Novel Study
The Devil’s Arithmetic
By Jane Yolen
Discrimination (n.)
- The act of judging or treating others unfairly
based on differences
Prejudice (n.)
- 1. A judgment or opinion formed without
due examination facts.
-2. Fear of or hatred for other races,
religions, etc.
Background
This novel is set in a Polish
village and a concentration
camp in Europe between
1939 – 1943.
NAZI PARTY
 Formed in Munich after World War I
 Based on anti-Semitism and a belief in the
superiority of “Aryan” Germans
 Charismatic leader, Adolf Hitler, elected
Chancellor in 1933
 Established a dictatorship and rearmed
Germany in order to expand
 Collapsed at the end of WWII
SWASTIKA
 an ancient symbol in the form of an equalarmed cross with each arm continued at a right
angle, used (in clockwise form) as the emblem
of the German Nazi Party
JACKBOOT
 a large leather military boot reaching to
the knee.
 a symbol of cruel or authoritarian behavior or
rule
FLOP
 The name given to Jews who were
hired by the Nazis to enforce order in
the ghettos
JEWS
 a member of the people and cultural
community whose traditional religion is
Judaism and who trace their origins
through the ancient Hebrew people of
Israel to Abraham.
STAR OF DAVID
 a six-pointed figure consisting of two
interlaced equilateral triangles, used as
a Jewish and Israeli symbol.
PASSOVER
 the major Jewish spring festival that
commemorates the liberation of the
Israelites from Egyptian bondage,
lasting seven or eight days
SEDER
 a Jewish ritual service and ceremonial
dinner for the first night or first two nights
of Passover
HANUKAH
 Hanukah - a Jewish festival, lasting
eight days from the 25th day of Kislev
(in December) and commemorating the
rededication of the Temple in 165 bc by
the Maccabees after its desecration by
the Syrians. It is marked by the
successive kindling of eight lights
MENORAH
 a candelabrum used in Jewish worship,
especially one with seven branches and a
central socket used at Hanukkah
RELOCATION
 move to a new place and establish
one's home or business there
 During World War II the Nazis used the
term “relocation” to mislead the Jews
and move them to concentration camps
YIDDISH
 a language used by Jews in central and eastern
Europe before the Holocaust. It was originally a
German dialect with words from Hebrew and
several modern languages and is today spoken
mainly in the U.S., Israel, and Russia
GYPSY
 a member of a traveling people with dark skin
and hair who speakS Romany and traditionally
live by seasonal work, itinerant trade, and
fortune-telling. Gypsies are now found mostly
in Europe, parts of North Africa, and North
America, but are believed to have originated in
the Indian subcontinent