Night and Schindler's List

Study

holocaust

complete and utter destruction, usually by fire

Holocaust

historical period of time (January 10, 1933 - May 8, 1945)

WWII

(1939 - 1945)

Auschwitz

extermination camp

Characteristics of Moshe the Beadle

A poor, humble man who worked at the Hasidic synagogue, knowledgeable in Jewish mysticism, and became Eliezer's spiritual mentor.

Narrator's age in 1941

In 1941, the narrator, Eliezer, was twelve years old.

Talmud

A central text of Rabbinic Judaism, consisting of a collection of teachings, laws, and interpretations of the Torah.

Synagogue

A Jewish house of worship and communal gathering.

Cabala (Kabbalah)

A mystical and esoteric interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, exploring the nature of God and the universe.

Age to study Kabbalah

Traditionally, a person is supposed to be at least thirty years old before studying the Kabbalah.

Characteristics of Eliezer's father

A cultured and unsentimental man, highly respected within the Jewish community of Sighet, more concerned with communal affairs than with his family's personal matters.

Eliezer's siblings

Eliezer had three sisters: Hilda (the oldest), Béa (the middle), and Tzipora (the youngest).

Moshe's prayer

Moshe prayed for God's strength within and the questions within his soul.

Zohar

The foundational work of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah, consisting of commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah.

Eliezer's conviction

Eliezer becomes convinced that it is important to ask God the right questions, even if the answers are beyond human understanding.

Moshe the Beadle's deportation

Moshe the Beadle, being a foreign Jew, is deported along with others, on a train. He witnesses and survives a massacre by the Gestapo and returns to Sighet to warn the townspeople.

Community reaction to Moshe's story

The community dismisses Moshe's warnings, considering him mad or seeking pity, and they refuse to believe his accounts of the atrocities.

Purpose of Moshe's story

Moshe tells his story to warn the Jewish community of Sighet about the impending danger and to urge them to flee or prepare.

Zionism

Zionism is a movement for the re-establishment and support of a Jewish state in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel.

Eliezer's request to his father

Eliezer asks his father to sell their belongings and move to Palestine to escape the impending danger.

Arrow Cross Party

The Fascist and anti-Semitic Arrow Cross Party comes to power in Hungary.

Hungarian government's action

The Hungarian government allows the German army to enter Hungary and implement anti-Jewish measures.

First impressions of German soldiers

Initially, the German soldiers are polite and distant, leading the townspeople to believe they are not a threat.

Passover

Passover is a Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, marked by the Seder meal and the retelling of the Exodus story.

Seventh day of Passover

On the seventh day of Passover, the German authorities arrest the Jewish community leaders in Sighet.

Identification for Jews

Jews are required to wear a yellow star on their clothing to identify themselves.

Foreshadowing Eliezer's father's death

"Poor Father! Of what then did you die?"

Community's view on ghettos

The members of the Jewish community feel a false sense of security in the ghettos. They believe that since they are all together, their situation will remain stable, and they do not foresee the horrors to come.

Stern's warning to Eliezer's father

Stern informs Eliezer's father that the Nazis have ordered the deportation of the Jews from Sighet.

Family's missed warning

A Hungarian police officer, who was a friend of the family, knocks on their window to warn them to escape, but they do not hear him in time.

First deportation day events

The Jews are rounded up, forced to march through the streets, and packed into crowded cattle cars with little food, water, or air. They are unaware of their destination.

First oppressors of the narrator

The Hungarian police are the first to oppress the Jews of Sighet by enforcing Nazi policies and aiding in their deportation.

Maria

A former servant who offers to hide the family in her village.

Cattle wagons

Overcrowded transport cars with up to 80 people packed into each, causing suffering from hunger, thirst, heat, and fear.

Conditions in cattle wagons

Barely any room to sit, little air, and only one small bucket of water.

Train first stop

Kaschau, Czechoslovakia, where passengers realize they are under German control.

Madame Schächter's warning

She warns about fire and flames, which the group initially dismisses as madness.

Auschwitz

A labor camp rumored to have decent conditions, but later revealed to be a place of mass extermination.

Birkenau

The reception center for Auschwitz where prisoners see flames and smell burning flesh.

Eight words that change the narrator's life

'Men to the left! Women to the right!' which separates Elie from his mother and sisters.

Narrator's age

15 years old.

Father's age

50 years old.

Auschwitz purpose

A death camp where prisoners will either be forced into labor or sent to the crematorium.

False ages

They lie about their ages, saying they are 18 and 40 to avoid being sent to the crematorium.

Group reaction to Madame Schächter

They initially think she is mad and try to silence her, even beating her.

False hope at Auschwitz

Some men hear rumors that it is a labor camp where families will not be separated.

Narrator's feelings about families

Feels sad and helpless wishing to help families and younger children live the life they deserve.

Conditions on the train

Limited food supplies and uncertainty about the journey lead to unbearable hunger.

Train's final stop

Reveals the true nature of Auschwitz as a place of mass extermination.

Screaming about fire

Madame Schächter screams about seeing a terrible fire outside the train.

Men's rumors about Auschwitz

Some men hear that conditions are decent and families will not be separated.

Young men with knives

Some want to turn on their guards.

Narrator's family food rationing

They try to ration limited food supplies during the train journey.

Crematoria

The place where the burning of flesh occurs, revealing the true horror of Auschwitz.

Fear of unknown fate

Passengers suffer from fear as they are transported to an unknown fate.

