Night Vocabulary

1. Cabbala—also spelled kabala, cabala, and more: a collection of traditional lore that probes the mysteries of the universe based on an interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures as containing hidden meaning. Collected into The Zohar(a 13th-century Jewish mystical text that is the primary text of Kabalistic writings). Human efforts to understand God.

2. Talmud: the law in accordance with which the conduct of life is to be regulated. (the collection of ancient Jewish writings that forms the basis of Jewish religious law)

3. Zionism or The support of Israel: Many Jews were permanently displaced after WWII, so their only hope lay in the foundation of the free Jewish state of Israel, which was realized in 1948. A worldwide movement, originating in the 19th century that sought to establish and develop a Jewish nation in Palestine. Since 1948 its function has been to support the state of Israel.

4. Fascism: A totalitarian form of government (dictatorship) that dominated Italian politics from 1922-1943, it is a tightly controlled form of authority requiring strict adherence to the law. Fascism relies upon strong nationalistic sentiment and a suppression of individual freedom. Centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism

5. Gestapo—acronym for the Geheime Statspolizei: Literally “secret state police.” The secret police agency that monitored internal German affairs from 1933-1945. Used to rid Germany of undesirables. They terrorized at will.

6. The S.S.—Literally, “protective echelon”: an elite corps of 750,000 German troops that began as Adolph Hitler’s bodyguard. In 1929, the importance of the S.S. was advanced in order to eradicate secret enemies of the Nazi party. The blue-eyed blondes were chosen for this force because they embodied the idea of a master race of pure Aryan stock.

7. Heinrich Himmler: (1900-1945) Hitler’s second in command and head of the S.S. Established the first concentration camp (Dachau) in 1933. Swallowed poison at Luneburg on May 23, 1945.

8. The Red Army: The Russian Army

9. The Kaddish: a prayer recited at the close of the sections of Jewish religious services, and by close relatives of a deceased person at times of mourning and anniversaries of the death

10. Kapo: A prisoner, often times Jews, that is put in charge of an entire block of prisoners. Often very brutal. Their lives depended on the production of the prisoners they were in control of, which lead to their brutality.

11. Aryan: The “ideal” appearance. Blond hair, blue eyes. Total European decent. In Nazi ideology, regarded as the superior race.

12. Nazi: National Socialistic Party ruled by Hitler. Political Party

13. Rabbi: Ordained spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation.

14. Final solution: Hitler’s plan to exterminate 11 million Jews.

15. Holocaust: Literally “completely burned sacrifice” especially by fire: The deaths of 6 million Jews. 11 million total murders.

17. Hitler: 4/20/1889—4/30/1945 Hitler was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. Hitler's supremacist and racially motivated policies resulted in the systematic murder of eleven million people, including an estimated six million Jews, and in the deaths of between 50 and 70 million people in World War II. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress, Eva Braun. On 30 April 1945, less than two days later, the two committed suicide to avoid capture by the Red Army, and their corpses were burned.

18. Genocide

19. Anti-Semitism

20. Nuremberg Laws

21. Kristallnacht

22. Ghetto

23. Auschwitz

24. Concentration Camps

25. Propaganda

26. Allied Forces

27. Axis Alliance

28. Memoir

29. a. Rhetorical questions b. Rhetorical techniques/strategies

30. Imagery

31. Surrealism

32. Aphorism

33. Recurring image and theme

34. Expulsion

35. Dehumanization

36. Allusions: The story of Job, Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, Adam and Eve, Spanish Inquisition, Babylonian Captivity