"Night" by Elie Wiesel
Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions based on the text “Night” by Elie Wiesel noting page numbers and citing textual evidence to support your answers.
Comprehension Questions are due Thursday, April 17th - NO LATE WORK FOR "NIGHT" WILL BE ACCEPTED OVER OR AFTER SPRING BREAK!
PREFACE to the NEW TRANSLATION:
1.) Read the preface by Elie Wiesel. Why do you suppose Wiesel imposed a ten-tear vow of silence?
Elie was still in shock and was in memory of those who have died.
2.) Why did he have trouble finding a publisher?
The book was a very morbid topic and people where very sheltered in the fifties and sixties.
3.) What is the “devastation that will never end”?
The memory of what happened to Wiesel and other Jews during the Holocaust.
4.) What is Wiesel saying about how we can make sure that something this horrible is never repeated?
That we need to inform and to never forget.
FOREWARD:
5.) Read the Foreword by Francois Mauriac. Why is Mauriac so moved by Wiesel’s book – of all the Holocaust literature he had seen?
Mauriac is moved by Wiesel's book because it is a memoir and it is coming from a child's perspective.
6.) How do you explain the “inconceivable passivity” with which the Jews of Sighet yield themselves to the Nazis?
The Jews of Sighet yield themselves to the Nazis because they are afraid that they or they're family would get hurt. They were also very hopeful about the future because they did not know about the Nazis.
7.) What aspects of Wiesel’s experience does Mauriac find most disturbing?
The experience that Mauriac finds most disturbing is that Wiesel said that his sister and mother were burned to death. And that he speaks a lot about how children were killed. He also talks about the absence of God, and why God allowed all this to happen and how he could do that.
NIGHT:
8.) When and where does Elie Wiesel grow up? (city, country and time period) How old is he?
Elie grew up in Sighet, 1941 and he was almost 13.
9.) How is his childhood like yours and how is it different?
Elie and I are both study and we are both religous. But Elie is from Transylvania, he is Jewish, and is devoted to learning Judaism.
10.) Who is “Moshe the Beadle” and why does Wiesel begin the story with him?
Moshe the Beadle is a poor man and a friend of Elie's. Elie starts with Moishe the Beadle because he wants to tell how important faith and religion is in Elie's life.
11.) What do Eliezer’s parents and the other in the community think of Moshe?
The community thinks of Moshe as the "town clown" because he was poor.
12.) Why does Elie spend so much time with Moshe?
Moshe is a religious mentor for Elie, he teaches him things no one else will.
13.) What is Elie’s father’s profession?
Elie's father was a store owner.
14.) Is Elie’s father highly respected in the Jewish community?
Elie's father is highly respected in the Jewish community.
15.) What has happened to Moshe that caused a great change in him?
Moshe saw people get shot and buried into holes they dug themselves.
16.) How does this experience change Moshe?
Moshe lost faith and has lost the joy in his eyes.
17.) How does the rest of the community react when he tells them what has happened to him?
The rest of the community does not believes Moshe.
18.) The Jews of Sighet are optimistic because of the news they hear on the radio in late 1942 and 1943. What is the news and why are they so optimistic?
The Jews of Sighet think they are going to get help and be protected.
19.) With an ironic tone, Wiesel says, “Besides, people were interested in everything – in strategy, in diplomacy, in politics, in Zionism – but not their own fate.” What does he mean?
They think that they are totally exempt. They are worried about the war and about Hitler, yet they believe that they have nothing to do with it.
20.) Berkovitz brings news from Budapest that anti-Semitism (hostility or discrimination against Jews) war is rampant. Why then, is “optimism soon revived”?
The Jews of Sighet believes the Germans will stay in Budapest and they won't make the travel all the way to Transylvania.
21.) Why do “the optimists rejoiced” even three days after the German soldiers appear in Sighet?
The optimists don't believe they will do anything since they are being so nice.
22.) Why is celebrating Passover like playing a “comedy”?
Their hearts are not in it. They are only doing it because it is a religious holiday.
23.) What does the following mean? “On the seventh day of Passover the curtain rose.”
The curtain is the optimism and happiness. The Germans arrested the Jewish leaders in the community.
24.) Name the decrees (laws) the Germans put into place.
One, the Jews were prohibited to leave their home for three days. Two, the Jews had to hand in any valuables. Three, the Jews had to wear a gold star. Four, they could no longer go to restaurants, cafés, or travel by the rail. Five, they could no longer attend the synagogue. Six, they were not allowed to be out after six-o-clock.
25.) Describe the ghettos.
“A large one in the center of town occupied four streets, and another smaller one extended over several alleyways on the outskirts of town. The street we lived on, Serpent Street, was in the first ghetto. We therefore could remain in our house. But, as it occupied a corner, the windows facing the street outside the ghetto had to be sealed. We gave some of our rooms to relatives who had been driven out of their homes.” (p. 51)
26.) How do the Jews of Sighet generally feel about the ghettos?
The Jews of Sighet believe it to be a good thing because don't have to look at the Nazis anymore. And they think they are now excluded from the hostile environment and they enjoy that.
27.) Why do the Jews of Sighet think they are being deported and why is their destination kept secret from them?
The Jews of Sighet believe they are being deported to someplace in Hunary to work in a brick factory, this is kept from them because the Germans do not want the Jews to escape.
