Encountering Evil: Night

Lesson 10
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ELA

Unit 2

8th Grade

Lesson 10 of 28

Objective


Explain how the prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau were systematically dehumanized and stripped of their identities.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Night by Elie Wiesel  pp. 34 – 46

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

On page 37, Wiesel writes, "The child I was had been consumed by the flames. All that was left was a shape that resembled me. My soul had been invaded—and devoured—by a black flame." 

Find one example from today’s reading that demonstrates the impact of systematic dehumanization on Eliezer, explaining how his behavior and perspective have changed since arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Provide quoted evidence and carefully explain your thinking. 
 

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • Find at least four places on pages 34-42 where the prisoners are dehumanized by the Nazis (and other prisoners in positions of power). Provide specific evidence to support your answer, and explain why this treatment is dehumanizing.

  • What does Wiesel mean when he writes that the short talk given by the Polish Blockälteste to the prisoners was "the first human words"? Provide evidence from page 41 and carefully explain your thinking. 

Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think the Nazis worked so deliberately to strip people of their identities and dehumanize their prisoners?

Vocabulary


Text-based

systematic

adj.

done or acting according to a fixed plan or system; methodical

camaraderie

n.

(p. 41)

friendship; a feeling of connection and common purpose with others

Notes


  • Wiesel uses the word "gypsy" on page 37, which is considered to be an offensive slur by many Roma people. The Roma are an ethnic group that lives primarily in Europe. They are a nomadic people, meaning that they generally do not settle in one place, but rather move frequently. They have—and continue to—faced significant discrimination. During the Holocaust, an estimated 250,000 Roma were murdered in Nazi concentration camps because of their perceived racial inferiority. Read "Genocide of European Roma (Gypsies), 1939–1945" to learn more.
  • Explain that when we talk about how the Nazis dehumanized Jews and other prisoners of concentration camps, we must be mindful of the fact that they did these things very deliberately. It was part of a larger plan to exercise complete control over the prisoners.
  • Students may struggle to understand and keep track of the various leadership positions in the camp. Many positions of power – blockälteste, foreman, kapo, etc. — were held  by other prisoners, who were assigned those jobs by Nazi leadership. According to the Wikipedia article on "Prisoner functionaries," "the system was also designed to turn victim against victim, as the prisoner functionaries were pitted against their fellow prisoners in order to maintain the favor of their SS guards. If they were derelict, they would be returned to the status of ordinary prisoners and be subject to other prisoner functionaries. Many prisoner functionaries were recruited from the ranks of violent criminal gangs rather than from the more numerous political, religious and racial prisoners; those were known for their brutality toward other prisoners. This brutality was tolerated by the SS and was an integral part of the camp system. Prisoner functionaries were spared physical abuse and hard labor, provided they performed their duties to the satisfaction of the SS guards. They also had access to certain privileges such as civilian clothes and a private room."

Homework


To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

  • Book: Night by Elie Wiesel  pp. 47 – 57

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • Who is Franek? How does he treat Eliezer and Eliezer’s father?

  • Who is Juliek? Who are Yossi and Tibi?

  • Who is Idek? How does he treat Eliezer?

  • What does the dentist want from Eliezer? Why does Franek also want this?

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.8.3 — Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

Supporting Standards

L.8.6
RI.8.1
RI.8.2
RI.8.4
RI.8.10
SL.8.1
SL.8.6
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.b
W.8.9
W.8.9.b
W.8.10
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