All of "Night" Discussion Questions
The construction Kommando - he hauls heavy blocks of stone for 12 hours a day
To what Kommando was Elie now assigned, and what does he do on this Kommando?
They ate.
Upon liberation, what was the prisoners' "first act as free men?"
They are separated from Elie and his dad, and they are presumably sent to the gas chamber.
Upon the family's arrival at Birkenau, where did Elie's mother and youngest sister, Tzipora, go?
A knife and a spoon
What "inheritance" did Elie's father give him when he thought he was going to be killed?
To say Kaddish for him in 3 days when they saw the smoke rising from the chimney. They forgot because of their beatings, hard work, and little food.
What Akiba Drumer's friends promise to do for him? Why didn't they keep their promise?
Before going into the room, they should move their limbs to give themselves color. Then, when selection begins, RUN, don't look at the SS, and don't be afraid.
What advice did Elie and the other prisoners get from the Blockäleste about avoiding selection?
Don't lose hope/faith, stay strong, and help each other.
What advice did the Pole in charge at Auschwitz give the men?
To stop sharing his food with his father and take his father's rations.
What advice does the Blockalteste give Elie?
Elie asks his father to sell the family business and move to Palestine. His father refuses, saying that he's too old to start his life over.
What did Elie ask his father to do in the Spring of 1944 in order to avoid possible danger at the hands of the Germans? How did his father react?
A corpse
What did Elie see when he looked in the mirror for the first time in almost one year?
He says, "Hitler has made it clear that he will annihilate all Jews before the clock strikes twelve," and Hitler kept all of his promises
What did Elie's neighbor say to him about Hitler while he was recovering in the infirmary?
He tormented and beat his father on a daily basis.
What did Franek the foreman do to convince Elie to give up his gold crown?
He played his violin. Juliek was dead and his violin was broken.
What did Juliek do for his fellow Jews during their first night in Gleiwitz, and what did Elie discover the next morning?
Mop the floor of the camp so that the liberating army would know that they were "men and not pigs"
What did the Blockäleste command the men to do one hour before evacuation, and why?
His gold crown. No, because the dentist was stealing gold teeth for his own profit and would be hanged.
What did the dentist want from Elie? Did he ever get it? Why or why not?
Elie's dad wants to sit down in the snow and rest, but Elie won't let him give up and die.
What do Elie and his father argue about upon their arrival at Buchenwald?
Bread and snow
What do the prisoners eat as they await the train that would take them from Gleiwitz?
He considers committing suicide by running into the electrified barbed wire. They pray Kaddish, the prayer for the dead.
What does Elie consider doing as he marches towards the pit of burning bodies? What do some of the men do during this march?
She was Jewish but had passed as Aryan with false papers.
What does Elie discover about the French girl years later?
He prays to God and asks Him to give him strength to never do the same thing (abandon his father).
What does Elie do after realizing that Rabbi Eliahou's son had purposely abandoned the his father?
"Work Makes You Free"
What does the inscription ("Arbeit Macht Frei") on the iron gate of Auschwitz mean?
Jews could not leave their houses for 3 days under penalty of death, were forbidden to own gold, jewelry, or other valuables, had to wear a yellow star, and could not go to restaurants, travel by rail, attend synagogue, or be on the street after 6pm.
What edicts (laws) were established when the Germans first moved into Sighet?
Elie was operated on for one hour without being put to sleep. During surgery, the doctor cut his foot to drain pus, and Elie passed out. He needed to stay in the hospital and rest for 2 weeks, but his leg was not amputated.
What happened during Elie's surgery, and what did his doctor tell him afterwards?
The starving men desperately fight over the bread, and a son ends up killing his father in order to get his bread. Then, the son is also killed by other men for the bread.
What happened pieces of bread were thrown into Elie's cattle car?
He was selected for death because he had lost his faith in God
What happened to Akiba Drumer?
He passed the 2nd selection
What happened to Elie's father during the 2nd selection?
He witnessed men being shot and left to die in trenches and babies used as target practice. He was shot in the leg and survived by pretending to be dead. After witnessing this, there was no longer joy in his eyes, he no longer sang, and he no longer spoke of God.
