Historical context for

Conditions for Hitler’s Rise - Defeat of Germany in WW1 and resulting sanctions- Economic collapse in Germany

Hitler’s Rise To Power8

• Decorated for bravery during service in WW1• Joined and became prominent figure in Nazi party• Attempted revolution and failed• Charged with high treason and imprisoned• Wrote Mein Kampf outlining plans to unite Germany into one race • Lost run for President, appointed Chancellor • Granted dictator-like powers • Upon death of President, became Fuhrer

Hitler’s Goals - Create master race - Expand living space for this race

Hitler’s Plan  - Definition (Early 1930s)

- Defining who a Jew was & forced to register- Had to wear the Yellow Star of David- Had “Jew” stamped on their passport- Had to put a sign in the window of the shop saying “Jew”

- Expropriation (Mid 1930s)

-Meaning to “take away”-No longer allowed to have bank accounts-Can’t hold certain jobs-Couldn’t live in certain places

- Concentration (Late 1930s – 1939)

-Travel was restricted-Couldn’t own phones, cameras, radios, or pets-Ghettos opened and Jews were forced to move there

-Slave labor-Little food, shelter and heat

-No longer allowed to attend school - Annihilation (1940 – 1945)

-The Nazis organized and carried out large-scale killing of Jews and others-Some were shot or gassed by mobile killing units in part of Russia, Latvia and Lithuania-In the rest of Europe, victims were transported to killing centers

Elie Wiesel • Born in 1928 in Sighet, Hungary • Son of a prominent shop-keeper • Interested in religious studies and in becoming a scholar • Age fifteen in 1944• March 1944- German occupation of Hungary • April 1944- Ghettoization of Hungary • May 1944- Deportation to death camps • January 1945- Liberation of Auschwitz

Elie Wiesel Today• Author • Nobel Peace Prize Winner • Political activist • Professor, Boston University