Holocaust Texts: Analyzing Key Ideas and Details

Name______Date______Period______

Holocaust Texts: Analyzing Key Ideas and Details:

Assignments and Goals:

Task #1: Read the background info on Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust, and the Noble Peace Prize. Circle all the dates. On a separate sheet of paper, create a timeline of all the dates.

Biography

Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 in the town of Sighet, now part of Romania. During World War II, he, with his family and other Jews from the area, were deported to the German concentration and extermination camps, where his parents and little sister perished. Wiesel and his two older sisters survived. Liberated from Buchenwald in 1945 by advancing Allied troops, he was taken to Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne and worked as a journalist.
In 1958, he published his first book, La Nuit, a memoir of his experiences in the concentration camps. He has since authored nearly thirty books some of which use these events as their basic material. In his many lectures, Wiesel has concerned himself with the situation of the Jews and other groups who have suffered persecution and death because of their religion, race or national origin.

Wiesel has made his home in New York City, and is now a United States citizen.

- nobelpeaceprize.org

Background Information on the Holocaust

The Holocaust was a terrible event that happened during World War II. From the late 1930s to the mid 1940s, the Nazis in Germany killed six million Jewish people, plus millions of other people, like Gypsies, Catholics, and people with disabilities. That’s like killing every single person in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. The Nazis killed all of these people because they were different, and the Nazis wanted everybody to be exactly the same – as they called it, “racially pure.” The Holocaust happened because one group of powerful people was intolerant of other people who were different from them. Even though the Holocaust is an extreme example of hate, it is important to recognize that when you see someone being a bully, they are engaging in the same behavior that started the Holocaust.

- thechildrenoftheholocaust.com/holocaust-facts/

The Nobel Peace Prize for 1986

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has resolved that the Nobel Peace Prize for 1986 should be awarded to the author, Elie Wiesel. It is the Committee's opinion that Elie Wiesel has become one of the most important spiritual leaders and guides in an age when violence, repression and racism continue to characterize the world.
Wiesel is a messenger to mankind; his message is one of peace, forgiveness and human dignity. His belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious is a hard-won belief. His message is based on his own personal experience of total humiliation and of the utter contempt for humanity shown in Hitler's death camps. The message is in the form of a testimony, repeated and deepened through the works of a great author.
Wiesel's commitment, which originated in the sufferings of the Jewish people, has been widened to embrace all repressed peoples and races.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee believes that Elie Wiesel, with his message and through his practical work in the cause of peace, is a convincing spokesman for the view of mankind and for the unlimited humanitarianism which are at all times necessary for a lasting and just peace.

–Oslo, October 14, 1986

- nobelpeaceprize.org

Key Terms:*Repression – control, restraint*Dignity – respectability*Contempt – hatred

*Humiliation – embarrassment *Humanitarianism – kindness

Tasks 2, 3, 4: First, underline words / phrases that are repeated. Next, in the left margins, paraphrase the most important sentence in each paragraph. Lastly, in the right margins, identify the rhetorical strategies.

“Hope, Despair and Memory” – Wiesel, Elie – Date of speech: December 10, 1986

It is with a profound sense of humility that I accept the honor - the highest there is - that you have chosen to bestow upon me. I know your choice transcends my person.

Do I have the right to represent the multitudes whohave perished? Do I have the right to accept this great honor on their behalf? I do not. No one may speak for the dead; no one may interpret their mutilated dreams and visions. And yet, I sense their presence. I always do - and at this moment more than ever. The presence of my parents, that of my little sister. The presence of my teachers, my friends, my companions...

This honor belongs to all the survivors and their children and, through us to the Jewish people with whose destiny I have always identified.

I remember: it happened yesterday, or eternities ago. A young Jewish boy discovered the Kingdom of Night. I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast. The ghetto.The deportation.The sealed cattle car.The fiery altar upon which the history of our people and the future of mankind were meant to be sacrificed.

I remember he asked his father: “Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?”

And now the boy is turning to me. “Tell me,” he asks, “what have you done with my future, what have you done with your life?” And I tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.

And then I explain to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must— at that moment—become the center of the universe.

Key Terms: *Humility – modesty *Bestow – give *Transcends – go beyond *Perished –died

*Mutilated – disfigured *Accomplices – helpers *Naïve –trusting/childlike

*Endure – put up with *Oppressor – dictator/tyrant/ruler *Irrelevant – unimportant

Task #5: On a separate sheet of paper, use words and images to represent the author’s claim in a poster. Include ethos/pathos/ logos

Task #6: Create a Supporting Idea Organizer (below).

Supporting Idea Organizer:

CLARIFYING that no one can speak on behalf of victims.

Elaboration/Purpose

“Do I have the right; No one may”

Textual Evidence

BeginsANAPHORA

Rhetorical Device

______Continues______

Claim Rhetorical Device Textual Evidence Elaboration/Purpose

Ends______

Rhetorical Device

______

Textual Evidence

______

Elaboration/Purpose

Task #7: Identify genre, audience, and purpose. Analyze how evidence and rhetorical appeals connect to purpose.

Constructed Response Task:Students analyze how the author unfolds his examination of ideas, paying particular attention to the order in which the points are made, how he introduces and develops his points, and the connections that are drawn between them(Summary)

Model 1:Elie Wiesel, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, “Hope, Despair, and Memory,” claims in a demanding tone that we must always remember the atrocities of the Holocaust so that we do not allow that kind of human suffering and humiliation to happen again. He begins by using repetition to question and answer whether he deserves the honor or has the right accept it, giving those who died in the Holocaust their due importance. He continues by creating an anecdote in which he first looks back upon his experience in the Holocaust and his disbelief that something so demeaning could occur in the 20th century; then, he converses with his younger self and explains that he has done all he can to remember those horrific events so they never happen again. The speaker ends by using parallel structure to remind us that being neutral aids the persecutor not the victim and silence encourages the abuser, not the abused. Wiesel connects these ideas to persuade today’s society that we must always stand up to oppression to ensure all humans are treated equally regardless of race, religion, or politics.

Answer the following questions about the summary titled "Model 1":

- What was the tone of Wiesel's speech?

- What was the main claim of Wiesel's speech?

- What 3 rhetorical strategies did Wiesel use?

- What sequential transition words were used in Model 1?

- Who was Wiesel's intended audience?

- What was the purpose of Wiesel's speech?

Model 2: In Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech titled, “Hope, Despair, and Memory," he claims in a passionate tone that we must always act when we see others being persecuted. Wiesel begins by using repetition to emphasize through questions whether he can speak for all those perished during The Holocaust. Next, he provides an anecdote to illustrate how his personal experiences may not make him a perfect representative for those who died, yet he feels he must take action for them. Lastly, he uses parallel structure to explain how strongly he feels that we all must choose a side and never stay silent when we see injustices. Wiesel connects these ideas in order to persuade humanity to always stand up for anyone being discriminated against due to their personal views.

Answer the following questions about the summary titled "Model 2":

- What was the tone of Wiesel's speech?

- What was the main claim of Wiesel's speech?

- What 3 rhetorical strategies did Wiesel use?

- What sequential transition words were used in Model 1

- Who was Wiesel's intended audience?

- What was the purpose of Wiesel's speech?

Task #8: In the space provided, write a summary to analyze how the authorunfoldshis examination of ideas, paying particular attention to the order in which the points are made, how he introduces and develops his points, and the connections that are drawn between them.

Summary Outline:

First Sentence:Genre, title, author, tone, main claim

Middle Sentences: Use sequential transitions to present each rhetorical strategy the author used and its

purpose in the text.

Last Sentence:Intended audience, purpose of the text

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