Night by Elie Wiesel

Welcome back! I thought I'd get a very sluggish start to the day after the long Christmas break, but you guys were ready to work! We started by checking the quotes you guys gathered over the break. As Mr. Hannah said, with the time we had, we only had time to quickly check to see you had done the work. With that being said, even if you got a check on your quotes, please go back and recheck the ones you put down. Tomorrow, we will be gathering all our quotes and beginning the analysis process.

As for our introduction into Elie Wiesel's Night, as I mentioned in class, this has a very serious subject matter. Elie's story is one filled with loss, suffering, and extreme grief. We will be analzying his work in class, so most of the reading will be done at home. Like I said today in class, this book is a knockout in every sense of the word. Every sentence is a slap in the face, a punch in the stomach, a stab in the heart. In order for you to get that entire experience, it is better to do so in your own, at your own pace. I will not rush you through certain sections if you cannot get through it, because the material is too intense. I, too, at times have to put the book down just to take a minute and understand the gravity of what Elie has just told me. This is a first-hand account and it is the most raw and haunting book I've ever read, and I think you'll find it just as mezmerizing. It's the type of book that never leaves you.

Here are just some of the historical background information we went over today in class to prepare us, historically, for this tale:

1933: Hitler elected Chancellor of Germany. First concentration camp established.

1934: Hitler declares himself furher (leader) of Germany.

1935: The Nuremberg Race Laws created – Jews are stripped of citizenship.

1938: Kristallnacht (night of broken glass) – widespread destruction of Jewish synagogues, businesses and homes.
1939: Germany invades Poland – WW II begins.

1941: Japan attacks the US at Pearl Harbor – the US enters WWII.

1942: Germany begins implementation of “The Final Solution” – a plan to murder all European Jews.

1944: Germany occupies Hungary.  Elie Wiesel and his family are deported to Auschwitz, Poland.

1945: End of WWII

 

Germany in 1939:

Germany in 1941-42:

As you can see, the German empire took over most of Europe and the Northern tip of Africa. As for Russia, Russia became an Allied Force against Nazi Germany. Germany began losing the war and tried to take over Russia. But like most large empires, they become harder to control, and in an attempt to take over such a large mass such as Russia, they weren't able to take control and eventually lost the war.

A ghetto is often a walled section in a European city to which Jews were restricted beginning in the Middle Ages. Here is a picture of a walled-off ghetto and Jewish people lined up in front of one:

Elie and his family were put in a ghetto before they were taken away to a concentration camp. This is where our story takes place. Tomorrow, we will begin reading.

In the first chapter of the book, Elie talks about someone whom he admires greatly. For homework, Mr. Hannah and I want to hear about the person whom you most admire or have learned the most from. You must write 3 paragraphs of no less than 8 sentences each. Here are the guidelines:

Write about someone that you admire/learned from that is NOT a family member.

·   First paragraph: Who are they? What is their age/race/religion/gender? Where are they from?How’d you meet?

·   Second paragraph: Three things you learned from them.

·   Third paragraph: Three reasons why those things are important.

Here is a topic sentence to get you going: "One of the people I ______ most in the world is ______.

The first blank can be filled in with the words "admire," "love," "look up to," or "learned from." The second blank would be the person's name. If you would like to keep their identity anonymous for personal reasons, please feel free to give them a different name.

Do your best on these! Watch your grammar and punctuation. I will be asking for volunteers to read them aloud tomorrow!

DEETS:

In-class:

--Quotes Check

--Night Timeline

HW:

--3 paragraphs