Name: Amber Palmer
Class: Hudgins/7th period
By Elie Wiesel
Date: 4/14/14
The following experience is designed to make your reading of the novel more meaningful. Since much of the story is set during the
Holocaust and involves many Jewish customs, a basic understanding of the history and the culture is necessary to fully appreciate it.
Enter this experience with an open and thoughtful mind. A journey into this history will expose you to both the best and to the worst of humanity. It is both a journey into the potential evil that we as humans can perpetrate on our fellow man and into the potential power of the human spirit when faced with that evil.
Step #1 – View the Introductory PowerPoint Presentation making sure to read all of the given text before proceeding to the next step.
What do you expect from a story set in this historical background? Explain.
Step #2 – Enter the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum Student Learning site and the various headings. Answer the
following questions as you go, but don’t limit your experience here to the questions themselves.
How were schools used to spread Nazi ideas and antisemitisim? " Schools played an important role in spreading Nazi ideas to German youth. While censors removed some books from the classroom, German educators introduced new textbooks that taught students love for Hitler, obedience to state authority, militarism, racism, and antisemitism."
Explain Hitler’s attitude towards the “handicapped.” " The physically and mentally handicapped were viewed as 'useless' to society, a threat to Aryan genetic purity, and, ultimately, unworthy of life."
Why do you think that many people didn’t notice the harassment of German Jews before the war? Many people were focused on the recovery of the deaths and damages caused by World War 1
What were the Nuremberg Laws? " At the annual party rally held in Nuremberg in 1935, the Nazis announced new laws which institutionalized many of the racial theories prevalent in Nazi ideology. The laws excluded German
Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of
'German or related blood.' Ancillary ordinances to the laws disenfranchised Jews and deprived them of most political rights."
What is meant by “ARBEIT MACHT FREI,”and where might one have seen it? "Auschwitz was the largest camp established by the Germans. It was a complex of camps, including a concentration, extermination, and forcedlabor camp. A sign over the entrance to the camp read ARBEIT MACHT FREI, which means 'work makes one free.'"
What was the difference between the “concentration camps” and the “extermination camps? " The Germans deported Jews from all over occupied Europe to extermination camps in Poland, where they were systematically killed, and also to concentration camps, where they were drafted for forced labor -- 'extermination through work.' "
What was the Sonderkommando? " the special squad whose job was to burn the corpses of the murdered victims"
After you have completed your exploration of this site, what is your reaction to something that you learned from the experience?
After the discovery of the Auschwitz concentration, extermination, and labor camp, my heart absolutely dropped. The fact that innocent people were tortured in such ways is truly unreal. It is difficult to believe that anyone would harm others in such a corrupt and vile manner. A thousand words couldn't describe how horrific the Holocaust was.
Step #3 – Browse the links under the Concentration Camps tab to find maps to help you label the map on the next page. In order to complete this task you will have to use several different maps. There is no one map that has all of the following items on it. Take your time and use a pencil for this task.

1. Label the following bodies of water on the map: Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, and the
Caspian Sea.
2. Draw the borders for and then label the following Axis Powers (Nazi German) controlled countries in Europe and North
Africa: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sicily.
3. Mark and label the following Death Camps/Extermination Camps: Auschwitz, Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Maidanek, and
Belzec.
4. Mark and label the following Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbruck, Dachau, Buchenwald, Gross-Rosen, and
Flossenburg.
Step #4 - Visit the Jewish Culture tab and use the links to browse the Passover Traditions and Yiddish Phrases sites in order to find the answers to the following questions:
What historical event is celebrated by the Passover? The Exodus of the ancient Egyptian Israelites is celebrated by the Passover.
When does the next Passover begin?
Jewish Year 5775: sunset April 3, 2015
What is the Haggadah? The book read during the seder. It tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt and explains some of the practices and symbols of the holiday.
What Prophet plays a significant symbolic role in the Passover seder? Explain? Elijah, the prophet, exemplifies significant symbolism of "the messianic age, the age of ultimate peace, freedom, and tolerance,"
What six items are found on the seder plate and what does each one symbolize?
1.Zeroah (Roasted shank bone) symbolizes the Pascal sacrifice (korban pesach)
2.Chicken Wing symbolizes god's "outstretched arm."
3. Beitzah (roasted egg), symbolizes a Passover sacrifice (the korban chagigah) which each Jew would offer up at the Temple in Jerusalem during the periods of the First and Second Temples. It also symbolizes freedom and the rebirth of springtime.
4. Karpas (a green vegetable) symbolizes spring and new life.
5.Maror (bitter herb) symbolizes the transition from slavery to freedom.
6.Chazeret (another type of maror) also symbolizes the transition from slavery to freedom.
What appears to be the main theme of this holiday? The Passover seems to mainly acknowledge the recognition of the
Jews who were enslaved in Ancient Egypt.
What Yiddish expression might you hear at a party before a toast? L'Chayim
What does it mean?
To life
Step #5 – Visit the 36 Questions about the Holocaust site and look at questions #19, 20, and 21 to see how American and European allies responded to the Jewish Holocaust. Discuss your findings here:

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