Nightby Elie Wiesel

Night is a work by Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace prize, about his experience with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, at the height of the Holocaust and toward the end of the Second World War.

To understand Wiesel’s story,the reader must understand the history of this time period.

holocaust

[hol-uh-kawst]

noun

1. a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.

2. a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering.

3. ( usually initial capital letter ) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually preceded by the  ).

4. any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.

atrocityKnowsys Vocabulary Group 1

noun

An act of great cruelty and wickedness

• The genocide committed in Cambodia by Pol Pot is one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century.

atrocious

What is genocide?

The systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

– Examples include:• WWII—Jewish Holocaust—1933-1946 more than 12 million deaths• Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths • Rwanda: 1994 - 800,000 Deaths • Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths • Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths • Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 - 300,000 Deaths • Stalin's Forced Famine: 1932-1933 - 7,000,000 Deaths • Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 - 1,500,000 Deaths

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps.

In order to understand …how something like the Holocaust could happen, one must look back to the events and situations that enabled someone like Adolf Hitler is come to power.

World War I beganin 1914 as a direct result of the assassination of

the heir to the throne of Austria. German forces joined the Austrian rebels and created a great army that began invading the neighboring countries of

Czechoslavakia and Poland.

The forces of Great Britain, France and the United States (among others) formed the Allied Powers opposed to the rebels. They feared the Axis forces of Austria and Germany would take over Europe. These countries joined together to prevent further German domination.

After 4 long years…. • The Allied powers won, forcing the Germans to surrender. • The surrender:

– The winning countries and those affected by the destruction gathered in Versailles, France to develop an agreement of surrender. The intention was to teach Germany a lesson AND send a message to any other country considering world domination.

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The Treaty of Versailles

• Signed on June 28, 1919, required the Germans to:– 1. recognize Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland as

independent countries again.– 2. reduce its military (<100, 000 men and NO air

force.)– 3. accept responsibility for the war and for the

damages caused by the war.– 4. pay financial reparations – 5. form a democratic government

Failure to agree to the conditions of surrender would mean that the Allies would take over Germany for good.

Impacts of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany

• Political Chaos: Germans were forced to form a government which they were NOT accustomed to. The development of any new government can be VERY difficult.

• Economic Chaos: Germans had to pay financial reparations to other countries when their own country lay in shambles. The “Great Depression” caused even further economic problems. No jobs, no money, no way to make things better.

• Loss of National Pride: The public admission of guilt as well as the loss of the military strength that had been a great source of German patriotism took a great emotional toll on the German population. (They felt like LOSERS)

Then Came HITLER• Adolf Hitler was a messenger during WWI.

• He resented the German government for surrendering to the Allied forces.

• He blamed not only the government, but also the banks and wealthy business owners for Germany’s condition. Many of these were run by wealthy, well-educated Jewish-German citizens.

• He attempted to overthrow the government and spent time in jail.

• In jail, he wrote a novel, Mein Kampf, in which he clearly blames the Jews for the problems of Germany and states exactly what he would do if he were in power.

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“The book is a mixture of autobiography, political ideas and an explanation of the techniques of propaganda. The autobiographical details in Mein Kampf are often inaccurate, and the main purpose of this part of the book appears to be to provide a positive image of Hitler. For example, when Hitler was living a life of leisure in Vienna he claims he was working hard as a labourer. In Mein Kampf Hitler outlined his political philosophy. He argued that the German (he wrongly described them as the Aryan race) was superior to all others. ‘Every manifestation of human culture, every product of art, science and technical skill, which we see before our eyes today, is almost exclusively the product of Aryan creative power.’” (Spartucus.schoolnet.co)

WHY DID HITLER BLAME THE JEWISH POPULATION?

• Jewish citizens were VERY successful in businesses, law, and banking.

• Many of the government positions were held by Jewish officials.

• Overall many people were already secretly prejudiced against Jews who historically had been run out of every country they tried to establish a home in.

Hitler blamed these people for the surrender during WWI and the now horribly depressed economy.

So how did Hitler come to power?• HOPE: PROMISE FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE.

AND PERHAPS Hitler offered:

– A SCAPEGOAT FOR THEIR PROBLEMS: The Jews

WHY DID PEOPLE FOLLOW HITLER?

• After WWI and the effects of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was in terrible condition.– High unemployment– Poverty and poor living conditions– No national pride or legacy for future

generations– Charismatic speaker (skilled rhetoric)

Hitler’s promises

• Hitler entices the population by promising:– More employment and better jobs– Better living conditions and quality of life– A pride for country (the “Fatherland”) and a

promise of a glorious legacy for German’s future generations!

