Chapter 1 ( pp. 1-20)

1. In what town of what country did the author grow up? (Note: Transylvania is a region, not the country itself.)

2. Who was Moishe (Moshe) the Beadle, what made him different from others, and what does he help the author do?

3. What is the author's relationship with his father like?

4. Who are the other members of the Wiesel family?

5. Why is Moishe deported, expelled from Sighet?

6. What does Moishe do when he returns? How do people react?

How has Moishe changed?

7. What is the attitude of the Jews in Sighet towards Hitler in the spring of 1944?

8. What does Elie ask his father to do, and what does his father reply? (p. 6)

9. What is going on in Budapest? (p. 7)

Does this change people's minds about Hitler?

What happens three days later?

10. What do the Nazis close down first? (p. 8)

What do they do on the seventh day of Passover?

11. What are the new decrees under which the Jews must live? (pp. 8-9)

12. What is the ghetto? Why are the Wiesels still living in their own home?

Who runs the ghetto?

What do the Germans do every day? (p. 9)

13. What "terrible news" arrives after some new Gestapo officers are seen in the ghetto? (p. 11)

14. What does a Hungarian police inspector try to do for the Wiesels? Why doesn't he succeed?

15. How are the Jews of Sighet abused by the authorities prior to their departure? (pp. 13-17)

16. While living in the "little ghetto," what does a former servant ask Elie's father? What is his response?

17. What do the remaining Jews try to tell themselves before their expulsion? (pp. 18-19)

Chapter 2 (pp. 21-26)

1. How do the Nazis immediately begin to dehumanize the Jews?

2. What has "broken" Mrs. Schachter?

What does she keep doing during the voyage?

How do her hallucinations seem to become reality later?

3. To what place are the Jews taken? (p. 24)

What is the "reception center" for this place called? (p. 26)

Chapter 3 (pp. 27-43)

1. What happens to the few possessions the Jews were allowed to take with them till this point?

Why do you suppose they were allowed to take these in the first place?

2. How does Elie get separated from his mother and little sister?

3. What does one of the prisoners tell Elie and his father to lie about? (p. 28) Why?

4. Elie says to one of the other prisoners that the Jews of Sighet had no idea in 1944 what was in store for them? Is this true? Explain.

5. Once they figure out what is in store, what do some of the younger men want to do?

Who stops them? How?

6. Who is Mengele? What is he doing? (p. 29)

7. Elie lies and says he has been a farmer, not a student. Why?

8. What is decided, at least for now, about Elie and his father?

9. What does Elie describe seeing on p. 30?

10. What does his father say is "a shame"?

Actually what would have happened if things had gone as the father wishes here?

11. What does Elie's father tell him about humanity, and what does this make Elie want to do? (pp. 30-31)

12. What is a Kaddish?

What is unusual about the recitation of it on p. 31?

13. What does Elie now feel for the first time in his life? Who is the feeling directed towards?

14. What happens two steps away from the pit?

Why do you suppose the prisoners were made to perform this march?

15. What things does Elie now say he will never forget?

16. Who beats the new arrivals as they enter the barracks? Why do you think they are doing this?

17. What correct decision does Elie's father make at this point? In what way is it correct?

Note: Kapos are prisoners who are in charge of keeping order among other prisoners.

18. What other things are done to the prisoners to take away their humanity? (pp. 32-34)

19. How does Elie refer to the camp they are brought to now?

20. What does Elie ironically thank God for on p. 35? Why?

21. An SS officer comes in. What does he tell the new prisoners? (p. 36)

22. Who is "in charge" of the prisoners left behind after skilled workers are selected out?

23. Why does this person strike Elie's father? (There is an obvious or superficial reason as well as a deeper one, most likely.)

What is Elie's reaction, and how does this indicate that the Nazis are achieving their goals with the prisoners?

24. What is ironic about the sign saying "Warning: Danger of Death"?

What is the second sign they see (p. 38, top), and why is this also ironic?

25. What is Elie's first impression of Auschwitz main camp?

Why is the frequent showering Elie describes on p. 38 rather odd?

Why do you suppose this is being done?

26.The young Pole in charge of the group is very different from any of the other camp supervisors we have seen so far. Explain how.

27. What is the "general opinion" at the camp now? (p. 39)

28. What does Elie refuse to do because he is "spoiled"?

29. What do the prisoners receive in the afternoon?

30. How and why does Elie lie to his relative Stein from Antwerp (in Belgium)?

31. What does Elie's father sacrifice for him on p. 41? How does this show something of a change in him?

32. What is their "only worry"?

33. What happens to the young Pole and who replaces him?

Why do you think this happened?

How does it help explain the cruelty many supervisors show to the prisoners of whom they are in charge?

