The Devil’s Arithmetic



Night Introductory Webquest

By Elie Wiesel

The following experience is designed to make your reading of the novel more meaningful. Since much of the story is set during the Holocaust and involves many Jewish customs, a basic understanding of the history and the culture is necessary to fully appreciate it. Enter this experience with an open and thoughtful mind. A journey into this history will expose you to both the best and to the worst of humanity. It is both a journey into the potential evil that we as humans can perpetrate on our fellow man and into the potential power of the human spirit when faced with that evil.

Step #1 – View the Introductory PowerPoint Presentation making sure to read all of the given text before proceeding to the next step.

What do you expect from a story set in this historical background? Explain.

I think the text Night is about the Holocaust and the concentration camp of tormented Jews._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step #2 – Enter the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum Student Learning site and the various headings. Answer the

following questions as you go, but don’t limit your experience here to the questions themselves.

How were schools used to spread Nazi ideas and antisemitisim? While some books were removed from classrooms by censors, other textbooks, newly written, were brought in to teach students blind obedience to the party, love for Hitler, and anti-Semitism. After-school meetings of the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls trained children to be faithful to the Nazi party. In school and out, young people celebrated such occasions as Adolf Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of his taking power. ________________________________________________________

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Explain Hitler’s attitude towards the “handicapped.” _Hitler thought that the handicapped thought they were useless to the society and unworthy of life.________________________________________________________________

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Why do you think that many people didn’t notice the harassment of German Jews before the war? Many people did notice the harassment of German Jews through the press and media, but they really didn’t care so they didn’t do anything about it. _____________________________

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What were the Nuremberg Laws? It was anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party._______________________________________________________________________________

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What is meant by “ARBEIT MACHT FREI,”and where might one have seen it? It mean work makes one free and you will most likely seen this in the entrance of a concentration camp.__________________________________________

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What was the difference between the “concentration camps” and the “extermination camps? People were sent to concentration camp to do labor, while in extermination the people were sent there to get killed immediately. _______________________________

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What was the Sonderkommando? The special squad whose job is to burn the corpses of the murdered victims._______________________________________________________________________________

After you have completed your exploration of this site, what is your reaction to something that you learned from the experience?

Mostly throughout the reading, I was shock and surprised by the punishment the Jews and other people have gone through from Hitler propaganda. I was upset on how these people were treated for no apparent reason. Also I was shock how they burned them in ovens and put them gas chamber to kill them, I know now that the German were very cruel people. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step #3 – Browse the links under the Concentration Camps tab to find maps to help you label the map on the next page. In order to complete this task you will have to use several different maps. There is no one map that has all of the following items on it. Take your time and use a pencil for this task.

1. Label the following bodies of water on the map: Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, and the Caspian Sea.

2. Draw the borders for and then label the following Axis Powers (Nazi German) controlled countries in Europe and North Africa: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sicily.

3. Mark and label the following Death Camps/Extermination Camps: Auschwitz, Chelmno, Treblinka, Sobibor, Maidanek, and Belzec.

4. Mark and label the following Concentration Camps: Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbruck, Dachau, Buchenwald, Gross-Rosen, and Flossenburg.

Step #4 - Visit the Jewish Culture tab and use the links to browse the Passover Traditions and Yiddish Phrases sites in order to find the answers to the following questions:

What historical event is celebrated by the Passover? The generation of the Jews in slavery._____________________________________________________________

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When does the next Passover begin? _Monday, April 14____________

What is the Haggadah? The haggadah tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt and explains some of the practices and symbols of the holiday. ________________________________________________________________________________________

What Prophet plays a significant symbolic role in the Passover seder? Explain? The prophet that plays a significant symbolic role in the Passover Seder is Prophet Elijah. During Passover Seder, it is in the Jewish tradition to leave their doors open to allow Prophet Elijah to come in.__________________________________________

What six items are found on the seder plate and what does each one symbolize?

1. Karpas: The vegetable symbolizes the lowly origins of the Jewish people; the salt water symbolizes the tears shed as a result of our slavery. __________________________________________________

2. Maror: This symbolizes the bitterness of slavery._____________________________________________

3. Z’roa Bone: Symbolize the Passover lamb sacrificed on the eve of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.________________________________________________ 4.Chazeret:______________________________________________

5. Charoset: Represents the mortar which was used by the Hebrews to build storehouses and cities during enslavement.________________________________________________

6. Beitzah Egg: Represents the cyclical nature of life and the Universe. ______________________________________________

What appears to be the main theme of this holiday? The main theme of the Passover is the Israelites freedom from slavery from the Egyptians. __________________________________________________________________

What Yiddish expression might you hear at a party before a toast? l’ chaim_____________________

What does it mean? L’ chaim means ‘to life.’________________________________________________________

Step #5– Visit the 36 Questions about the Holocaust site and look at questions #19, 20, and 21 to see how American and European allies responded to the Jewish Holocaust. Discuss your findings here: When the European Allies heard about the Jewish Holocaust, some of those countries were willing to cooperate in the murder of Jews, hoping Germans would restore their country independence. Although the European Allies corporate with the Nazi evil-doing, there was still some individuals who would risk their lives to save the Jews in the European Allies. _____________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Name: Gamaniel Dazulma

Class: ELA-Period 7

Date: April 15, 2014

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