I Promised I Would Tell: Sonia Weitz Study Guide (Chapters 5-9)

Vocabulary terms, key concepts, places, and definitions from Chapters 5 through 9 and the Epilogue of the study guide for Sonia Weitz's 'I Promised I Would Tell'.

Appellplatz

The roll call at concentration camps where prisoners had to wait all day to be counted to ensure everyone was present.

Displaced Person (DP)

Someone who has been uprooted from his or her home and has no place to go.

Subjugate

To bring under complete control or domination, especially through cruel military power or intimidation.

SS

A guard from a major paramilitary organization.

Deprivation

Lack of basic necessities such as food, water, or shelter.

Compassion

Concern for another person's suffering and a desire to help.

Liberation

Being freed from imprisonment or oppression.

Emaciation

Extreme thinness caused by starvation or disease.

Displaced

Forced away from one's home or community.

Repatriation

Return of a person to their country of origin.

Distortion

Misrepresentation or twisting of facts.

Indifference

Lack of concern about other people's suffering.

Typhus

The disease that both Sonia and Blanca contracted while in the camps.

Bergen Belsen

The concentration camp where Sonia and Blanca arrived after marching on the death march from Auschwitz, just ten days away from liberation.

Venusburg

The concentration camp where Sonia and Blanca ended up after their time at Bergen Belsen.

Mauthausen

The camp where Sonia and Blanca were finally liberated by American soldiers.

Camp Hearts

A displaced persons (DP) camp and documentation center that Norbert helped create after being liberated.

Nuremberg, Germany

The location where Nazi leaders were put on trial after the war.

Uncle Harry

Norbert's uncle who lived in Peabody and sponsored Sonia, Blanca, and Norbert, allowing them to immigrate to the United States in 1948.

One surviving tree

A single tree left alive in Poland that became a symbol of life for Sonia upon her return, bringing her happiness.