What happened to Moishe while he was away from Sighet? How did his experience change him?
They were publicly hanged as an example to all prisoners. Prisoners are not usually affected by the hangings.
What happened to prisoners who committed crimes? How do their fellow prisoners typically react to this?
He was shot
What happened to the man who tried to steal soup during an alert?
They were liberated by the Russians two days after evacuation.
What happened to the prisoners who stayed in the infirmary while the rest of the camp evacuated?
Their bodies were undressed and then tossed off the cattle car.
What happened to those who died during the ride from Gleiwitz to Buchenwald?
Elie's dad begs him for water, and the SS officer beats his dad with a club for not being quiet.
What happens the day Elie decides to stay in the block with his dad and the other sick prisoners?
He still believes in God but no longer prays or believes in his absolute justice (fairness).
What is Elie's view of God and his relationship with him at this point in the book?
They count bolts, bulbs, and various small electrical parts
What job do Elie and his father perform at Buna, the work camp?
He says that his mother heard from Stein's wife recently when she really hadn't. He does this to give Stein hope that his family is ok.
What lie does Elie tell his relative, Stein? Why does he do this?
She offered them a chance to escape and live secretly with her. He refused to go but told Elie and his older sister that they could go if they wanted.
What offer did Maria make to the Wiesels while they were living in the small ghetto? What was Mr. Wiesels' reaction to her offer?
He thinks that if he didn't find his father, he'd be relieved of the responsibility of taking care of him and could use all his strength to fight for his own survival. He's ashamed for thinking this.
What thought does Elie have when he awakes and goes to look for his father? How does this make him feel?
Black coffee, soup, and bread
What type of food were the inmates given?
He won't give up because he knows his father needs him.
What was Elie's main reason for continuing to run, rather than giving up?
He feels guilty for not being there for him, but he doesn't cry and felt free.
What was Elie's reaction when he awoke on January 29, 1945, and realized that his father was dead?
Their ages - Elie says he's 18 instead of 15; his dad says he's 40 instead of 50.
What were Elie and his father advised to lie about during selection in order to increase their chances for survival?
Benefits: Sleeping in a bed with sheets, good bread, thicker soup, no bell, no roll call, and no work. Danger: Selection
What were the benefits of being in the infirmary? What was the danger?
He was forced to lie on a crate and was whipped 25 times in front of the other prisoners until he passed out.
When Elie discovered Idek at the warehouse with a young, Polish girl, how did Idek punish him?
That he buried gold and silver in the cellar.
When Elie's father is near death, what does he tell Elie?
They were afraid that if they stayed behind, they would be killed.
When the camp was evacuated, why did Elie choose to leave the infirmary, rather than stay there with his father?
Moishe is a poor, religious man who works in the synagogue. Moishe serves as Elie's spiritual mentor; together they pray, study Kabbalah, and discuss their faith.
Who is Moishe the Beadle and what is his relationship with young Elie?
His father
Who saves Elie from a man who was trying to strangle him in the cattle car?
The notorious SS officer/physician in charge of selection at Aushwitz.
Who was Dr. Mengele?
They're hearing news on the radio of daily bombings of Germany and predictions that the war would soon be over. Also, they did not believe the Nazis could wipe out their entire race. Once the Germans arrived, the Jews did not feel threatened by them. They thought they were distant but polite. (pg, 8-10)
Why are the spirits among the Jews of Sighet relatively high at the beginning of Night?
They couldn't stand him because he was no longer able to drag himself outside to relieve himself.
Why did Elie's father's neighbors beat him?
Elie's father had forbidden him from fasting for fear that he would die, and Elie himself chose to eat because there was no longer any reason to fast; eating was an act of rebellion against God.
Why didn't Elie fast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement? (Give two reasons.)
He had received the real news about his family, and he probably stopped fighting to stay alive.
Why didn't Elie see Stein again after a transport from Antwerp arrived?
Two years ago, there was no water, no blankets (even in the freezing cold), less soup and bread. Hundreds of people died each day. The work was harder. Selections happened every week because Kapos were forced to kill a certain number of prisoners each week.
Why is Buna considered a "paradise" now, compared to two years ago?