28.) How could the Jews of Sighet have possibly escaped from the Germans?
The Jews of Sighet could have listened to Moshe.
29.) How do they prepare for deportation?
“Each of us will be allowed to bring his personal belongings. A backpack, some food, a few items of clothing. Nothing else.” (p. 56)
30.) Why is there “joy” when the signal finally comes for them to leave?
They are realized that something was happening.
31.) How does Elie feel as he watches the procession or deportees?
“They passed me by, one after the other, my teachers, my friends, the others, some of whom I had once feared, some of whom I had found ridiculous, all those whose lives I had shared for years.” (p. 63)
32.) Who offers Elie and his family safe refuge?
“Maria, our former maid, came to see us. Sobbing, she begged us to come with her to her village where she had prepared a safe shelter.” (p. 69$
33.) Why doesn’t Elie’s father accept the offer?
He does not want to leave the community, he does not want to be selfish and only save his family.
34.) On what day of the week is the family expelled and why is this ironic?
On the day they are supposed to be resting and phrasing God, they are forced to do things by the German soldiers.
35.) They spend 24 hours in a synagogue. What are the conditions like? Give examples.
“The synagogue resembled a large railroad station: baggage and tears. The altar was shattered, the wall coverings shredded, the walls themselves bare. There were so many of us, we could hardly breathe. The twenty-four hours we spent there were horrendous. The men were downstairs, the women upstairs. It was Saturday—the Sabbath—and it was as though we were there to attend services. Forbidden to go outside, people relieved themselves in a corner.” (p. 73)
36.) How are the Jews moved out of Sighet?
The Jews were placed in cattle cars with 80 people each.
37.) Why do you suppose no one tries to escape?
If someone tried to escape, they would be shot.
38.) Why does the Hungarian lieutenant move among the prisoners with a basket?
The Hungarian lieutenant was collecting any gold, silver, watches, or anything valuable.
39.) What actions do “those who no longer wished to taste the bitterness of terror” take?
They agreed to give the lieutenant their valuables.
40.) Who is Madame Schachter and why is she so upset?
Madame Schachter was a lady in the cattle car who was upset about losing her two older sons and husband during the transport.
41.) How do the others treat her and why?
The others gag her because she begins to scare people.
42.) What is the first thing the prisoners see when they got to Birkenau?
They first see the flames coming from the crematorium.
43.) What do they smell?
They smelled the burning scent of bodies.
44.) Who are the SS men?
The SS men were soldiers of the German army.
45.) How do Elie and his father get separated from Mother and Tzipora?
They had to get in groups based on gender.
46.) What is Elie’s last memory of them?
“Mother was stroking my sister’s blond hair, as if to protect her.” (p. 85)
47.) Why do some of the younger men want to attempt an escape?
They don't want to die this way.
48.) Why don’t they go through with it?
The elders convince them with their optimism and hope.
49.) What lies do Elie and his father tell to Dr. Mengale and why?
Elie and his father lie about their age because they would stay together that way.
50.) Why does Elie’s father wish Elie has gone with his mother and why is this ironic?
Elie's father decided to save his kid after he gave up his chance before.
51.) What do you suppose Elie would say to those who claim that innocent children were not murdered during the Holocaust?
Elie saw it with his own eyes.
52.) What is the Kaddish and why doesn’t’ Elie join his father in reciting it?
The Kaddish is the prayer of Death for the Jews and Elie doesn't recite it because he still has hope that he isn't going to die.
53.) How do the prisoners who are already in the barracks treat the newcomers?
They prisoners hit them and make them strip.
54.) What are Elie and the others ordered to do?
Elie and the others are forced to strip and to shave their head.
55.) How does Elie change by the end of the first night? (physically, emotionally, and spirirtually)
Elie gives up hope and God and he refers to himself as a just a body going through the motions.
56.) How does Elie keep his his shoes from the “Kapos” at first?
Elie's shoes were covered by mud and they looked dirty and old because of it.
57.) According to the SS officer, what is the only way to avoid the furnaces?
To avoid the furnaces one must work.
58.) Why does the gypsy strike Elie’s father and how does Elie react?
Elie's father gets hit because he asks to go to the bathroom. Elie stands there silent because he is shocked, wants to stay alive, he is scared, and he is desensitized.
59.) To what new camp are the prisoners taken?
The prisoners are taken to Aushwitz.
60.) Who is in charge of the block and what is his advice?
A young Pole was in charge of the block. “We are all brothers and share the same fate. The same smoke hovers over all our heads. Help each other. That is the only way to survive.” (p. 109)
61.) How does Elie become “A-7713”?
The number is tattooed onto his arm.
62.) Describe “roll call”.
They have a band playing music and they have tens of thousands of inmates standing in alphabetical order making sure everyone was there.
63.) Who is Stein and why does Elie lie to him?
Stein is a relative of Elie's. Elie wants Stein to make him feel better and give him hope.
64.) Why does Stein stop coming to see Elie?
Stein stops coming to see Elie because he discovers the truth about his family and he gives up hope.
65.) Akiba Drumer believes that God is testing the Jews and that this punishment they are enduring is actually a sign of love. What does Elie think of this theory?
He doesn't agree with it because he is doubting God's existence.
66.) How could Elie have bribed the assistant to arrange for him to go with his father to a “good unit”?
Elie could have gave the assistant his shoes.
