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Night By Elie Wiesel _______________________________ Please Note: This slideshow is by no means a definitive look at Elie Wiesel, his experience, or the experience of any other individual affected by the Holocaust. Additionally, it is not an allencompassing look at the Holocaust. This is merely a means of investigating a few points relevant to a deeper and more beneficial understanding of Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night. Goals for this Unit ► Key Learning: By reading a memoir, students will understand the significance of the genre and its importance in the field of literature. ►Unit Essential Question: How does reading a memoir help a reader understand the human experience? ► Night Night is the first of Elie Wiesel’s many written works. This very striking piece covers Wiesel’s experience during the Holocaust, where he and his family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, perhaps the most infamous of all the WWII concentration camps. What is a genre? word genre comes from the French, and it literally means “kind” or “type”. ► In literature, it refers to how literary works are classified based on their form or content. Genre is a text’s type—what kind of book is it? ► Genres include things like prose/poetry, fiction/nonfiction. Then within each of those categories there are sub-categories, such as historical fiction, romance, science fiction, drama, horror, etc. ► The What genre is Night? ► Night is a memoir. What is a memoir? ►A memoir is a form of autobiography (a writer’s account of his/her own life) that may deal with only a portion of the author’s life and may also deal with historical events affecting the writer. Memoirs often have more artistry than biographies/autobios. ► An autobiography is a writer’s account of his or her own life. Autobiographies are typically told from the first-person point of view and generally cover the major events in an author’s life over a period of time. ► A biography is an account of a person’s life written by another person. Autobiography vs. Memoir BOTH are true accounts of the writer’s own life. BOTH are written from a first-person POV. AUTOBIOGRAPHIES tend to cover all the major/critical events in the author’s life. MEMOIRS tend to focus on one major/critical event, or one “chapter” of the author’s life. MEMOIRS typically contain more artistry than an autobiography. Memoirs are often considered more “personal”. Autobiography Usually covers author’s life up to that point Tends to read more like a textbook Memoir True account of author’s life (non-fiction) First-person POV Focuses on a segment of author’s life Tends to be more artistic and novel-like Who is Elie Wiesel? This is a picture of Elie Wiesel when he was fifteen years old. This picture was taken just before he and his family were deported from their home in the town of Sighet. This is a more recent picture of Elie Wiesel. He currently lives in the United States and is an author, professor, lecturer, humanitarian, and political activist. Sighet is located in Transylvania, a part of Romania. This map depicts borders as they were in 1933. Basic Information on Wiesel ► He was born on September 30, 1928. ► He was the only boy in his family. He had two older sisters, Hilda and Bea, and a younger sister, Tzipora. ► His father was a practical and hardworking businessman who was not particularly religious. ► His mother was a teacher and was devout in her faith. It was she who enrolled Wiesel in Jewish schooling. ► As a child and young man, Wiesel took to religious study early and avidly. He practiced his faith in ways that his parents didn’t always know how to respond to. ► He began to read Hebrew at a very young age, and as a young man he studied his religion and its important texts thoroughly. He became a student of Cabbala ►Cabbala (Kabbala, Cabbalah) is a means of study and of interpreting scripture. ►It is sometimes called “Jewish mysticism” and, if studied appropriately, is believed to be a way to approach God directly. One must have a teacher or leader in the study of cabbala. ► Elie lost his mother, father, and younger sister during the Holocaust. His two older sisters survived. ► After liberation, Elie was brought to France, where he began continuing his education and eventually became a journalist. ► In his role as activist, Wiesel has defended the rights of Jewish people around the world, as well as countless other groups of people who have been persecuted because of race, religion, or political beliefs. A Little Bit of History… (information from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) ► The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered. What is genocide? ► Genocide is a word that did not exist before 1944. It is a very specific term, referring to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. ► “gen” = (genus) birth, race, type ► “cide” = to kill Why Jewish People? ► There are too many theories to count. However, ► Jewish people were not the only ones persecuted during Hitler’s years, however Jewish people comprise the largest group affected by the genocide of WWII. ► Hitler and his collaborators wanted to engineer a “master race”—one that was “pure”. So, anyone that did not fit the mold often fell victim to the Jewish laws. That included people who were gay, Roma (gypsy), of African heritage, or of a mixed race. ► Judaism was viewed more as a race than a religion. Warning Unpleasant photo ahead This is Elie Wiesel in 1945; he was only sixteen years old. A close-up of this famous picture, taken by a U.S. Army Private five days after Buchenwald was liberated. The whole photo was published by the New York Times in May 1945 with the caption “Crowded Bunks in the Prison Camp at Buchenwald.”