Older people's advice

The older people tell the young men not to fight back and to have hope, fearing that resistance would lead to immediate execution.

Dr. Mengele

Dr. Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor, determines the narrator's fate during the selection process.

Narrator's occupation

The narrator tells Dr. Mengele that he is a farmer, believing that manual laborers have a better chance of survival.

Destination after going left

They are sent to the crematorium.

Elie's feelings during Kaddish

Elie feels betrayed by God and questions how He could allow such suffering and injustice.

Father's recollection of Madame Schächter

He realizes that Madame Schächter's visions of fire and death were true, even though she was dismissed as insane.

Narrator's repeated words

He is emphasizing the horror of what he witnessed, marking the moment when his faith and innocence were shattered.

SS officers' need for strong men

They need workers for forced labor, selecting those who appear physically capable.

Lucidity statement

"In one ultimate moment of lucidity, it seemed to me that we were damned souls, wandering in the void, seeking redemption, without hope of finding it."

Allowed objects after surrendering clothing

They are allowed to keep their belts and shoes.

Narrator's analysis of his father and himself

He notes that his father looks defeated and weak, and he himself feels like he has lost his identity and humanity.

Time since leaving the train

It has been one night since they left the train.

Kapos' demand while prisoners sleep

The Kapos demand that the prisoners must give their new shoes.

SS officer's warning

He tells them that they are in Auschwitz, a concentration camp, and that anyone who cannot work will be sent to the crematorium, and must work hard.

Narrator's shock at lack of action

Elie is shocked and guilty when he does not react to his father being beaten, realizing how the camp has already made him emotionally numb.

Irony of placards

The placards warn of 'warning danger of death,' which is ironic because the prisoners are actually enslaved and have no freedom at all.

Slogan of the second work camp

The slogan is 'Work makes you free' (Arbeit macht frei), which is a cruel lie.

Advice from the young Pole

He advises them to stay strong, keep hope, and not lose their will to survive.

Tattooed number

The number A-7713 is tattooed on his arm.

Stein's inquiry

Stein asks if his wife and children are alive. The narrator lies and tells him they are, to give him hope.

Father's advice about food

He tells him to eat slowly and not waste anything, as food is scarce.

Duration at Auschwitz

They stay at Auschwitz for three weeks before being moved.

Stein's fate

When he learns the truth about his family's fate, Stein loses hope and disappears.

Job's significance

Job is a biblical figure who remained faithful despite extreme suffering. Elie, however, begins to doubt God, questioning why such suffering is allowed.

Akiba Drumer's belief

He believes that their suffering is a test from God and that they must keep their faith.

Movement to Buna

The group is moved to Buna, a labor camp.

Travel time to Buna

They walked to Buna, and it took them four hours to get there.

Warning about the new camp

The narrator is warned to avoid being sent to the construction Kommando, as it is known to be particularly harsh and dangerous.

Quarantine duration

The narrator and his father are quarantined for three days after arriving at Buna.

Musicians teamed with narrator

The narrator and his father are teamed up with Yossi and Tibi, two Czech brothers who are also musicians.

Work assignment

They are assigned to work in a warehouse of electrical materials, where they sort and count parts like bolts, bulbs, and other small components.

Future liberation agreement

The three boys agree that if they are liberated, they will go to Palestine Haifa together.

Dentist visit excuse

The narrator is sent to the dentist to have his gold crown removed. He avoids the extraction by pretending he is ill and keeps postponing the visit.

French girl's help

After Eliezer is beaten by Idek, the French girl comforts him and secretly gives him a piece of bread while speaking to him in almost perfect German. They meet again years later in Paris, and she reveals she is indeed Jewish and had been passing as Aryan.

Anger towards father

The narrator is angry at his father for not knowing how to avoid Idek's wrath, believing that his father's lack of foresight caused unnecessary suffering.

Franek's demand

Franek demands Eliezer's gold crown. When Eliezer initially refuses, Franek begins tormenting his father during marches. Eliezer eventually gives in, and the crown is removed with a rusty spoon. The final irony is that Franek and the dentist who took the crown are both transferred two weeks later, making the suffering pointless.

Punishment for laughing

Eliezer is punished by receiving 25 lashes with a whip in front of the entire Kommando.

Soup incident

During an air-raid, two prisoners attempt to steal soup from an unattended cauldron. One is shot and killed, falling into the soup, while the other is publicly hanged. Eliezer notes that the soup tastes excellent the night of the first incident but tastes like corpses after the hanging of the young boy.

Prisoners' reaction to the air-raid

The prisoners are filled with hope during the air-raid, glad to see bombs falling on the Germans, feeling satisfaction rather than fear.

Number of men present at roll call

During the roll call after the air-raid, ten thousand men are present in the camp.

Crime of the youth from Warsaw

The youth from Warsaw is accused of stealing during the air-raid and defiantly shouts, 'Long live liberty! A curse upon Germany!' as he is led to his execution.

Narrator's enjoyment of soup after execution

The narrator enjoys the soup because the victim was an adult and he has become desensitized to executions after witnessing many horrors.

Reason for Dutchman's transfer to Auschwitz

The Dutch Oberkapo is sent to Auschwitz because he is suspected of sabotage and resistance activity, including hiding weapons, but does not confess under torture.

Prisoners' reaction to the boy's hanging

The prisoners weep when the boy is hanged because he is a young child with an angelic face, making his death especially tragic and cruel.

Gruesomeness of the boy's death

The boy's death is gruesome because he suffocates slowly for over thirty minutes as he is too light for the noose to break his neck.