67.) Why doesn’t he try the bribe?
His shoes were the only he had left.
68.) Where is music played in the camp?
The music was played at the entrance of the camp, or the first block.
69.) Why can’t the musicians play Beethoven?
Jews were not allowed to play any music by German composers or musicians.
70.) Why is Elie sent to the dentist?
Elie needs to get his golden tooth pulled out.
71.) Why is he so desperate to keep his tooth and why doesn’t he succeed in keeping it?
Elie believes that he can use to buy essential supplies.
72.) Who beats Elie in front of the French girl and why?
Idek beats Elie because he was just standing there.
73.) Why is she afraid to speak to him?
She didn't want to get beat up or get him more beat up, she was scared.
74.) What advice does she give to Elie and what does this show about her?
The French girl tells Elie to hold in his anger and wait.
75.) Why does Idek beat Elie’s father?
Idek thinks that Elie's father isn't working hard enough.
76.) Why is Elie angry at his father for getting beaten?
Elie thinks his father should have tried to work harder.
77.) Why does Elie give his father “marching lessons”?
Elie's father does not know how to March, so he gets beat up for it.
78.) Why does Elie laugh at Idek and what is the result?
Elie sees Idek "hopkin up" with a girl and he gets whipped twenty-five times on the back.
79.) What do the air raid sirens signify?
The air raid sirens signify that the camp was being bombed.
80.) Why is this a particularly dangerous time for prisoners?
The prisoners could easily be killed.
81.) How is “terror stronger than hunger”?
The fear of whipping, getting shot, or being tortured is too great of a fear, so it is not worth it.
82.) How does the detah of that one man affect Elie and how does he react when the air raid is over?
It doesn't affect Elie because he is used to it and this is just a break in their day.
83.) Who are some of the people who die on the gallows?
One person was a young boy from Warsaw. Another was little pipel.
84.) What phrase so many repeat before their deaths?
They repeat the phrase "Long Live Liberty" before their deaths.
85.) Why are people hanged rather than being shot or killed some other way?
So that it acts as a warning for the other Jews as they see others suffering and dying.
86.) Whose death affects Elie the most and why?
The little pipel affects Elie the most because he was just a small child. And it shows that they do not have an age limit on who they kill, so he could be one.
87.) Why does Elie find the soup “excellent” after one execution, but tasting of “corpses” after another?
They first execution did not mean anything to him, the second one affected him.
88.) What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.
89.) Why do you suppose even “Kapos, functionaries of death” come to the Rosh Hashanah service?
They are they to supervise them and they are there to participate and reflect on the year.
90.) What is going through Elie’s mind?
Elie feels like he has been defeated and that God is not there to protect them.
91.) Is Elie in the minority when he “rebelled” inwardly and why does he call the place where the Kews meet to pray a “mirage”?
Elie feels like he has been defeated and that God is not there to protect them.
92.) What does Elie mean when he says of his father, “We had never understood each other so clearly”?
That they love each other and they don't need to say it and that they are also afraid.
93.) What is Yom Kippur?
It is when the Jews fast.
94.) Why doesn’t Elie fast?
Elie has already starved and that it is a rebellion against God.
95.) What is the “fine New Year’s gift” the SS gives the prisoners?
The SS gives the prisoners a selection.
96.) What advice does Elie get from the head of the block about avoiding selection?
That Elie should run.
97.) What does Wiesel mean when he says, as the prisoners stand naked, “This must show how one stands at the last judgment”?
It is the difference between going to Heaven and Hell.
98.) What is Dr. Mengele’s attitude during the “selection”?
Dr. Mengele acts as if it were a game.
99.) What are Elie’s thoughts as he goes through the “race”?
Elie keeps repeating this to himself to make it through.
100.) What sorts of “presents” and “inheritance” gifts does Wiesel’s father give Elie and why?
Elie's father gives Elie a piece of bread to eat and the rubber is to fix his shoes. And Elie's father gives Elie a knife and spoon.
101.) Why does Elie return them to his father?
Elie knows that his dad is not dead and will not acknowledge his father is weak.
102.) What does this show about how life changes when mere survival is a struggle?
Elie's father needs a spoon and a knife to survive.
103.) What happens to many of the prisoners when they lose faith?
They give in to defeat and are typically given over to selection.
104.) Why does Wiesel tell the story of Akiba Dumer – and how everyone forgets to say the Kaddish for him?
He is telling a perfect example of what happens when you lose your faith.
105.) How does Wiesel end up in the hospital?
Wiesel got an infection or something in his foot.
106.) What decision is Wiesel faced with while he is in the hospital?
Elie has to decide wether to stay or leave before selection.
107.) What is Elie’s choice and why does he choose this option?
Elie decides to stay because he believes that his neighbor is shady.
108.) Why is the camp being evacuated?
War was quickly approaching the camp.
109.) Why do the prisoners want the Russians to arrive first?
The Russians would liberate the Jews.
110.) What is meant by the question the prisoners ask: “were they (SS) going to let the Jews hear the twelfth stroke sound?”
Were they going to keep the prisoners in the infirmary alive.
111.) How does the “face of the camp” change on the morning of the evacuation?
All the prisoners have more cloths, food, and other things for survival.
112.) Why does the head of the block order the prisoners to clean the floor, and how do you think the prisoners feel about this task?
They want to let the Russians know that the prisoners were men and not animals.
113.) Reread the description of the evacuation at the end of the chapter. Why does the author choose to use a series of short sentences in this passage? What is the effect?
The author wanted to give a feeling of what the characters are going through.
114.) What does Wiesel mean by the observations of the SS men “Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of this pleasure”?
It was a symbol that they are still in charge and have power, and that even though there is confusion they will still shoot you.
115.) What is sadism and where do you see evidence of it in the novel?
Sadism is the pleasure in hurting others. It is shown when Idek beats Elie and his father.
116.) What happens to Zalman?
He gets terrible cramps and then dies from being trampled by the crowd.
117.) In what way are Wiesel and the other Jews who keep rushing onward “masters of nature” -then in the morning “without strength, without illusions”?
They have been through so much, that know how to surpass everything. But then they become exhausted and tired at the end of the day.
118.) How do Wiesel and his father help each other stay alive?
Elie and his father look out for each other and keep each other awake.
119.) Why does Wiesel tell the story of Rabbi Eliahou?
It mirrors the decision of what Elie has to decide: wether to stay with his dad or ditch him.
120.) Why is he glad that the rabbi “should continue to look for his beloved son”?
It gives him hope that even if that one were to die or get separated they would still love each other.
121.) Why do you think that “sons abandoned their fathers’ remains without a tear”?
The sons know that there is nothing they can do, and of they are going to survive they need to move on.
122.) How does Wiesel avoid suffocation?
Elie separates the bodies somehow and makes himself an air hole.
123.) Why does Wiesel think he is hallucinating?
Elie hears the violin.
124.) Why is Juliek playing his violin in this terrible situation?
One, he might does it for his fellow comrades dying, and Two, he is doing it for himself because he believes that they might take away his violin or his life.
125.) What happens to Juliek.
Juliek dies.
126.) How does Wiesel’s father avoid being “selected” at Gleiwitz and why does Wiesel run after him to the left?
When Elie sees his father go to the left he runs after him creating a disturbance, where he takes his father and they both move to the right.
127.) How does Wiesel convey a sense of hopelessness in this final section of the book?
Elie begins to give up hope and faith.
128.) Why do the two men try to throw Wiesel’s father from the carriage?
They believe that Elie's father is dead.
129.) Why do the living “rejoice” when the order comes to throw out the corpses?
The living had more room.
130.) What is the author trying to say about the prisoners at this point?
They are not waiting to see their families or for the liberation, they are waiting to die.
131.) How do the prisoners in the wagon act like animals?
They begin to fight for the bread and the coins.
132.) Why do the German workmen take a “lively interest in this spectacle” when they have merely stopped and stared at marching prisoners before?
This is his way of making fun of them and he doesn't empathize or feel their pain at all.
133.) Why doesn’t Wiesel join in this scramble for food?
Elie know that he is not strong enough to get into a battle over a piece of bread.
134.) How are Meir and his son similar to other fathers and sons Wiesel describes?
It shows that the father is the one who provides the love and bread for the son, while the son has become greedy.
135.) What is the author saying about how the concentration camp affects the bonds between loved ones?
He is saying the their love becomes hatred as they fight to survive.
136.) How does Meir Katz save Elie Wiesel’s life?
Elie's father is to weak to help Elie, so Meir Katz jumps in to protect Elie.
137.) What advice does Wiesel’s father give Katz in an attempt to save him?
Elie tells Katz to not give up hope.
138.) How does Meir Katz save Elie Wiesel’s life?
Elie's father is to weak to help Elie, so Meir Katz jumps in to protect Elie.
139.) Why is it that Wiesel “could have wept with rage” when his father begs for rest upon arrival at Buchenwald?
Elie is afraid that his father is giving in to death.
140.) Why does Elie feel that he is arguing “with death itself”?
Elie's father is delusional and he thinks that his father is not trying anymore and he doesn't care anymore.
141.) Why does Wiesel leave his father when the sirens wail, and how does he feel about this later?
Elie thinks that he was just thinking about himself and he feels guilty about leaving his father.
142.) Is his father angry at Elie for deserting him?
Elie's father isn't angry because he, himself, has accepted death and he just wants his son to survive.
143.) What emotions does Wiesel experience that last week as he watches his father die?
Elie feels guilty because he can't do anything anymore. He feels ashamed because he can't do anything to protect his father. He feels angry because he can't do more for his father and he has to accept this.
144.) Why does Wiesel decide to be an “invalid”?
Elie doesn't want to leave his father.
145.) Why doesn’t he see his father die and why doesn’t he cry?
Elie's father was taken to the crematorium and he can't cry because he was all out of tears.
146.) What are Wiesel’s thoughts during the months after his father’s death?
Elie feels guilty because he can't do anything anymore. He feels ashamed because he can't do anything to protect his father. He feels angry because he can't do more for his father and he has to accept this.
147.) What would have happened if the children had gone to the assembly place, as ordered?
The children would have been killed.
148.) Why do the SS men flee the camp?
They flee because the resistance has taken over and the first American tank shows up.
149.) What is Wiesel finally freed?
Elie is freed when the first American tank shows up.
150.) Why is Wiesel sent to a hospital after his liberation?
Elie becomes very ill.
151.) The book ends with a haunting sense of hollowness. Why do you think the author ends with this tone? “By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple”
He ends the book like that because he will never forget about anything that happened during the four years of the Holocaust.
