Study Guide for Elie Wiesel's Night Test

Shlomo

Father of Eliezer, respected by entire Jewish community of Sighet, both try to remain together throughout their concentration camp ordeal.

Moshe the Beadle

Eliezer's teacher of Jewish mysticism, he is mentoring Elie but ends up not trusting him.

Juliek

He meets in Auschwitz; he hears him playing the violin after the death march to Gleiwitz.

Franek

Foreman at Buna; he takes Eliezer's gold tooth.

Rabbi Eliahou

A devout Jewish prisoner whose son abandons him in one of many instances; his son behaves cruelly to him.

Dr. Mengele

A cruel doctor who presides over selection of arrivals at Auschwitz/Birkenau; sentenced countless prisoners to death in the gas chambers and directed horrific experiments on human subjects at the camp.

Sighet May 16 1944

All Jews are forced from homes and lined up for deportation.

Sighet May 18 1944

Elie and his family were deported to Auschwitz.

June 1944

Elie and his father are working in Buna, a subcamp of Auschwitz.

January 18 1945

Red army liberates Auschwitz.

Late January 1945

Elie's father died in Buchenwald.

April 1945

Elie is liberated by US troops from Buchenwald.

Ghetto

A section of a city surrounded by walls in which Jews were required to live.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.

Holocaust

The systematic mass slaughter of 6 million European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

Aryan Race

The pure Germanic race; used by the Nazis to suggest a superior, non-Jewish, Caucasian with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Third Reich

The Third Republic of Germany which began Hitler's rule in 1933.

SS

"Schult-Staffel" - Established in 1929 as Hitler's black-shirted bodyguards; an elite group of Nazis trained in brutality and put in charge of concentration camps.

Gestapo

The Nazi secret police force organized in 1933 to uncover political opposition to the Third Reich.

The Final Solution

The plan devised in 1941 to speed up the system of killing the 'undesirable.'

Selection

A term used when the SS forced prisoners to line up for inspection and decided which would have died or spared.

Kapos

Nazi concentration camp prisoners who were given special privileges in return for supervising other prisoners on work crews; Kapos were often common criminals and were notorious for their brutality toward fellow inmates.

Boche

a derogatory name for a German, especially a German soldier in World War I

Torah

the primary text/source in the Jewish religion; Hebrew Bible (Includes the first 5 books of the bible/Old Testament)

Talmud

secondary text/source in the Jewish religion; a collection of teachings of early rabbis and interpretations of Hebrew scriptures; the writings that make up Jewish law

Cabbala

a collection of traditional teachings of Jewish philosophy based on a mystical interpretation of the Scriptures

Rosh Hashanah

marks the Jewish New Year (Jews don't work or attend school on this day = holiday), the spiritual new year whose observances include special prayers and religious rituals

Yom Kippur

The holiest day of the Jewish calendar; considered the day in which every individual is judged by God, and thus is solemn and marked by prayer and repentance (Jewish holiday); the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness

Passover

8-Day festival commemorates the freeing of the Israelites from the Egyptians. (Jewish holiday)

Kaddish

an ancient prayer of mourning and recited for the dead

Hasidic

a Jewish sect of mystics that originated in Poland in the eighteenth century, which stresses joyful worship of a God believed to be present in everything

Synagogue

a building used by Jewish people for religious study and worship

Rabbi

a scholar and teacher of Jewish law; the spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation

Zionism

formerly, a movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish state

marginalization

the treatment of a person or group as insignificant; social exclusion

Dehumanization

to treat someone as though he or she is not a human being; to deprive someone of human qualities, personality, individuality, or dignity

Discrimination

the unfair, negative, or unequal treatment of a person or group because of some aspect of their identity (age, race, gender, religion, culture, etc.)

Prejudice

preconceived or predetermined opinion or belief usually not based on reason or actual experience

humanity

the human race

humane

the quality or state of being humane; compassion, tolerance, benevolence

humanize

to see or represent someone as human; to give human qualities to and recognize individuality or dignity

inhumanity

the quality or state of being cruel and barbarous (uncivilized); brutality, savagery, atrociousness

crime against humanity

a deliberate act, typically as part of a systematic campaign, that causes human suffering or death on a large scale

Anti-Semitism

hostility toward or prejudice against Jewish people

Rosh Hashanah (High Holidays)

represents the Jewish new year and new beginnings

Yom Kippur (High Holidays)

is the day of atonement and a spiritual cleansing to have a fresh start to the new year; requires a 24-hour fast from sundown to sundown

Passover (Holiday)

Passover tells the stories of the Jews' escape from slavery in Egypt; after sending 10 plagues to the Egyptian people, Pharaoh let us go

Antisemitism

Hostility or prejudice against Jewish people.

