Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Directions: Before we begin reading Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, we will explore some of the important background
information surrounding the author and the Holocaust. In order to do this you will complete a webquest to learn more about
the events that affected not only Elie Wiesel, but millions of other victims. Utilize your smartphone, laptop, or tablet in order
to complete your webquest.
● You may work either individually or with one other person.
● I will be picking 3 out of the 6 sections and grading those upon my return to school.
● Respond appropriately as indicated in each task and all responses must be handwritten.
1. Vocabulary
Use the following link:
https://docs.google.com/presenttation/d/1hmVEedTP8Yn99uIZxemMwcEi-jnnhHG5EdP7RzKgfbE/edit?usp=sharing and
access the PowerPoint to find the definitions for the following words. These words will help you better understand the text.
Please define the following (strong, specific definitions):
● Surname: Family or last name.
● Hasidic: A jewish sect formed in the 18th century , polish members usually wear dark clothes and men wear
locks
● Cabbala: The secret books of Jewish mysticism not studies by many Jews.
● Talmud: book of jewish civil and religious law
● Gestapo: German police state formed to operate against political opposition.
● Lorries: trucks used to transport jewish prisoners
● Anti-Semitic: Showing prejudice against Jews and the Jewish ways of life.
● Truncheon: a club that a policeman would carry for protection
● Aryan: A term used by the nazis to mean a white person of non-Jewish decent.
● Atonement: reconciliation after an offense or injury
● Fast (not the adjective - the noun version): To go without food willingly in order to observe a holy day.
2. About the Author
Use the following link: h ttp://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/eliewiesel.aspx and read about the author, Elie Wiesel. Write a
strong, specific paragraph giving a biographical depiction of Elie Wiesel that shows you took the time to look at multiple
aspects of his life and have a firm understanding of his entire life (at least 6-7 sentences).
He was born in 1928 in Romania. His family got deported when he was 15 years old to Auschwitz. His mom and his
younger sister died, but the his two older sisters lived. His father died right before being liberated to the camp in April of 1945.
He went to go study in Paris and later became a journalist. In one interview he was convinced to right about his camp
experiences, and it was translated to 30 different languages across the world. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed him
to Chairmen of the President’s commissions on the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel was a professor at Boston University, and he has
been teaching since 1976. After that he was a professor at Yale from 1982-1983. He was an author of six fiction and non-fiction
books. In 1986 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for peace and soon after founded Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. He died
July 2, 2016 in Manhatten.
3. The Final Solution
Use the following link: h ttps://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005151 and read about what “The Final
Solution” was.
● Nazis coined the term “The Final Solution.” To what does this term refer and why did they use this language?
(3-4 sentences) T hey used a type of language called euphemistic language whenever they would be talking
about their crimes. And they used this type of language to disguise the true nature of their crimes. And this
refers to the mass murder of all of the Jewish people in Germany.
● What was the intended purpose of some of these state sponsored programs (3-4 sentences)? T here were
multiple intended purposes for these state sponsored programs. Such as one of them was to isolate the Jews
so that they would be by themselves and no one would help them. And then the other one was to drive the Jews
out of the country and force them to go to some other place.
● Create a timeline that explains the different stages implemented as a part of “The Final Solution” (Each part of
the timeline should be at least 2 sentences)
● 1941- The nazis stopped telling the Jews to leave the country. Now they just started killing everyone that they
see.
● 1942- Even though they already had some of these around the country. The nazis designated Auschwitz as a
main killing facility.
3. Ghettos
Use the following link: h ttps://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ghettos and read about what ghettos are and what
they were used for (respond to each in a complete sentence).
● What is a ghetto? E nclosed districts that isolated jews from their non-jewish population and from the jewish
community; these conditions were miserable
● How were ghettos used just before and during WWII? D uring the war ghettos were used to house jews, there
were at least 1,000 ghettos in the Soviet Union and Poland alone
● Where were the first ghettos set up? Venice, Italy
● How many ghettos were established? T here were three types but there were thousands across Germany
● Why did the Nazis initially set up ghettos? They established them because they believed jews were inferior and
that they should be separated from the others
● What happened to ghettos after the implementation of “The Final Solution” in 1914? T hey were all destroyed
4. Auschwitz
Use the following link: h ttps://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007718 and answer the following
(respond to each in a complete sentence).
● Where is Auschwitz located? This camp was located near Krakow Poland.
● What was Auschwitz? A uschwitz was a designated killing facility and the largest camp that the nazis had.
● How many people were killed there? I n total about 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz during this war.
● What were some of the things that first happened to people that arrived at the camps? W hen you entered if
you were spared immediate death they would put you to work at their camp. And get a tattoo on your arm.
Use the following link:
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/auschwitz?mediatype=photography&page=2&phrase=auschwitz&sort=mostpopular
and answer the following (answer in 5-6 well-developed, well-written sentences):
● Describe the conditions of Auschwitz and what everyday life would be like.
● First off the just the conditions of everything at Auschwitz was just terrible. Everyday life would consist of
you either getting very little sleep or no sleep at all. Then getting up early and doing as instructed or else they
would kill you. You would be getting very little food or none at all, and the food wasn’t even that good. You
would be in fear everyday that you or someone you love would be killed. That is just some of the things that
would be going on in everyday life at this camp.
5. Gassing Operations
Use the following link: h ttps://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005220 to read about gas chambers and why
they were used at Auschwitz and other concentration camps (respond to each in a complete sentence).
● What were gas chambers? U sed carbon monoxide gas to mass kill the jews by making it come out of shower
heads
● Why did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while?
It was more effective and got more people killed
● What did the Nazi SS guards pretend the gas chambers were? D isinfected showers
● At the height of its operation, how many people were gassed daily at Auschwitz? 6,000
6. Perspectives
With your partner one will complete option A and the other will complete option B (if you are working alone you will just pick
one). Your letters should be well-developed and well-written and answer all parts asked. S
trong letters will be about 12-15
sentences.
A--Pretend you are a Nazi soldier stationed at a concentration camp. You are going to write a letter to your family at home,
describing the "good" job you have been doing at work. Be sure to include:
Dear family,
The Nazis are very mean and rude people. I do not think what they are doing is right at all. I am going to try
and get away because I can’t stand seeing all these people killed. I hope the kids are doing alright. Tell
them that I love them will you. Surprisingly I have been able to save a few lives and hopefully the word does
not get around or else I will be killed. Do not worry I will be alright and I will be back home faster than you
think. This place is not for us it is no place to raise a family. Maybe when I get back we can try to get to the
states or somewhere fit to raise a family. I am stationed at Auschwitz and my job is to oversee all the buses
that come in most the time, but I basically do everything. It is terrible seeing all these people die in gas
chambers, it looks so painful and they are as innocent as they could be. Well I got to get back to work now I
will write to you next week again.
Love, Unknown
B--Pretend you are an American soldier who has been sent to liberate a concentration camp. You are going to write a letter back
home to your folks about what you have seen/experienced. Be sure to include: