Night Part 1 Pages 3-65

Nikki Shahossini

Courtney Schellin

Kahley Rowell

Summary• Elie Wiesel and his family live in the Jewish

town of Sighet, Transylvania. • In 1944 they are taken away from their

home and are sent to ghettos within Sighet. After a few days they are taken to Birkenau, which is the gateway to Auschwitz.

• Elie and his father are separated from his mother and sisters, and they stick together the whole time.

• After Birkenau, they are sent to Buna, which is also part of Auschwitz. They are forced to work there, and they are greatly mistreated by the guards.

• They are faced with hunger and the struggle to survive.

Characters• Eliezer (Elie Wiesel)- Main character of the story.• Chlomo (Elie’s father)- He stays with his son throughout their

journey to the concentration camps.• Hilda- Elie’s oldest sister.• Béa- The middle sister.• Tzipora- The youngest sister.• Moshe the Beadle- A homeless man in the Jewish community who

is one of the first Jews to be deported. He returns to warn everyone.• Madame Schächter- A Jewish woman from Sighet who is deported

in the same cattle car as Elie. She tells everyone that she sees a fire, but no one believes her.

• Tibi and Yosi- Two brothers that Elie becomes friends with in Buna.• Idek- The Kapo at the electrical equipment warehouse in Buna who

beats Elie. Kapos are prisoners conscripted by the Nazis to police other prisoners, and many of them were as cruel as the Germans.

Places• Sighet, Transylvania- The Jewish

town where Elie and his family live.• Ghettos- Tightly packed areas

where Jews were forced to stay.• Auschwitz- The largest

concentration camp where many Jews were killed.

• Birkenau- The gateway to Auschwitz where Jews were stripped from their clothes and disinfected.

• Buna- Part of Auschwitz where the Jews were forced to work.

Themes

• The struggle to keep faith in God.

• Inhumanity towards others.

• The importance of bonds.

• Silence among people.

Symbols

• Fire- Symbolizes the Nazi’s cruel power and the death of the Jews.

• Night- The darkness that everyone sees and a world without the presence of God.

Question 1

• True or False

Elie and his father were separated at Birkenau.

False

Question 2

• In what year are Elie and his family taken away from their home?

a) 1955

b) 1944

c) 1968

d) 1970

Question 3

• Which part of Auschwitz was Elie first taken to?

a) Buna

b) The ghetto

c) Buchenwald

d) Birkenau

Question 4

• Who warns the Jews of Sighet about being deported?

a) Chlomo

b) Hilda

c) Moshe the Beadle

d) Elie

Question 5

• Which character warns everyone in the cattle car about a fire?

a) Madame Schächter

b) Béa

c) Idek

d) Tzipora

Sources

• http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/1999/sites/wiesel/4445botr.jpg

• http://www.public.iastate.edu/~bmorton/webquest/auschwitz.jpg

• http://geokerk.googlepages.com/Selection_Birkenau_ramp.jpg/Selection_Birkenau_ramp-full.jpg

• http://geokerk.googlepages.com/HungarianJewishwomenandchildrenawaitselectionontherampofBirkenau..jpg/HungarianJewishwomenandchildrenawaitselectionontherampofBirkenau.-full.jpg