Comprehension Questions are due Thursday, April 17th - NO LATE WORK FOR "NIGHT" WILL BE ACCEPTED OVER OR AFTER SPRING BREAK!
PREFACE to the NEW TRANSLATION:
1.) Read the preface by Elie Wiesel. Why do you suppose Wiesel imposed a ten-tear vow of silence?
Elie was still in shock and was in memory of those who have died.
2.) Why did he have trouble finding a publisher?
The book was a very morbid topic and people where very sheltered in the fifties and sixties.
3.) What is the “devastation that will never end”?
The memory of what happened to Wiesel and other Jews during the Holocaust.
4.) What is Wiesel saying about how we can make sure that something this horrible is never repeated?
That we need to inform and to never forget.
FOREWARD:
5.) Read the Foreword by Francois Mauriac. Why is Mauriac so moved by Wiesel’s book – of all the Holocaust literature he had seen?
Mauriac is moved by Wiesel's book because it is a memoir and it is coming from a child's perspective.
6.) How do you explain the “inconceivable passivity” with which the Jews of Sighet yield themselves to the Nazis?
The Jews of Sighet yield themselves to the Nazis because they are afraid that they or they're family would get hurt. They were also very hopeful about the future because they did not know about the Nazis.
7.) What aspects of Wiesel’s experience does Mauriac find most disturbing?
The experience that Mauriac finds most disturbing is that Wiesel said that his sister and mother were burned to death. And that he speaks a lot about how children were killed. He also talks about the absence of God, and why God allowed all this to happen and how he could do that.
NIGHT:
8.) When and where does Elie Wiesel grow up? (city, country and time period) How old is he?
Elie grew up in Sighet, 1941 and he was almost 13.
9.) How is his childhood like yours and how is it different?
Elie and I are both study and we are both religous. But Elie is from Transylvania, he is Jewish, and is devoted to learning Judaism.
10.) Who is “Moshe the Beadle” and why does Wiesel begin the story with him?
Moshe the Beadle is a poor man and a friend of Elie's. Elie starts with Moishe the Beadle because he wants to tell how important faith and religion is in Elie's life.
11.) What do Eliezer’s parents and the other in the community think of Moshe?
The community thinks of Moshe as the "town clown" because he was poor.
12.) Why does Elie spend so much time with Moshe?
Moshe is a religious mentor for Elie, he teaches him things no one else will.
13.) What is Elie’s father’s profession?
Elie's father was a store owner.
14.) Is Elie’s father highly respected in the Jewish community?
Elie's father is highly respected in the Jewish community.
15.) What has happened to Moshe that caused a great change in him?
Moshe saw people get shot and buried into holes they dug themselves.
16.) How does this experience change Moshe?
Moshe lost faith and has lost the joy in his eyes.
17.) How does the rest of the community react when he tells them what has happened to him?
The rest of the community does not believes Moshe.
18.) The Jews of Sighet are optimistic because of the news they hear on the radio in late 1942 and 1943. What is the news and why are they so optimistic?
The Jews of Sighet think they are going to get help and be protected.
19.) With an ironic tone, Wiesel says, “Besides, people were interested in everything – in strategy, in diplomacy, in politics, in Zionism – but not their own fate.” What does he mean?
They think that they are totally exempt. They are worried about the war and about Hitler, yet they believe that they have nothing to do with it.
20.) Berkovitz brings news from Budapest that anti-Semitism (hostility or discrimination against Jews) war is rampant. Why then, is “optimism soon revived”?
The Jews of Sighet believes the Germans will stay in Budapest and they won't make the travel all the way to Transylvania.
21.) Why do “the optimists rejoiced” even three days after the German soldiers appear in Sighet?
The optimists don't believe they will do anything since they are being so nice.
22.) Why is celebrating Passover like playing a “comedy”?
Their hearts are not in it. They are only doing it because it is a religious holiday.
23.) What does the following mean? “On the seventh day of Passover the curtain rose.”
The curtain is the optimism and happiness. The Germans arrested the Jewish leaders in the community.
24.) Name the decrees (laws) the Germans put into place.
One, the Jews were prohibited to leave their home for three days. Two, the Jews had to hand in any valuables. Three, the Jews had to wear a gold star. Four, they could no longer go to restaurants, cafés, or travel by the rail. Five, they could no longer attend the synagogue. Six, they were not allowed to be out after six-o-clock.
25.) Describe the ghettos.
“A large one in the center of town occupied four streets, and another smaller one extended over several alleyways on the outskirts of town. The street we lived on, Serpent Street, was in the first ghetto. We therefore could remain in our house. But, as it occupied a corner, the windows facing the street outside the ghetto had to be sealed. We gave some of our rooms to relatives who had been driven out of their homes.” (p. 51)
26.) How do the Jews of Sighet generally feel about the ghettos?
The Jews of Sighet believe it to be a good thing because don't have to look at the Nazis anymore. And they think they are now excluded from the hostile environment and they enjoy that.
27.) Why do the Jews of Sighet think they are being deported and why is their destination kept secret from them?
The Jews of Sighet believe they are being deported to someplace in Hunary to work in a brick factory, this is kept from them because the Germans do not want the Jews to escape.
28.) How could the Jews of Sighet have possibly escaped from the Germans?
