Number the Stars

A book about Danish life during World War II.

“Meet the Author”Biographical Information

• Lois Lowry was born in1937.• She was a child in a military family,

born in Territory of Hawaii. She then moved with her family to Pennsylvania, Tokyo, and New York.

• She originally intended to write for adults, but was convinced by her editor to pursue adolescent novels.

• Lowry never wanted to “teach” children, she just happens to connect with young adult audiences.

Setting• Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1943

during WWII.• German forces have invaded the

lands around Germany.• Great Britain and France have joined

forces to stop Germany.• Germany has invaded Denmark and

now the Jewish people fear for their lives!

The Germans

• Adolph Hitler was the leader of the Germans (called a dictator).

• He believed that German people were members of a master race that should take over the world.

• He led the Nazi party of Germany.

The Nazis

• The Nazis believed that Jewish people were the most dangerous race alive.

• They wanted to rid the world of all Jewish people. (among others)

• In 1938, over 1,000 synagogues were burned and 30,000 Jews people were arrested.

• The Jewish people began to flee Germany.

Kristallnacht“Night of the broken glass”

Jewish people were taken away and their stores were vandalized.

The Nazi Takeover in Europe

• The Nazi party created Concentration Camps (work camps with horrific conditions for Jewish people).

• As the Nazi party became more powerful, they captured more and more countries and more and more Jewish people.

Denmark and the Germans

• In 1940, the country of Denmark was captured by the German Nazis.

• There were 8,000 Jewish people living here at this time!

• There were also about 1,500 Jewish people who had fled to Denmark in the early 1930s.

The Arrest of the Danish Jews

• In 1943, when the Danish people heard that the Germans had decided to arrest and imprison Jewish people, they formed the Danish Resistance.

• Finally, many of the Danish Jews decide to flee Denmark.

How bad was life for the Jewish People under Nazi rule?

The following were rules for Jewish residents of areas controlled by the Nazis. These rules affected everyone who had at least one Jewish grandparent.

• In many places, Jews had to wear a yellow 6-pointed star on their clothing.

• They were limited in the use of public transportation.

• They had to hand in their bicycles.

• They were no longer allowed to go to theaters, movies, and sporting events.

• They could shop only at Jewish stores and only between 3-5 pm.

How bad was life for the Jewish People under Nazi rule?

• Children had to attend Jewish schools and couldn't visit Christian friends.

• All Jews had to be indoors by 8 pm.

• They could not hold government jobs.

• Non-Jewish citizens were ordered not to go to Jewish doctors or hire Jewish lawyers.

• Jewish teachers were fired.

• Jews who owned stores had to mark windows with the word “Jew” and eventually had to sell their businesses to non-Jews.

• Jewish residents had no political rights

The Holocaust

• The word Holocaust, which means “complete destruction by fire" was first used in the late 1950's to refer to the death of six million Jews at the hands the Nazis.

• Today we honor and remember the victims of Nazi torture through special museums, documentaries, and stories.