(Of course all of these came at a price to the undesirable population—mainly the Jews)

Hitler’s “Perfect Final Solution”to put Germany back on top of the world

Hitler would:1. convince the German population he could bring them better times and quality of life.2. convince the population, using various forms of propaganda, that the Jews were like rats; pests that were ruining Germany.3. convince everyone that the removal of the Jews would allow for a perfect race of people to exist---the “Aryan Race”4. secretly begin removing the Jewish population to labor/concentration camps5. send millions of Jews and other “undesirables” to their death in “death camps”.

Then the Aryan race would rule “the world” with Hitler as their leader.

The First Step• At first, the Jewish people

were just like everyone else, earning a living and trying to make the best of things.– Then the German citizens

were encouraged to publicly torment “random” Jews.

– Public insults and other humiliating behavior was directed at Jews.

– Signs were posted telling people not to shop from Jewish businesses

– Advertisements and posters depicted Jews as “rats”

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The Second Step• Hitler began passing laws that took away the citizenship

rights from Jewish people.– (This was a 3 stage process– Step 1:

• 1933: Jews were excluded from professional jobs within the general population (Lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc..) They may interact with other Jews only.

– Newspapers within the Jewish community were prohibited!!!! (to prevent the spread of information)

– Step 2:• 1935: The Nuremberg Decrees: laws that

declared Jews “second class citizens” with limited rights.

– Social interaction between Jews and Non-Jews was illegal (even for married couples)

The Nürnberg Laws by their general nature formalized the unofficial and particular measures taken against Jews up to 1935. The Nazi leaders made a point of stressing the consistency of this legislation with the Party program which demanded that Jews should be deprived of their rights as citizens.Hitler now had more direct control over the government and political attitude to Jews in Nazi Germany. In the period 1937 to 1938, harsh new laws were implemented, and the segregation of Jews from the German "Aryan" population began. In particular, Jews were punished financially for their "race."

On March 1, 1938, government contracts could not be awarded to Jewish businesses. On September 30 of the same year, "Aryan" doctors could only treat "Aryan" patients. Provision of medical care to Jews was already hampered by the fact that Jews were banned from being doctors or having any professional jobs.

On August 17, Jews had to add "Israel" (males) or "Sara" (females) to their names, and a large letter "J" was to be imprinted on their passports on October 5. On November 15, Jewish children were banned from going to public schools. (Holocaustresearchproject.org)

• Step 3:– 1939: Jews were excluded from ALL social and

economic activities among the general population» Jews must carry special ID cards, and may not use

public facilities like beaches, pools, gardens, school, theaters, public transportation etc..

» Jews may not own a business, a car, a bicycle.» Jews may shop under strict curfew time restrictions

in Jewish shops only.» Jews can be evicted from their homes and

apartments to make room for non-Jewish citizens.» Non-Jews may divorce a Jewish spouse without

consent or reason.

The Third Step

• Hitler ordered:– Jews to be rounded up from their homes. They were

allowed to bring only what possessions they could carry.

– Jews were moved to poor sections of town called “ghettos” while German “citizens” were given the nicer homes and belonging of the Jews.

– The ghettos were dirty, overcrowded, and full of disease. Medical supplies and food were scarce.

– Jews were often closed in and the entrances were guarded.

“THE FINAL SOLUTIONto the Jewish question”

• Hitler’s intention was to:– systematically kill off all Jewish (and undesirables)

within his control.– send men, women and children to labor camps to die

of disease and starvation– establish death camps whose only purpose was to kill

and cremate as many bodies as possible.

• He nearly succeeded in eliminating the entire EUROPEAN Jewish race.

• ______________ million people died

WW II was declared in 1939

• when Germany invaded Poland on the pretense that Polish soldiers had crossed the border and attacked a German outpost. (This was of course a lie intended to

build support for the planned invasion by German soldiers)• The Nazi army led by Heinrich Himmler (Hitler’s right-

hand man) quickly invaded the surrounding countries (beginning with Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia) which were unprepared for the onslaught of the powerful German force.

• Most countries surrendered quickly and “gave up” their Jews. Some even paid to have them “removed.”

The United States

• remained relatively unmoved by the situation in Europe.

• placed limitations (quotas) to control the numbers of immigrants coming into the country.

• was determined to stay out of the war UNTIL…. 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.