The Jews of Sighet could have listened to Moshe.
29.) How do they prepare for deportation?
“Each of us will be allowed to bring his personal belongings. A backpack, some food, a few items of clothing. Nothing else.” (p. 56)
30.) Why is there “joy” when the signal finally comes for them to leave?
They are realized that something was happening.
31.) How does Elie feel as he watches the procession or deportees?
“They passed me by, one after the other, my teachers, my friends, the others, some of whom I had once feared, some of whom I had found ridiculous, all those whose lives I had shared for years.” (p. 63)
32.) Who offers Elie and his family safe refuge?
“Maria, our former maid, came to see us. Sobbing, she begged us to come with her to her village where she had prepared a safe shelter.” (p. 69$
33.) Why doesn’t Elie’s father accept the offer?
He does not want to leave the community, he does not want to be selfish and only save his family.
34.) On what day of the week is the family expelled and why is this ironic?
On the day they are supposed to be resting and phrasing God, they are forced to do things by the German soldiers.
35.) They spend 24 hours in a synagogue. What are the conditions like? Give examples.
“The synagogue resembled a large railroad station: baggage and tears. The altar was shattered, the wall coverings shredded, the walls themselves bare. There were so many of us, we could hardly breathe. The twenty-four hours we spent there were horrendous. The men were downstairs, the women upstairs. It was Saturday—the Sabbath—and it was as though we were there to attend services. Forbidden to go outside, people relieved themselves in a corner.” (p. 73)
36.) How are the Jews moved out of Sighet?
The Jews were placed in cattle cars with 80 people each.
37.) Why do you suppose no one tries to escape?
If someone tried to escape, they would be shot.
38.) Why does the Hungarian lieutenant move among the prisoners with a basket?
The Hungarian lieutenant was collecting any gold, silver, watches, or anything valuable.
39.) What actions do “those who no longer wished to taste the bitterness of terror” take?
They agreed to give the lieutenant their valuables.
40.) Who is Madame Schachter and why is she so upset?
Madame Schachter was a lady in the cattle car who was upset about losing her two older sons and husband during the transport.
41.) How do the others treat her and why?
The others gag her because she begins to scare people.
42.) What is the first thing the prisoners see when they got to Birkenau?
They first see the flames coming from the crematorium.
43.) What do they smell?
They smelled the burning scent of bodies.
44.) Who are the SS men?
The SS men were soldiers of the German army.
45.) How do Elie and his father get separated from Mother and Tzipora?
They had to get in groups based on gender.
46.) What is Elie’s last memory of them?
“Mother was stroking my sister’s blond hair, as if to protect her.” (p. 85)
47.) Why do some of the younger men want to attempt an escape?
They don't want to die this way.
48.) Why don’t they go through with it?
The elders convince them with their optimism and hope.
49.) What lies do Elie and his father tell to Dr. Mengale and why?
Elie and his father lie about their age because they would stay together that way.
50.) Why does Elie’s father wish Elie has gone with his mother and why is this ironic?
Elie's father decided to save his kid after he gave up his chance before.
51.) What do you suppose Elie would say to those who claim that innocent children were not murdered during the Holocaust?
Elie saw it with his own eyes.
52.) What is the Kaddish and why doesn’t’ Elie join his father in reciting it?
The Kaddish is the prayer of Death for the Jews and Elie doesn't recite it because he still has hope that he isn't going to die.
53.) How do the prisoners who are already in the barracks treat the newcomers?
They prisoners hit them and make them strip.
54.) What are Elie and the others ordered to do?
Elie and the others are forced to strip and to shave their head.
55.) How does Elie change by the end of the first night? (physically, emotionally, and spirirtually)
Elie gives up hope and God and he refers to himself as a just a body going through the motions.
56.) How does Elie keep his his shoes from the “Kapos” at first?
Elie's shoes were covered by mud and they looked dirty and old because of it.
57.) According to the SS officer, what is the only way to avoid the furnaces?
To avoid the furnaces one must work.
58.) Why does the gypsy strike Elie’s father and how does Elie react?
Elie's father gets hit because he asks to go to the bathroom. Elie stands there silent because he is shocked, wants to stay alive, he is scared, and he is desensitized.
59.) To what new camp are the prisoners taken?
The prisoners are taken to Aushwitz.
60.) Who is in charge of the block and what is his advice?
A young Pole was in charge of the block. “We are all brothers and share the same fate. The same smoke hovers over all our heads. Help each other. That is the only way to survive.” (p. 109)
61.) How does Elie become “A-7713”?
The number is tattooed onto his arm.
62.) Describe “roll call”.
They have a band playing music and they have tens of thousands of inmates standing in alphabetical order making sure everyone was there.
63.) Who is Stein and why does Elie lie to him?
Stein is a relative of Elie's. Elie wants Stein to make him feel better and give him hope.
64.) Why does Stein stop coming to see Elie?
Stein stops coming to see Elie because he discovers the truth about his family and he gives up hope.
65.) Akiba Drumer believes that God is testing the Jews and that this punishment they are enduring is actually a sign of love. What does Elie think of this theory?
He doesn't agree with it because he is doubting God's existence.
66.) How could Elie have bribed the assistant to arrange for him to go with his father to a “good unit”?
Elie could have gave the assistant his shoes.
67.) Why doesn’t he try the bribe?
