ENGLISH 12: Manino
Night Web Quest
Introduction: While reading Night, it is extremely important that you gain the
necessary background information in order to understand what Mr. Wiesel is referring
to. This book is very disturbing as Mr. Wiesel shares his experiences in a Nazi
Concentration Camp during World War II. Throughout the book, you will read about
his horrific journey through the evil and terrible process a young Jew in Hitler’s way
often suffered. Mr. Wiesel has taken it upon himself to “bear witness” and share his
testimony with the world in hopes to prevent such terrible genocide in the future. He
has left his written word so that the world may never forget… “When we are forgotten,
we cease to exist.”
Task: Your community is contemplating building its own museum dedicated to
remembering victims of execution all over the world. Your class has been put in charge
of accumulating information regarding the history of the Holocaust and how it has
affected our world today. You will then be asked to research aspects of the
Holocaust. Once you have researched your topics on the approved sites, you should
answer the questions following on the topic. Each student is responsible for answering
four out of the five topics listed.
Conclusion: Hopefully after your research you will have found some of the events
leading up to and defining the Holocaust and can be prepared to share this information
with the rest of the world. Unfortunately no matter how many facts or how much
research we do, we cannot possibly begin to imagine the terrifying events many of the
survivors faced. Keep in mind as we begin reading the book Night, all of the information
you have researched and use it to help you attempt to imagine the world that shaped
Elie Weisel’s childhood.
Topic 1: What was Kristallnacht (Crystal Night or “The Night of the
Broken Glass)?
1. When did Kristallnacht happen and what was Kristallnacht?
2. What was the supposed spark that initiated this violence?
3. What was the role of police on this night?
4. What is a “pogrom?”
5. After Kristallnacht, what happened to many Jews?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Sites to Search:
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http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristallnacht/issues/knight2.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristallnacht/issues/knight1.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristallnacht/frame.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005201
Topic 2: How did Hitler gain power and begin Nazi Rule?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How and when did Hitler gain power and what was the Third Reich?
Who were the SS?
What was “Nazi Propaganda” and how was it used?
What is Euthanasia?
What is “Anti-Semitism?”
Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Sites to Search:
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http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007669
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4442
915&ct=5851643
http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t024/t02404.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/t4.html
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005141
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005175
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007424
Topic 3: What was life like in a Concentration Camp?
1. What are some of the things that happened to the prisoners when they first got to
the camps?
2. What was “Selection?”
3. What was the difference between death camps and labor camps?
4. What happened to the personal items people brought with them?
5. What were a crematorium and a gas chamber?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Sites to Search:
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http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007734
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http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007714
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007732
http://library.thinkquest.org/12663/camps/
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005145
http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/database.html
http://www.holocaust.com.au/mm/camps.html
http://www.jewishgen.org/ForgottenCamps/Camps/TreblinkaEng.html
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/
(camps/liberation/survival)
Topic 4: What was a “ghetto?”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How was a ghetto formed?
What kind of things did they have in a ghetto?
Who was in charge of a ghetto? How did they run it?
How did the Nazi’s keep the Jews in the Ghetto?
What happened after Jews left the ghettos?
Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Sites to Search
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http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005059
http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206286.pdf
http://www.aish.com/ho/o/48959726.html
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007708
http://www.rossel.net/Holocaust07.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/
(deportations/ghettos)
Topic 5:
What was the “Final Solution?”
What was the “Final Solution?”
Who were implementers of the “Final Solution?”
How was the “Final Solution” supposed to be carried out?
How many Jewish lives were lost as a result of “The Final Solution” and the
Holocaust?
5. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sites to Search:
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http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005151
http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205851.pdf
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007328
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/killedtable.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Himorder.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERfinal.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007710
Timeline/History
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http://remember.org/educate/mtimeline.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/holocaust.htm
Vocabulary
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http://remember.org/educate/vocabulary.html
Pictures
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http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/phototoc.html
Other information:
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http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/
A survivor's story
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http://www.cheme.cornell.edu/cheme/people/profile/moreinfo/dlk15leobach.cfm
Focuses mostly on German Experiments on Children by the infamous Dr.
Mengele.
http://www.candlesholocaustmuseum.org/index.php?sid=21