Name ______Date ______

Video Notes for Elie Wiesel Videos

1.Did the Allies know about the Final Solution? When did they know? YES,as early as the Summer of 1942 (Five million Jews died after the Summer of 1942)

2.Where is Auschwitz? Southern Poland

3. Explain the setup of the concentration camps at Auschwitz. (How many main camps, their names, and their purpose)

Auschwitz I:

  • SS headquarters/prison camp, includes torture center and medical experiment center

Auschwitz II-Birkenau:

  • extermination camp and the camp where all of the trains arrived (Selection happened here)

Auschwitz III:

  • the forced labor camp – included 45 other sub-camps

4. What was the average lifespan of a person sent to Auschwitz who was not killed immediately in the gas chamber?

Four months

5. Other than the gas chambers, how did most people die at Auschwitz? (two ways)

(75% were killed in the gas chambers immediately)

  • Disease: dysentery, malaria, typhus, tuberculosis
  • Starvation
  • These two problems combined with hard, physical work led to the 4 month average.

6. Describe the barracks and living conditions that the prisoners stayed in at Auschwitz. They were poorly constructed wood buildings with wooden bunks. Prisoners slept two-four people per bunk and the barracks contained as many as 800 people in a really small space. People did not have pillows or mattresses. The barracks were hot in the summer and cold in the winter and had infestations of lice, rats, and other animals. The prisoners only got one prison uniform which had to be worn at all times and were not allowed to be cleaned.

7. What happened to Elie Wiesel’s family? (Selection)His mom, sister, and grandmother were killed immediately in the gas chamber and his dad died of disease later, but his other two sisters survived.

8. Who was Dr. Mengele? He was the notorious SS doctor who liked to lead the “selection” of people from the trains at Auschwitz. Also, he conducted many evil medical experiments on prisoners including his experiments on twins.

9. How many died at Auschwitz? Approximately 1.5 million

10. List and describe the evidence of the crimes at Auschwitz that is still there today.

  • Zyklon-B gas cans
  • suitcases – with people’s names and addresses
  • clothing (including baby clothing), eyeglasses, shoes
  • the buildings such as the torture center, the barracks, and the gas chambers, crematorium
  • human hair
  • bodies and thousands of people who were barely alive

11. Why is Elie Wiesel so well known today?

  • he has published over 60 books
  • he wrote the famous book Night about his experiences during the Holocaust
  • he won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • he speaks out against genocide as a college professor at Boston University
  • he is one of the main founders of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Elie’s prisoner number: A7713