His right foot had swollen from the cold, and he could not stand on it. The doctor told him he needed surgery.
Why was Elie admitted to the camp infirmary (hospital)?
He was suffering from food poisoning. Two weeks.
Why was Elie sent to a hospital three days after his liberation, and how long did he stay there?
A-7713
As a concentration camp prisoner, what is Elie called?
She wipes the blood from his forehead, gives him bread, and tells him not to cry and to save his anger for another day.
Describe Elie's interaction with the French girl after Idek the Kapo beats him for no reason.
He's angry at God for his treatment of the Jews. He blames God for creating the concentration camps and choosing the Jews to be slaughtered.
Describe Eliezer's feelings towards God on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
The ghettos were like a separate city for the Jews with their own police, health agencies, etc. It was surrounded with barbed wire, and windows facing streets outside the ghetto had to be sealed. Families shared houses in the ghetto, but other than that, life was oddly peaceful.
Describe life in the Sighet ghettos.
Over the course of several days, they are driven in cattle cars to Auschwitz. Packed in with 80 people, there is no room to lie down and rest. There is barely any air to breathe, food to eat, or water to drink.
Describe the Wiesel family's journey to Auschwitz.
It was freezing cold, and the Jews were forced to run by hundreds of SS officers with guns and police dogs
Describe the conditions of the evacuation march out of Buna?
Leaving the large ghetto, they were forced to sit and stand in the heat for long periods without food or water. They are then forced to run in line, and people are randomly beaten and threatened with death.
Describe the day Elie and his family were transported out of Sighet and the conditions to which they were subjected?
Thousands of inmates were evacuated each day, leading up to April 10th, when they planned to evacuate the remaining 20,000 prisoners. Then, a resistance movement from inside the camp fought against the SS to prevent the evacuation. The first American tank arrived after the SS had already fled the camp.
Describe what happened at Buchenwald between April 5 - April 10, 1945.
They were beaten without reason, stripped, shaved, soaked in disinfectant, put into hot showers, and eventually given prison clothing.
Describe what the prisoners experienced during their first hours at the concentration camp.
They were shot
During the march, what happened to anyone who stopped running or fell behind the group?
Dysentery (inflammation of the intestines), which causes high fever and diarrhea.
From what illness is Elie's dad suffering?
They are put into cattle cars - 100 people per car.
How are the prisoners transported out of Gleiwitz?
He didn't move, kept silent, and felt anger towards his father.
How did Elie react when Idek attacked his father?
He watched and kept silent
How did Elie react when his father was beaten by the gypsy?
They cried watching them leave but accepted their deportation was a part of the war and soon forgot about them.
How did the people of Sighet react when foreign-born Jews were expelled from their city?
They don't believe him and think he's just trying to get attention or pity.
How do the Jews of Sighet react to Moishe's story?
They were not afraid or upset for the lives lost; instead, they were happy and hopeful that the war would soon be over.
How do the prisoners react to the air raids?
God is testing them because He loves them so much.
How does Akiba Drumer explain why God is allowing the Jews to suffer?
He hits him repeatedly until he opens his eyes.
How does Elie prove to the "gravediggers" that his father was still alive?
He cries because the victim was so young, was well liked, and did not die right away.
How does Elie react to the hanging of the pipel?
When his father was sent to the left, Elie ran after him and was chased by the SS. the confusion he created allowed his father and some other men to move to the right.
How does Elie save his father from the selection at Gleiwitz?
12
How many of the 100 prisoners leaving Gleiwitz got off the cattle car alive at Buchenwald?
Once they got to the camps, there was actually fire. The burning of dead bodies stenched the air.
Interpret the significance of Madame Schachter's insane warnings.
She claimed to see fire. They tried to reason with her to calm her down, but eventually the bound, gagged, and beat her to make her quit screaming.
On the way to the concentration camp, what did Madame Schachter claim to see? How did the others on the cattle car respond to her warnings?
Someone had lain down on top of him, smothering him; he was stuck in a pile of dead and dying bodies.
Once at Gleiwitz, how did Elie almost suffocate?
They're afraid that they'll die.
Once they stop to rest, why won't Elie and his father let themselves sleep?