this mean?

What is the significance of “night fell.”

In the text the story says, “The story he had interrupted would remain unfinished.” What does this indicate?

Explain the simile “The courtyard turned into something like an antechamber to an operating room.”

What news does his father tell?

11

What is the knocking outside the window?

“All this under a magnificent blue sky” is an example of what literary term? Why is this important?

Define phylacteries.

Why is Elie’s family in the last convoy?

Why is the Chief Rabbi without his beard?

What is the importance of the Jewish people being described as “like beaten dogs”?

Explain this simile: “Monday went by like a small summer cloud, like a dream in the first hours of dawn.”

How does Elie describe his mother’s face? Why?

12

“Oh God, Master of the Universe” is what literary term?

In the text it states, “We settled in. (What a word!).” Explain the parenthesis.

Define conflagration. Why would Wiesel choose this word over other words?

Describe the conditions in the train (at the end of the chapter).

Examine the last sentence of the paragraph. Why might the last sentence be vague?

Chapter 2What became intolerable in the cattle car?

How do some of the adolescents take advantage of the darkness?

Define economize in the context of the opening paragraphs.

13

What does the German office warn the people in the cattle car?

Define hermetically.

Define pious.

Define abyss.

Describe the event with Mrs. Schachter. What literary term might this be?

What did some of the passengers do to quiet Mrs. Shachter? Why? Is she crazy or actually perhaps very mentally stable?

What is the reaction to the name “Auschwitz”?

What literary term is the following passage: “We return to our places, shame in our souls but fear gnawing at us nevertheless.”

14

What smells linger in the air?

Where did the train finally stop?

Chapter 3Read the following passage and then answer the questions in italics:THE BELOVED OBJECTS that we had carried with us from place to place were now left behind in the wagon and, with them, finally, our illusions.

Every few yards, there stood an SS man, his machine gun trained on us. Hand in hand we followed the throng. 5

An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded: "Men to the left! Women to the right!" Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion.

Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. There was no time to think, and I already felt my fa- 10ther's hand press against mine: we were alone. In a fraction of a second I could see my mother, my sisters, move to the right. Tzi-pora was holding Mother's hand. I saw them walking farther and farther away; Mother was stroking my sister's blond hair, as if to protect her. And I walked on with my father, with the men. I 15didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever. I kept walk-ing, my father holding my hand.

What happens as soon as they arrive and disembark from the train?

In line 3, what does illusions mean?

Lines 8-9 are illustrating what literary term?

15

Which of the five senses is most important in this passage? Why? Provide support.

What do the last lines of this passage reveal?

When questioned by the S.S. Officer, why did Elie lie about his age and occupation?

Explain the importance of the simile: “We can’t let them kill us like that, like cattle in the slaughterhouse.”

Who is Dr. Mengele?

What was the first horrifying sight that Elie at first disbelieved?

Explain what Elie meant when he said, “Never shall I forget these flames which consumed my faith forever.”

16

What was Bela Katz forced to do once he was chosen for his strength?

What is the Kaddish?

How has/had Elie changed in such a short time?

Who grabs Elie?

What is Dr. Mengele referred to as? What literary term is this?

What does the Gypsy do to Elie’s father?

What does Arbeit Macht Frei mean?

17

How does Elie react to the food? How does this change?

What sort of identification was used on the prisoners? Why?

Who is Stein? What does Elie tell Stein? Why?

Who is Akiba Drumer?

Find an example of anaphora in this chapter. List the page number. What is the importance of it?

Chapter 4Define the word traffic as used in the context in this chapter. What do we learn about young boys?

Explain what happens between Elie and his shoes?

18

Why do the men get their teeth checked?

Why were the Jewish musicians not allowed to play music by Beethoven?

How did Elie initially avoid losing his gold crown? Explain the irony regarding the dentist. Why might this have been dangerous?

What happens between Elie and Idek the first time?

Define flashforward. What happens in the flashforward? Why might a flashforward be important in regards to this story?

Who else faces Idek’s wrath?

What happens to Elie’s tooth? Why does he do this?

What does Elie catch Idek doing? What is the after effect?

19

Read the following passage and then answer the questions in italics:

In no time, the camp had the look of an abandoned ship. No living soul in the alleys. Next to the kitchen, two cauldrons of hot, steaming soup had been left untended. Two cauldrons of soup! Smack in the middle of the road, two cauldrons of soup with no one to guard them! A royal feast going to waste! Supreme tempta- 5tion! Hundreds of eyes were looking at them, shining with desire. Two lambs with hundreds of wolves lying in wait for them. Two lambs without a shepherd, free for the taking. But who would dare?

Fear was greater than hunger. Suddenly, we saw the door of 10Block 37 open slightly. A man appeared, crawling snakelike in the direction of the cauldrons.

Hundreds of eyes were watching his every move. Hundreds of men were crawling with him, scraping their bodies with his on the stones. All hearts trembled, but mostly with envy. He was the one 15who had dared.

He reached the first cauldron. Hearts were pounding harder: he had succeeded. Jealousy devoured us, consumed us. We never thought to admire him. Poor hero committing suicide for a ration or two or more of soup … In our minds, he was already dead. 20

Lying on the ground near the cauldron, he was trying to lift himself to the cauldron's rim. Either out of weakness or out of fear, he remained there, undoubtedly to muster his strength. At last he succeeded in pulling himself up to the rim. For a second, he seemed to be looking at himself in the soup, looking for his 25ghostly reflection there. Then, for no apparent reason, he let out a terrible scream, a death rattle such as I had never heard before and, with open mouth, thrust his head toward the still steaming liquid. We jumped at the sound of the shot. Falling to the ground, his face stained by the soup, the man writhed a few seconds at the 30base of the cauldron, and then he was still.

Name three literary terms that come from the first paragraph. Cite specific examples.

Line 15 is an example of what literary term?

20

Write down the line that best foreshadows the man’s death. Why is this the best line?

Find three examples of personification.

What happens at the Buna factory?

Who had to dispose of the bomb?

During one of the preliminary “ceremonies” for a hanging, what did Juliek whisper to Elie?

What does this suggest?

What makes the Oberkapo special?

What is a pipel? Describe what happens to him.

21

According to Elie, where is God found?

What does the soup taste like? What literary term is this?