His shoes were the only he had left.
68.) Where is music played in the camp?
The music was played at the entrance of the camp, or the first block.
69.) Why can’t the musicians play Beethoven?
Jews were not allowed to play any music by German composers or musicians.
70.) Why is Elie sent to the dentist?
Elie needs to get his golden tooth pulled out.
71.) Why is he so desperate to keep his tooth and why doesn’t he succeed in keeping it?
Elie believes that he can use to buy essential supplies.
72.) Who beats Elie in front of the French girl and why?
Idek beats Elie because he was just standing there.
73.) Why is she afraid to speak to him?
She didn't want to get beat up or get him more beat up, she was scared.
74.) What advice does she give to Elie and what does this show about her?
The French girl tells Elie to hold in his anger and wait.
75.) Why does Idek beat Elie’s father?
Idek thinks that Elie's father isn't working hard enough.
76.) Why is Elie angry at his father for getting beaten?
Elie thinks his father should have tried to work harder.
77.) Why does Elie give his father “marching lessons”?
Elie's father does not know how to March, so he gets beat up for it.
78.) Why does Elie laugh at Idek and what is the result?
Elie sees Idek "hopkin up" with a girl and he gets whipped twenty-five times on the back.
79.) What do the air raid sirens signify?
The air raid sirens signify that the camp was being bombed.
80.) Why is this a particularly dangerous time for prisoners?
The prisoners could easily be killed.
81.) How is “terror stronger than hunger”?
The fear of whipping, getting shot, or being tortured is too great of a fear, so it is not worth it.
82.) How does the detah of that one man affect Elie and how does he react when the air raid is over?
It doesn't affect Elie because he is used to it and this is just a break in their day.
83.) Who are some of the people who die on the gallows?
One person was a young boy from Warsaw. Another was little pipel.
84.) What phrase so many repeat before their deaths?
They repeat the phrase "Long Live Liberty" before their deaths.
85.) Why are people hanged rather than being shot or killed some other way?
So that it acts as a warning for the other Jews as they see others suffering and dying.
86.) Whose death affects Elie the most and why?
The little pipel affects Elie the most because he was just a small child. And it shows that they do not have an age limit on who they kill, so he could be one.
87.) Why does Elie find the soup “excellent” after one execution, but tasting of “corpses” after another?
They first execution did not mean anything to him, the second one affected him.
88.) What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.
89.) Why do you suppose even “Kapos, functionaries of death” come to the Rosh Hashanah service?
They are they to supervise them and they are there to participate and reflect on the year.
90.) What is going through Elie’s mind?
Elie feels like he has been defeated and that God is not there to protect them.
91.) Is Elie in the minority when he “rebelled” inwardly and why does he call the place where the Kews meet to pray a “mirage”?
Elie feels like he has been defeated and that God is not there to protect them.
92.) What does Elie mean when he says of his father, “We had never understood each other so clearly”?
That they love each other and they don't need to say it and that they are also afraid.
93.) What is Yom Kippur?
It is when the Jews fast.
94.) Why doesn’t Elie fast?
Elie has already starved and that it is a rebellion against God.
95.) What is the “fine New Year’s gift” the SS gives the prisoners?
The SS gives the prisoners a selection.
96.) What advice does Elie get from the head of the block about avoiding selection?
That Elie should run.
97.) What does Wiesel mean when he says, as the prisoners stand naked, “This must show how one stands at the last judgment”?
It is the difference between going to Heaven and Hell.
98.) What is Dr. Mengele’s attitude during the “selection”?
Dr. Mengele acts as if it were a game.
99.) What are Elie’s thoughts as he goes through the “race”?
Elie keeps repeating this to himself to make it through.
100.) What sorts of “presents” and “inheritance” gifts does Wiesel’s father give Elie and why?
Elie's father gives Elie a piece of bread to eat and the rubber is to fix his shoes. And Elie's father gives Elie a knife and spoon.
101.) Why does Elie return them to his father?
Elie knows that his dad is not dead and will not acknowledge his father is weak.
102.) What does this show about how life changes when mere survival is a struggle?
Elie's father needs a spoon and a knife to survive.
103.) What happens to many of the prisoners when they lose faith?
They give in to defeat and are typically given over to selection.
104.) Why does Wiesel tell the story of Akiba Dumer – and how everyone forgets to say the Kaddish for him?
He is telling a perfect example of what happens when you lose your faith.
105.) How does Wiesel end up in the hospital?
Wiesel got an infection or something in his foot.
106.) What decision is Wiesel faced with while he is in the hospital?
Elie has to decide wether to stay or leave before selection.
107.) What is Elie’s choice and why does he choose this option?
Elie decides to stay because he believes that his neighbor is shady.
108.) Why is the camp being evacuated?
War was quickly approaching the camp.
109.) Why do the prisoners want the Russians to arrive first?
The Russians would liberate the Jews.
110.) What is meant by the question the prisoners ask: “were they (SS) going to let the Jews hear the twelfth stroke sound?”
Were they going to keep the prisoners in the infirmary alive.
111.) How does the “face of the camp” change on the morning of the evacuation?
All the prisoners have more cloths, food, and other things for survival.
112.) Why does the head of the block order the prisoners to clean the floor, and how do you think the prisoners feel about this task?
They want to let the Russians know that the prisoners were men and not animals.
