Genocide
Holocaust
Crimes against humanity
What do these terms mean to you? What do they
make you think of? What words or ideas come to
mind in thinking about these terms? What
questions (I wonder why?) can you come up with
related to these terms?
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
By Elie Wiesel
“The Holocaust is a central event in many people’s
lives, but it has also become a metaphor for our
century. There cannot be an end to speaking and
writing about it.”
-Aharon Appelfeld
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Genocide
Geno-cide
Geno – from the
Greek word genos,
which means birth,
race, of a similar
kind
-Cide – from the
French word cida,
which means to
cut, kill
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Genocide
Task: In your notes, create a cluster diagram or web
around the term and definition of Genocide. Include
at least 5-7 important concepts. You may
incorporate ideas we covered in the beginning of
class.
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Essential questions…
• How should we remember past
genocides or crimes against
humanity? Why should we?
• How does human conflict at all
levels impact society and the
people in it?
• What social responsibility do
we have to prevent future
crimes against humanity?
• How does Elie Wiesel convey
the inhumanity and humanity
associated with the Holocaust
in the novel Night?
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
How does Elie Wiesel convey the
inhumanity and humanity
associated with the Holocaust
in the novel Night?
Inhumanity –
Humanity –
With a partner, come
up with a definition
for each of these
terms. Be ready to
share
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Elie Wiesel’s Night…
The novel begins in Sighet,
Transylvania.
During the early years of World War
II, Sighet remained relatively
unaffected by the war. The Jews in
Sighet believed that they would be
safe from the persecution that Jews
in Germany and Poland suffered.
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Night continued…
In 1944, however,
Elie and all the
other Jews in town
were roded up in
cattle cars
deported and sent
to concentration
camps in Poland.
He was 14.
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Night continued…
They were
sent to
Auschwitz and
another
concentration
camp.
Roll call in Buchenwald, February 1941
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Night continued…
After surviving the Nazi
concentration camps,
Wiesel vowed never to
write about his horrific
experiences.
He eventually changed his
mind and wrote Night in
1955. Wiesel won the
Nobel Prize in 1986
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs
Night unit overview
• Reading Night by Elie Wiesel
• Completing study questions for each
chapter
• Study of genocide and other crimes
against humanity
• Discussion of Night
• Vocabulary from Night
• Writing poetry related to and inspired
by the novel…
Civ & Lit - Miller/Hinrichs