Holocaust

The systematic, state-sponsored murder and persecution of six million Jews by the Nazi regime in Germany and its allies and collaborators.

Judaism

A monotheistic religion - belief in one god.

Jewish

An ethno-religious group - both a religion and a people who share a mix of culture, religion, beliefs, and heritage.

Diverse community

Refers to the various branches of Judaism including reform, secular, conservative, and orthodox.

Current Jewish population

About 0.2% of the world population, approximately 16 million worldwide.

Diaspora

The dispersion (expulsion) of the Jewish people from Judea (ancient Israel), leading to the establishment of Jewish communities across various regions.

Roman Empire Expulsion

The expulsion of Jews around 2,000 years ago in 70 CE.

Anti-Semitism's history

Anti-Semitic attitudes date back to ancient times and existed in Europe for centuries before the Holocaust.

Cultural separation

Jews were often criticized and persecuted for their efforts to remain a separate cultural group rather than adopting the customs of their conquerors.

Jewish population estimates

Recent estimates place the total Jewish population globally at just under 16 million people.

Monotheistic religion

The first group of humans who adopted a monotheistic religion combined with a singular ethnicity.

Jewish ancestry branches

Three major branches: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi.

19th century antisemitism

A new form of antisemitism emerged, theorizing Jews as a separate 'race'—Semites.

Yiddish

A language spoken by many Jews, particularly those of Eastern European descent.

Cultural norms

Jews often had uniquely different cultural norms when they settled in new communities.

Persecution for difference

Jews have always been targeted for being different and sent to other countries.

Antisemitism's foundation

Antisemitism was at the foundation of the Holocaust.

Nazi regime's actions

The Nazis killed two out of every three Jews in Europe between 1933 to 1945.

Jewish community size in California

There are about 39 million people in California.

Nazi Antisemitism

A form of prejudice against Jews that became official government policy in Germany after the Nazi Party took power in 1933.

Adolf Hitler

The leader of Nazi Germany who propagated the belief in the racial superiority of Germans over Jews.

Racial Superiority

The belief that one race is inherently superior to another, as propagated by Hitler regarding Germans and Jews.

Scapegoating

Blaming Jews for Germany's political and economic problems, particularly after the defeat in WWI.

Nuremberg Laws

Laws enacted in 1935 that defined Jews by race and mandated the separation of 'Aryans' and 'non-Aryans'.

Perfect Race

The concept promoted by Hitler of creating a society composed solely of individuals who meet his 'Aryan' criteria.

Collaboration

The act of assisting Nazi leaders, often for personal gain, during the invasion of other countries.

The Poisonous Mushroom

A story used to illustrate the idea that Jews are dangerous, comparing them to poisonous mushrooms.

Good Mushrooms

A metaphor for good people, as used in the story 'The Poisonous Mushroom'.

Poisonous Mushrooms

A metaphor for bad people, specifically Jews, as described in the story 'The Poisonous Mushroom'.

Jewish Pedlar

One of the types of 'poisonous' Jews mentioned in the mother's explanation to her son.

Jewish Cattle-Dealer

Another type of 'poisonous' Jew mentioned in the mother's explanation.

Kosher Butcher

A type of 'poisonous' Jew mentioned in the mother's explanation.

Jewish Doctor

Another example of a 'poisonous' Jew given in the mother's explanation.

Baptised Jew

A type of Jew mentioned in the mother's explanation, indicating that conversion does not change their perceived nature.

Volk

A German term meaning 'people' or 'nation', used in the context of discussing the German community.

Calamity

A disastrous event, referenced in the story as a consequence of the presence of Jews.

Destiny of Us All

The belief that the Jewish problem affects the fate of all people, as concluded in the story.

Moral of the Story

The lesson that German youth must recognize the danger posed by Jews, likened to poisonous mushrooms.

Political Instability

The state of disorder in government, which many believed the Nazi Party would resolve.

Economic Downfall

The period of economic hardship in Germany that contributed to Hitler's rise to power.

Indoctrination

The process by which the Nazi regime instilled racist beliefs in the German people.

Concentration Camps

Detention facilities where Jews and other targeted groups were imprisoned and often murdered.

Emigrate

To leave one's country to live in another, often used in the context of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.

Jewish Problem

The term used to describe the perceived threat of Jews to society, as propagated by Nazi ideology.

The Devil in Human Form

A phrase used to describe Jews in the context of Nazi propaganda, portraying them as evil.