113.) Reread the description of the evacuation at the end of the chapter. Why does the author choose to use a series of short sentences in this passage? What is the effect?
The author wanted to give a feeling of what the characters are going through.
114.) What does Wiesel mean by the observations of the SS men “Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of this pleasure”?
It was a symbol that they are still in charge and have power, and that even though there is confusion they will still shoot you.
115.) What is sadism and where do you see evidence of it in the novel?
Sadism is the pleasure in hurting others. It is shown when Idek beats Elie and his father.
116.) What happens to Zalman?
He gets terrible cramps and then dies from being trampled by the crowd.
117.) In what way are Wiesel and the other Jews who keep rushing onward “masters of nature” -then in the morning “without strength, without illusions”?
They have been through so much, that know how to surpass everything. But then they become exhausted and tired at the end of the day.
118.) How do Wiesel and his father help each other stay alive?
Elie and his father look out for each other and keep each other awake.
119.) Why does Wiesel tell the story of Rabbi Eliahou?
It mirrors the decision of what Elie has to decide: wether to stay with his dad or ditch him.
120.) Why is he glad that the rabbi “should continue to look for his beloved son”?
It gives him hope that even if that one were to die or get separated they would still love each other.
121.) Why do you think that “sons abandoned their fathers’ remains without a tear”?
The sons know that there is nothing they can do, and of they are going to survive they need to move on.
122.) How does Wiesel avoid suffocation?
Elie separates the bodies somehow and makes himself an air hole.
123.) Why does Wiesel think he is hallucinating?
Elie hears the violin.
124.) Why is Juliek playing his violin in this terrible situation?
One, he might does it for his fellow comrades dying, and Two, he is doing it for himself because he believes that they might take away his violin or his life.
125.) What happens to Juliek.
Juliek dies.
126.) How does Wiesel’s father avoid being “selected” at Gleiwitz and why does Wiesel run after him to the left?
When Elie sees his father go to the left he runs after him creating a disturbance, where he takes his father and they both move to the right.
127.) How does Wiesel convey a sense of hopelessness in this final section of the book?
Elie begins to give up hope and faith.
128.) Why do the two men try to throw Wiesel’s father from the carriage?
They believe that Elie's father is dead.
129.) Why do the living “rejoice” when the order comes to throw out the corpses?
The living had more room.
130.) What is the author trying to say about the prisoners at this point?
They are not waiting to see their families or for the liberation, they are waiting to die.
131.) How do the prisoners in the wagon act like animals?
They begin to fight for the bread and the coins.
132.) Why do the German workmen take a “lively interest in this spectacle” when they have merely stopped and stared at marching prisoners before?
This is his way of making fun of them and he doesn't empathize or feel their pain at all.
133.) Why doesn’t Wiesel join in this scramble for food?
Elie know that he is not strong enough to get into a battle over a piece of bread.
134.) How are Meir and his son similar to other fathers and sons Wiesel describes?
It shows that the father is the one who provides the love and bread for the son, while the son has become greedy.
135.) What is the author saying about how the concentration camp affects the bonds between loved ones?
He is saying the their love becomes hatred as they fight to survive.
136.) How does Meir Katz save Elie Wiesel’s life?
Elie's father is to weak to help Elie, so Meir Katz jumps in to protect Elie.
137.) What advice does Wiesel’s father give Katz in an attempt to save him?
Elie tells Katz to not give up hope.
138.) How does Meir Katz save Elie Wiesel’s life?
Elie's father is to weak to help Elie, so Meir Katz jumps in to protect Elie.
139.) Why is it that Wiesel “could have wept with rage” when his father begs for rest upon arrival at Buchenwald?
Elie is afraid that his father is giving in to death.
140.) Why does Elie feel that he is arguing “with death itself”?
Elie's father is delusional and he thinks that his father is not trying anymore and he doesn't care anymore.
141.) Why does Wiesel leave his father when the sirens wail, and how does he feel about this later?
Elie thinks that he was just thinking about himself and he feels guilty about leaving his father.
142.) Is his father angry at Elie for deserting him?
Elie's father isn't angry because he, himself, has accepted death and he just wants his son to survive.
143.) What emotions does Wiesel experience that last week as he watches his father die?
Elie feels guilty because he can't do anything anymore. He feels ashamed because he can't do anything to protect his father. He feels angry because he can't do more for his father and he has to accept this.
144.) Why does Wiesel decide to be an “invalid”?
Elie doesn't want to leave his father.
145.) Why doesn’t he see his father die and why doesn’t he cry?
Elie's father was taken to the crematorium and he can't cry because he was all out of tears.
146.) What are Wiesel’s thoughts during the months after his father’s death?
Elie feels guilty because he can't do anything anymore. He feels ashamed because he can't do anything to protect his father. He feels angry because he can't do more for his father and he has to accept this.
147.) What would have happened if the children had gone to the assembly place, as ordered?
The children would have been killed.
148.) Why do the SS men flee the camp?
They flee because the resistance has taken over and the first American tank shows up.
149.) What is Wiesel finally freed?
Elie is freed when the first American tank shows up.
150.) Why is Wiesel sent to a hospital after his liberation?
Elie becomes very ill.
151.) The book ends with a haunting sense of hollowness. Why do you think the author ends with this tone? “By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple”
He ends the book like that because he will never forget about anything that happened during the four years of the Holocaust.