Unit 5 and Night Vocabulary

Vocabulary terms and definitions from Unit 5 and the novel Night, covering general literary vocabulary, character behaviors, and historical Holocaust terminology.

Cower

to crouch, shrink, or bend in fear, shame, or submission

Dehumanize

to deprive of human qualities or attributes

Entrench

to place in a position of strength; establish firmly or solidly

Exclude

to shut or keep out of consideration or privilege

Loathe

to feel disgust or intense aversion

Negate

to deny the existence, evidence, or truth of something; to nullify or cause to be ineffective

Wary

watchful, on guard against danger

Abominable

repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathesome; very unpleasant

Endorse

to approve, support, or sustain

Hoax

something intended to deceive or defraud

Melancholy

a gloomy state of mind; prolonged depression; a deep and long lasting sadness

Mystify

to perplex, puzzle, or baffle

Resolve

to come to a definite or firm decision about

Sinister

threatening or pondering evil, harm, or trouble

Tedious

marked by monotony; long and tiresome

Genocide

the deliberate destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

(in)tolerance

unwillingness to accept ways of thinking and behaving that are different from your own; willingness to allow people to do, say, or believe what they want without criticizing or punishing them

Dignity

the ability to behave in a calm controlled way even in a difficult situation

Contempt

a feeling that someone or something is not important and deserves no respect

Propaganda

information which is false or which emphasizes just one part of a situation, used by a government or political group to make people agree with them

Discrimination

treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way

Apathy

the feeling of not being interested in something, and not willing to make any effort to change or improve things

Inert

unable or slow to move, act, or react

Derision

the use of mockery or to scorn something or someone

Reprieve

to delay punishment

Morale

the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group

Notorious

Famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed

Anecdote

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Afflict

Cause pain or suffering to; affect or trouble

Kabbalah

a branch of study in Judaism

Hasidic

a branch of Judaism

Rabbi

a Jewish scholar or teacher, especially one who studies or teaches Jewish law

synagogue

the place of worship for a Jewish congregation

Passover

Jewish holiday that commemorates the departure of Jews from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses

Ghetto

a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live or a section of a city, especially a thickly populated area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group

SS

abbreviation of Schutzstaffel, the black-uniformed elite corps and self-described “political soldiers” of the Nazi Party

Heinrich Himmler

head of the SS - second in command to Hitler and expanded the secret police into a fearful network

Gestapo

secret Nazi police

Extermination camps

only constructed with one purpose: to mass murder Jews and other “unwanted”

Concentration camps

“punishment camps”, POW camps, transit camps, work camps

Auschwitz (owsh vihtz)

the death camp complex

Anti-Semitism

prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews

Fascism

a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry and commerce and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism

Blockälteste

block leader

Appelplatz

roll call square

Kommando

the basic unit of organization of slave laborers in German concentration camps

Lagerkapo

person in charge of the team

Kapos

prisoners who work for Germans