Night Webquest

Directions: Before we begin reading Elie Wiesel’s memoir,​ Night,​ we will explore some of the important background 
information surrounding the author and the Holocaust. In order to do this you will complete a webquest to learn more about 
the events that affected not only Elie Wiesel, but millions of other victims. Utilize your smartphone, laptop, or tablet in order 
to complete your webquest.  
● You may work either individually or with one other person. 
● I will be picking 3 out of the 6 sections and grading those upon my return to school.  
● Respond appropriately as indicated in each task and all responses must be handwritten.  

 
1. Vocabulary 
Use the following link: 
https://docs.google.com/presenttation/d/1hmVEedTP8Yn99uIZxemMwcEi-jnnhHG5EdP7RzKgfbE/edit?usp=sharing​ and 
access the PowerPoint to find the definitions for the following words. These words will help you better understand the text. 
Please define the following (strong, specific definitions)​:  
● Surname: ​Family or last name.  
● Hasidic: ​A jewish sect formed in the 18th century , polish members usually wear dark clothes and men wear 
 
locks
● Cabbala: ​The secret books of Jewish mysticism not studies by many Jews.  
● Talmud:​ book of jewish civil and religious law 
● Gestapo:​ German police state formed to operate against political opposition.   
● Lorries:​ trucks used to transport jewish prisoners 
● Anti-Semitic: ​Showing prejudice against Jews and the Jewish ways of life.  
● Truncheon: ​a club that a policeman would carry for protection 
● Aryan: ​ A term used by the nazis to mean a white person of non-Jewish decent.  
● Atonement: ​reconciliation after an offense or injury 
● Fast (not the adjective - the noun version): ​To go without food willingly in order to observe a holy day.  
 
2. About the Author 
Use the following link: h ​ ttp://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/eliewiesel.aspx​ and read about the author, Elie Wiesel. Write a 
strong, specific paragraph giving a biographical depiction of Elie Wiesel that shows you took the time to look at multiple 
aspects of his life and have a firm understanding of his entire life (​at least 6-7 sentences​).  
He was born in 1928 in Romania. His family got deported when he was 15 years old to Auschwitz. His mom and his 
younger sister died, but the his two older sisters lived. His father died right before being liberated to the camp in April of 1945. 
He went to go study in Paris and later became a journalist. In one interview he was convinced to right about his camp 
experiences, and it was translated to 30 different languages across the world. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed him 
to Chairmen of the President’s commissions on the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel was a professor at Boston University, and he has 
been teaching since 1976. After that he was a professor at Yale from 1982-1983. He was an author of six fiction and non-fiction 
books. In 1986 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for peace and soon after founded Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. He died 
July 2, 2016 in Manhatten. 
 
3. The Final Solution  
Use the following link: h ​ ttps://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005151​ and read about what “The Final 
Solution” was.  
● Nazis coined the term “The Final Solution.” To what does this term refer and why did they use this language? 
(​3-4 sentences​) T​ hey used a type of language called euphemistic language whenever they would be talking 
 about their crimes. And they used this type of language to disguise the true nature of their crimes. And this 
refers to the mass murder of all of the Jewish people in Germany.  
● What was the intended purpose of some of these state sponsored programs (​3-4 sentences​)? T ​ here were 
multiple intended purposes for these state sponsored programs. Such as one of them was to isolate the Jews 
so that they would be by themselves and no one would help them. And then the other one was to drive the Jews 
out of the country and force them to go to some other place.  
● Create a timeline that explains the different stages implemented as a part of “The Final Solution” (​Each part of 
the timeline should be at least 2 sentences​) 
● 1941- The nazis stopped telling the Jews to leave the country. Now they just started killing everyone that they 
see.   
● 1942- Even though they already had some of these around the country. The nazis designated Auschwitz as a 
main killing facility.  
 
3. Ghettos 
Use the following link: h​ ttps://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ghettos​ and read about what ghettos are and what 
they were used for (​respond to each in a complete sentence​).  
● What is a ghetto? E ​ nclosed districts that isolated jews from their non-jewish population and from the jewish 
community; these conditions were miserable  
● How were ghettos used just before and during WWII? D ​ uring the war ghettos were used to house jews, there 
were at least 1,000 ghettos in the Soviet Union and Poland alone 
● Where were the first ghettos set up? ​Venice, Italy  
● How many ghettos were established? T ​ here were three types but there were thousands across Germany 
● Why did the Nazis initially set up ghettos? ​They established them because they believed jews were inferior and 
that they should be separated from the others 
● What happened to ghettos after the implementation of “The Final Solution” in 1914? T ​ hey were all destroyed 
 
