Voices from the List

Part I of Night - pages 13-37

Now that you have read the first section of Night, what are your thoughts? Wiesel sets up the memoir to reveal the Holocaust in stark, evocative detail. It almost forces us to face the events that happened and break the silence. So break the silence and talk about what the memoir has done for you so far. What did you learn? What did you find surprising? What scene made you think?

Elie Wiesel in Auschwitz - Collection

Do you want to see the entire video of Elie Wiesel and Oprah in Auschwitz?
View them below.

Part I:


Part II:


Part III:


Part IV:


Part VI:

Elie Wiesel in Auschwitz

As we watched the video of Elie Wiesel in Auschwitz, he talks about how difficult it was for the Jews to quickly gather all of their belongings and fit it into a small leather suitcase and walk away from their homes forever. The Germans told prisoners that they would get those belongings back, but they never did. The items were sold on the black market to make a German profit. To Elie, this act showed the atrocity of the time period and he questioned how fellow humans could take away all that you possessed. What do you think?

Watch the video below:



Respond to this prompt:
During the Holocaust, many Jews were driven from their homes with no more than 20 pounds of belongings. Imagine that you are forced to leave your own home without the hope of returning. In addition to clothes on your back, you are permitted to carry 20 pounds of your most precious possessions in a tattered knapsack.

Given the aforementioned scenario, what would you take with you? What would you leave behind? How would you determined what you took and what you left behind – i.e., would you fill your knapsack with valuables, such as wristwatches and jewelry, that could be traded, or would you fill it with more practical items, such as cooking utensils and socks? Would an item’s monetary value mean more or less than its sentimental value? Explain.