Transcript Intro to NIGHT By Elie Wiesel

Intro to NIGHT
By Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
early years
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Sept. 30, 1928 – Born in Sighet, Romania
1944 – Deported to Auschwitz
Jan. 1945 – Father dies in Buchenwald
April 1945 – Liberated from concentration camp
Survived Auschwitz, Buna, Buchenwald and
Gleiwitz
– Gate at Auschwitz reads: “Work makes one free”
Elie
After liberation
Takes a 10 year vow of silence (regarding
the events of the Holocaust)
 1948 – Moved to Paris to study @ the
Sorbonne
 1948 – Began work in journalism
 1954 – Decided to write about the
holocaust
 1958 – Night is published
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Elie
dedicates life to ensuring that we never forget what happened to the Jews
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1963 – Received U.S. citizenship
1978 – Appointed chair of Presidential
Commission on the Holocaust
1980 – Commission is renamed U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Council
1985 – Awarded the Congressional Medal of
Achievement
1986 – Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1995 – Published memoirs
Let us remember, let us remember the
heroes of Warsaw, the martyrs of
Treblinka, the children of Auschwitz. They
fought alone, they suffered alone, they
lived alone, but they did not die alone, for
something in all of us died with them.
- Elie Wiesel
It must be the prayer of our
generation that with his help
we can recapture enough of
that reality so that it will never
happen again.
- Robert McAfee Brown
HITLER
Write his name (Hitler) on the top of your
paper. As I give you information about him,
write down any words to describe him that
come into your mind.
A brief history of Hitler’s rise to
power
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April 21, 1889 – Born in Austria
Class clown
Wanted to be an artist – Academy of Fine Arts
rejects him twice
Went to Vienna to be a bum
Went to Munich – arrested for draft evasion
Failed his physical for Austrian army & went to
Germany to join the German army
In German Army
Earned the Iron Cross, promoted 1st and
2nd class
 Other promotions delayed because of his
lack of leadership
 Wounded and sent to Berlin where his
hatred for the Jews began to form
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Sept. 1919 - After his discharge from
German army, he became a political spy =
infiltrate new political parties.
 This is how he became involved in the
Nazi party.
 He eventually became the power of the
Nazi party & formed the SA
(sturmabteilung) = thugs in uniform
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Nov. 8, 1923 – Attempted to take over the
German government.
 Arrested and sentenced to 5 years in
prison. Only served 9 months. Received
red-carpet treatment.
 In prison he wrote Mein Kampf (My
Struggle) = the Nazi Bible.
 It stated his objectives and gave more
insight into his personality.
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THE BIG LIE
No matter how obviously false it is, if it is
repeated loud enough and often enough,
people will believe it.
 This was KEY to his plans for the Jews
because he saw them as the cause of
Germany’s economic problems.
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Germany needs fixing
Hitler wants Germany to be THE world
power.
 Focuses on two key areas: Vision of
Germany as a world power through
German national pride.
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rd
3
Reich
1000 Year Kingdom
 Hitler saw 1st reich as the Holy Roman
Empire and the 2nd reich as Imperial
Germany
 His 3rd Reich was to be the greatest of all.
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Aryans
The German ideal = source of national
pride!
 Big, blond-haired, blue-eyed, cleanlimbed.
 Germans very concerned with genealogies
 People were rated by their ethnic and
racial backgrounds.
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Protection & Violence
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1932 – Forms SS (Schutzstaffel), his
private body guard
– The Waffen S.S. = combat and best known
– The “Regular” S.S. = Hitler’s body guards
– The Death Head S.S. = Special killing units
that worked the concentration camps
The Gestapo
1934 – Hitler forms “secret police”
 Himmler was in charge
 Hitler divided govt. into sections of power
to keep any one group from becoming
powerful enough to overthrow his
government.
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Anti-Semitism
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1933 – S.A. called for a complete boycott
of the Jews and used violence to enforce
it.
– It attracted much sympathy. Later, Hitler
created more subtle ways to hurt them –
through a series of laws against Jews
Nuremberg Laws 1935
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Section 1
Marriages between Jews and citizens of German or some related blood are forbidden.
Such marriages contracted despite the law are invalid, even if they take place abroad
in order to avoid the law.
Section 2
Sexual relations outside marriage between Jews and citizens of German or related
blood are forbidden.
Section 3
Jews will not be permitted to employ female citizens of German or related blood who
are under 45 years as housekeepers.
Section 4
1. Jews are forbidden to raise the national flag or display the national colors.
2. However, they are allowed to display the Jewish colors. The exercise of this right is
protected by the State.
Section 5
1. Anyone who disregards Section 1 is liable to penal servitude.
2. Anyone who disregards the prohibition of Section 2 will be punished with
imprisonment or penal servitude.
3. Anyone who disregards the provisions of Sections 3 or 4 will be punished with
imprisonment up to one year or with a fine, or with one of these penalties.
More laws against Jews
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Among other things, Jews were banned from working for
the state or being employed as lawyers, doctors or
journalists. Jews were prohibited from using hospitals
and could not be educated past the age of 14. Public
parks, libraries, beaches were closed to Jews. War
memorials were to have Jewish names expunged. Even
the lottery could not award winnings to Jews.
Jews were required to adopt a middle name: "Sara" for
women and "Israel" for men. Their identification cards
were required to have a large "J" stamped on them.
What kind of man was he &
how could he become so
powerful?
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Your thoughts???