. Elie Wiesel was about your age in this picture, passing as an older individual in order to work. In the camps, the ability to work meant the ability to live another day. A Timeline of Important Events ► 1928—Wiesel is born ► 1933—Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany; Nazi party takes control of Germany’s government; The first permanent concentration camp, Dachau, is established in Germany ► 1935—The Nuremberg Race Laws were decreed, denying German Jews their citizenship. ► 1939—Germany invades Poland, starting WWII in Europe. Timeline Continued… ► 1939 cont’d—The first ghetto is established in Poland; Jews in parts of occupied Poland are forced to wear armbands depicting the Star of David. ► 1940—German authorities seal off ghettos in occupied Poland; Wiesel’s family become citizens of Hungary (one of the axis/”allies” of Germany) when Romania has to cede Transylvania. ► 1941—Construction of Auschwitz-Birkenau begins; the U.S. enters WWII; the first of the “killing centers” in occupied Poland begins operating; Elie Wiesel begins study of the cabbala. Timeline Continued… ► 1942—All state, Nazi Party, and SS agencies begin implementing “the Final Solution”—a plan to murder European Jews. ► 1943—By the end of 1943, Germans and their axis partners have killed over four million European Jews. ► 1944—Germany occupies Hungary; Anne Frank’s family is arrested and deported; Elie Wiesel’s family is deported and taken to Auschwitz. ► 1945—Elie and his father are transported to Buchenwald; Auschwitz is liberated; Elie is liberated in April; Germany surrenders in May; Japan surrenders in September; WWII ends. Judaism is the second oldest world religion still being practiced today. Judaism is also the smallest major world religion at 12.8 million. 5.5 million live in U.S. Israel is the Jewish homeland. Borrowed from World History Curriculum One god? ► Most ancient cultures were polytheistic. ► The Hebrews were the first to be believe in monotheism, or belief in one god. ► The Hebrews god is called Yahweh Borrowed from World History Curriculum Basic Teachings ► Only one god, Yahweh ► Prophet- preachers who interpret god’s will. ► Prophets record Yahweh’s word in the Torah. (Old Testament for Christians) ► Rabbi-a teacher of the Torah. Borrowed from World History Curriculum Messiah-savior. -In Judaism the Messiah has not yet come, but will come at the end of time. -The dead will then be raised to enter heaven. -This is one of the biggest differences between Judaism, Islam and Christianity! Borrowed from World History Curriculum Roots of anti-Semitism ► Because of certain traditions and the refusal of Jews to give up their faith, Jewish people have been distrusted and persecuted for thousands of years. ► Roman Empire vs. Judaism ► Christianity vs. Judaism ► Islam vs. Judaism ► 20th Century and Holocaust Borrowed from World History Curriculum The End You should now have enough basic background information to get started reading the dark, yet captivating memoir Night by Elie Wiesel. The Final Solution ► This is the name given to the Nazi plan to exterminate European Jews. ► Through things like the Nuremberg laws, mobile killing units, ghettos, and established death camps, the Nazis and their collaborators succeeded in killing about six million Jews—nearly two thirds of the European Jewish population. Ghettos ► There were millions of Jews in Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union (occupied by Germany). In an effort to “control” the population (including others who didn’t fit into Hitler’s idea of a “pure race), ghettos were established. ► Ghettos were marked-off and isolated sections of cities where Jews were forced to live. ► They were typically placed in the oldest and most run-down sections of a city. ► Many were surrounded by walls or barbed-wire fencing, and were well-guarded. Nuremberg Laws: Institutionalized Racism These laws, established in 1935, excluded German Jews from citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood." ► Anyone who had three or four Jewish grandparents was defined as a Jew, regardless of whether that individual identified himself or herself as a Jew or belonged to the Jewish religious community. ► In 1937 and 1938, additions were added with the intent of impoverishing Jews by requiring them to register their property and then by dismissing Jewish workers and managers, and giving ownership of most Jewish businesses to non-Jewish Germans who bought them at bargain prices fixed by Nazis. Jewish doctors were forbidden to treat non-Jews, and Jewish lawyers were not permitted to practice law. ► The Improperly-written Bibliography ► This information was compiled using data from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s website: www.ushmm.org ► Pictures were found using Google Images ► The Franklin quote came from A Thousand Darknesses, found at: www.powells.com/review/2006_03_23.html