NightBy Elie Wiesel

An Introduction

Night: An Introduction © 2013, Lauren Colletti. All Rights Reserved.

Why?

•When we study the Holocaust, inevitably these questions come up:

▫Why did Hitler hate the Jews?▫Why were the Jews scapegoated and

targeted?

•To begin to address these questions, it is important to look at the history of Judaism.

Differences Breed Suspicion

•The Jews were considered highly unusual and suspect because of their different beliefs and practices.

•The roots of anti-Semitism lie in the different practices of the Jews as compared to the other populations they lived with.

•Anti-Semitism: hostility to or prejudice against Jews

Education & Work• As a result of limited rights and the inability to own property , the

community encouraged a focus on education.

• belief that once a person is educated, no one can take away their education.

• The members of the Jewish community were often more educated than the locals.

• Jews often set up shop as merchants because it was one of the few employment options allowed them.

• Being merchants allowed them to pick and move if necessary, taking their goods with them and setting up in a new place.

Modern History and World War II

• These same differences contributed to the prejudice that Hitler espoused during the era leading up the World War II.

• Germany was in a serious economic depression due to the steep reparations paid after World War I.

• The Jewish community had been contributing to the German economic system in a positive manner for generations, but during the difficult years, some were better-off than their neighbors.

Scapegoating• This success bred resentment as well as an

environment in which it was easier for Hitler to create a scapegoat to blame for Germany’s economic crisis.

• Hitler referred to the Jews as “foreigners,” “exploiters,” “robbers,” and “destroyers of civilizations.”

• His anti-Jewish propaganda united a weary German population looking for someone to blame for their problems.

• In this environment, the tracks were laid in order for a genocide of unimaginable brutality to take place.

The Holocaust• Persecution

began in 1934

• Deaths and WWII didn’t begin until 1939

• The Yellow Star

• “Jude” is German for Jew

The Holocaust• 1933: Jewish

population of 9,000,000 in Europe

• 1945: 2 out of every 3 had been killed—pop. of 3 million

The Holocaust• Death Camps:

mass murders of Jewish pop.

• Gassing, shooting, fire, starvation, maltreatment

• Most infamous: Auschwitz-Birkenau

Auschwitz• Largest Death

Camp

• 4 gas chambers in operation

• Up to 6,000 Jews gassed each day

• Children and dead bodies burned in ovens

The Holocaust

• April 30, 1945—Hitler commits suicide

• German surrender May 7, 1945

Night by Elie Wiesel

In Night, published in 1958, Elie Wiesel recounts his experiences during the Holocaust.

Night is part of a trilogy; it is followed by Dawn, then Day.

Elie Wiesel

Town of Sighet

Transylvania (Romania after 1940)

• Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, on September 30, 1928.

Life in SighetIn Sighet, Elie lived with his mother, Sarah, his father, Shlomo, his older sisters Hilda and Bea, and his younger sister Tzipora.

Elie’s parents ran a store.

Elie’s little sister, Tzipora.

Wiesel Home, Sighet.

Elie’s Childhood

Elie Wiesel:

“My childhood was really a childhood blessed with love and hope and faith and prayer. I come from a very religious home and in my little town I was not the only one who prayed and was loved. There were people who were poorer than us, yet in my town, we were considered to be not a wealthy family, but well-to-do, which means we weren't hungry. There were people who were.”

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/photocredit/achievers/wie0-009

Elie Wiesel with his mother and sisters.

Shlomo Wiesel, Elie’s Father

Elie’s father, Shlomo, was a respected member of the community.

“My father was a cultured man, rather unsentimental. He rarely displayed his feelings, not even within his family, and was more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin. The Jewish community of Sighet held him in highest esteem; his advice on public and even private matters was frequently sought.”

Night by Elie Wiesel, page 4

Elie’s Religious Life

Elie, a teenager devoted to studying the Kabbalah, found a teacher in Moishe the Beadle.

“I met him in 1941. I was almost thirteen, and deeply observant.”

After Moishe had a terrifying experience, he tried to warn the town of Sighet of impending danger, but no one believed him.

By the time they found out Moishe was right, it was too late.

Temple in Sighet“Today, out of two temples, six synagogues and 13 prayer houses only the Igniter Klaus Temple is left. It was built in 1885, rebuilt, repaired and restored in 1936, 1950, 1970 and 1981.”http://www.romaniajewishtours.com/synagoges-and-cemeteries/#sig

Elie WieselElie was just 15 years old when the Nazis invaded his hometown, and changed his life forever.

Interview with Elie Wiesel

In this video clip, Elie Wiesel returns to Auschwitz with Oprah Winfrey, who interviews him about his experiences.

As you view…

• Jot down 5 facts and 2 questions about the Holocaust.