ELIE WIESEL’S
NIGHT
“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
“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 8085% 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
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 survived
Auschwitz and
three other
concentration
camps.
After the liberation
of the camps,
Wiesel spent a few
years in a French
orphanage.
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.
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