4. Auschwitz 
Use the following link: h ​ ttps://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007718​ and answer the following 
(​respond to each in a complete sentence​). 
● Where is Auschwitz located? ​This camp was located near Krakow Poland.  
● What was Auschwitz? A ​ uschwitz was a designated killing facility and the largest camp that the nazis had.  
● How many people were killed there? I​ n total about 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz during this war.  
● What were some of the things that first happened to people that arrived at the camps? W ​ hen you entered if 
you were spared immediate death they would put you to work at their camp. And get a tattoo on your arm.  
Use the following link: 
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/auschwitz?mediatype=photography&page=2&phrase=auschwitz&sort=mostpopular 
and answer the following (​answer in 5-6 well-developed, well-written sentences​):  
● Describe the conditions of Auschwitz and what everyday life would be like.  
● First off the just the conditions of everything at Auschwitz was just terrible. Everyday life would consist of 
you either getting very little sleep or no sleep at all. Then getting up early and doing as instructed or else they 
would kill you. You would be getting very little food or none at all, and the food wasn’t even that good. You 
would be in fear everyday that you or someone you love would be killed. That is just some of the things that 
would be going on in everyday life at this camp.  
 
5. Gassing Operations 
Use the following link: h ​ ttps://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005220​ to read about gas chambers and why 
they were used at Auschwitz and other concentration camps (​respond to each in a complete sentence​).  
● What were gas chambers? U ​ sed carbon monoxide gas to mass kill the jews by making it come out of shower 
heads 
 ● Why did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while? 
It was more effective and got more people killed 
● What did the Nazi SS guards pretend the gas chambers were? D ​ isinfected showers 
● At the height of its operation, how many people were gassed daily at Auschwitz? ​6,000 
 
6. Perspectives  
With your partner one will complete option A and the other will complete option B (if you are working alone you will just pick 
one). Your letters should be well-developed and well-written and answer all parts asked. S
​ trong letters will be about 12-15 
sentences.  

A--Pretend you are a Nazi soldier stationed at a concentration camp. You are going to write a letter to your family at home, 
describing the "good" job you have been doing at work. Be sure to include:   
Dear family,
The Nazis are very mean and rude people. I do not think what they are doing is right at all. I am going to try
and get away because I can’t stand seeing all these people killed. I hope the kids are doing alright. Tell
them that I love them will you. Surprisingly I have been able to save a few lives and hopefully the word does
not get around or else I will be killed. Do not worry I will be alright and I will be back home faster than you
think. This place is not for us it is no place to raise a family. Maybe when I get back we can try to get to the
states or somewhere fit to raise a family. I am stationed at Auschwitz and my job is to oversee all the buses
that come in most the time, but I basically do everything. It is terrible seeing all these people die in gas
chambers, it looks so painful and they are as innocent as they could be. Well I got to get back to work now I
will write to you next week again.
Love, Unknown

● Information about your beliefs. 

● Which camp you are stationed at. 
● What your job at the camp is. 
● Information about everyday life at the camp.  

B--Pretend you are an American soldier who has been sent to liberate a concentration camp. You are going to write a letter back 
home to your folks about what you have seen/experienced. Be sure to include: 

● Information about which camp you have been sent to liberate. 

● The conditions at the camp. 
● Describe both the Jewish detainee's and the Nazi soldiers you encounter. 
● The emotions you feel during your mission. 
 
Dear Family, 
The  camp  that  I  have  been  sent  to  to liberate is called Auschwitz. I believe that this is the biggest concentration camp that the 
Nazis  have  right  now.  The  conditions  here  make  me  want to throw up everytime that I come here. They are terrible, it smells 
so  bad  because  of  all  the  dead  bodies,  the  living  conditions  here  are  very  bad,  its  all  muddy  everywhere,  and  there  are  nazi 
guards  everywhere  just  waiting  for  their  chance  to  kill  you.  All  the  Jewish detainee’s here smell very bad and are very skinny 
or  mentally  unstable  due  to  all  the  death  and  lack  of  food  and  sleep  that  they  get  here.  And  all  of  the  Nazi  guards  that  I 
encounter  are  very  rude,  arrogant,  and  just  horrible  people.  They don’t care if you haven't eaten or slept in days, all they care 
about  is  if  they  get  treated  well  and  if  they  can  kill  you.  They  don’t  really  consider  the  Jewish  detainee’s  as an actual person, 
they  just  consider  them  as  like  servants  and  that  they  are  just  supposed  to  do  whatever  they  tell  them  to  do.  Seeing  this 
happen  just  makes  me  feel  very  bad  for  all  the  Jewish  people  here,  and  it  also  makes  me  feel  very  angry  and  that  I  want  to 
destroy  all  these  Nazis.  Overall  this  is  just  a  very  bad  camp  and  I just want to liberate it already so these people can leave and 
go to their families.