Night

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Night

• Elie Weisel

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Historical Background Auschwitz Concentration
Camp

• Was originally built by Hitler to house Polish
  political prisoners or anyone considered a threat
  to the German occupation of Poland.
• The Nazis wanted to makes Poles a nation of
  slaves.
• The camp provided slave labor to nearby factories
• Lime, water, coal which were main ingredients in
  rubber and fuel for war effort .
• Hitler had plans to invade Russia and exterminate
  large sections of the Soviet population.
• Within 9 months of invasion
• 3 million Soviet prisoners were taken
• 2 million killed
• 1 million were working at Auschwitz

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Auschwitz Cont.

• Hitler blamed Jews for losing WWI.
• Encouraged Germans to rise up against them by
  spreading propaganda in the daily news.
• By the time the Jewish population ended up at
  Auschwitz the Germans had no qualms about killing
  them because they believed the Jews had cheated
  the Germans and there families.

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Prisoners of Auschwitz

• They had standing cells, where many prisoners
  were crammed into one cell leaving only enough
  room to stand.
• Starvation cells where they were locked up
  until they died of starvation.
• Prisoners feared if they resisted or attempted to
  escape their entire family would be tortured or
  murdered.
• A few did escape due to the Polish Underground (a
  large group that resisted these practices). This
  is how allies learned about Auschwitz and what it
  was being used for.

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Liberation

• Many of the Allies would not step forward to
  destroy the camps or the railways that led there,
  claiming plans were needed elsewhere.
• The Americans did bomb the factories nearby.
• By the end of WWII, a total of ten million people
  had been murdered at Auschwitz and the other
  concentration camps.
• Six million were Jews.

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Important People of the Holocaust WS
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Author Biography Elie Wiesel WS
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Discussion Starters

• 1) It is always best to speak the truth, no
  matter what the consequences may be.
• 2) People tend to reveal their true selves in
  difficult situations.
• 3) People dont change.
• 4) Mankind is basically good.
• 5) Our basic human instincts dictate to us that
  we must protect ourselves first in times of
  trouble.
• 6) When someone is influenced by others to do
  something against their natural tendencies, it is
  really their choice, not peer pressure.
• 7) When faced with something we disagree with, it
  is almost always best to stay quiet and accept
  it.

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Holocaust Identity Day Telling the Jewish story

• Grab a persona as you walk in. This is WHO YOU
  ARE today. Please navigate toward your group
  number that is located on the top right of your
  persona.
• We will be rotating groups every 10 minutes
• For tomorrow, come in with your experience
  reflection sheet completed.

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Auschwitz Virtual Tour

• Virtual Tour

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Why Elie Wiesel wrote Night

• Words too can become a prison...

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Elie Wiesel Tour of Auschwitz

• Interview