34. When do they stop seeing Stein?

35. What does Elie tell us about his religious faith at this point? (p. 42)

36. What is Akiba Drumer's point of view?

37. What finally happens when all but 100 workers are left?

38. What does Elie observe about the Germans as the prisoners walk to Buna? (Note: what the Nazis took over Poland, they threw Poles out of their homes and gave the land to Germans; that's why there are German residents even though Elie is in Poland.)

Chapter 4 (pp. 45-62)

1. What do the veteran prisoners tell the newcomers about Buna?

2. What does Elie say about the head of their tent?

3. What does Elie tell us about his shoes?

4. Why does the dentist examine the prisoners so closely?

5. What is being done as units leave for the work yards on p. 47?

6. Who is Juliek? Louis? (p. 47)

Who is Franek?

Who is Idek? What is said about him?

7. What work are the men in Elie's unit to perform? (p. 48, top)

8. What do we learn about Yossi and Tibi?

What does Elie plan with them?

9. Who is the head of Elie's block? Why is this good?

10. Why is Elie sent to the dentist?

What later happens to the dentist, and why?

11. What is Elie's "whole life" at this point? (p. 50)

12. What does Idek do? How is the French girl involved?

What happens years later?

What was she pretending in the camps? Why?

13. What does Elie do when Idek beats his father? Why?

14. What does Franek demand of Elie?

How does Elie respond, and what does Franek do? (pp. 52-53)

15. Why does Idek whip Elie?

16. What happens to Buna on Sunday? (pp. 56-58)

17. Why is the youth from Warsaw executed?

What does he say before they hang him?

Why are all the other prisoners forced to watch this and other executions?

18. Which execution is the only one to deeply affect Elie? Why?

What had these prisoners done?

What do the adults cry out?

19. What does Elie say about God now?

Chapter 5 (pp. 63-80)

1. How many men attend the Rosh Hashanah service?

2. What does Elie say his relationship is to God now? (p. 65, top)

3. How has the relationship between Elie and his father changed? (p. 65)

4. What are the two reasons Elie does not fast on Yom Kippur?

5. What "New Year's gift" do the SS give?

6. What unit has Elie been transferred to?

7. How is his father able to survive the second selection? (p. 72)

8. Why was Akiba Drumer selected? (p. 72-73)

What do the others forget to do?

9. What happens with Elie's foot that winter?

10. Why doesn't Elie rest for a fortnight (2 weeks) as the doctor orders?

Actually, what would have happened to him had he simply stayed behind in the hospital?

11. What does the head of the block order before they leave? Why?

How does this show that the Nazis aren't completely achieving their goals?

Chapter 6 (pp. 81-92)

1. What conditions make the march to Gleiwitz very difficult?

What happens to prisoners who fall behind or stop running (there are two possibilities)?

2. Why does Elie not let himself die? (p. 82)

3. What danger arises when the order to rest comes? (p. 84)

4. What did Rabbi Eliahou's son do?

What does Elie pray? (p. 87)

5. What happens when they reach the barracks at Gleiwitz?

What does Juliek seemingly do? Do you think this really happened, or was Elie hallucinating some of it? Explain.

6. Another selection is performed at Gleiwitz after three days. What happens to Elie's father and how does Elie react? What eventually saves both of them and many others? (p. 91)

7. What will happen to the prisoners now? (p. 92)

Chapter 7 (pp. 93-98)

1. What do the SS want the prisoners in each car to do? What almost happens on p. 94?

2. How does the behavior of the German workmen now resemble the behavior of the woman at Aden years later?

3. What scene now takes place between another father and his son?

How old is Elie now?

NOTE: Chlomo is Elie's father's first name.

4. How is the situation with Mier Katz similar to the earlier one of Akiba Drumer?

5. How many of the original 100 men survive the trip?

Where do the prisoners arrive now?

Chapter 8 (pp. 98-106)

NOTE: Unlike the previous camps we have seen in the book, Buchenwald is in Germany.

1. What does Elie's father tell him as they are trying to make their way to the showers? (p. 100, top)

How does this make Elie feel? Why?

How do Elie and his father seem to have "switched places" by this point?

2. What happens with Elie after the alert? (p. 101)

How is he thinking of his father now?

Then how does he feel about himself?

3. What does Elie bring his father, and what does he tell us about his father's feelings here?

4. Why does Elie say he was "no better than Rabbi Eliahou's son"?

Do you think this is true? Explain.

5. When Elie sees his father running, what seems to be happening to the father? (p. 102)

6. Why does Elie hesitate to give his father water even though soup and coffee are okay?

How are the other prisoners treating his father?

7. What does the head of the camp say about Elie and his father? (p. 105)

Is he right? Explain.

How does Elie feel about this?

8. What does Elie say he would have found is he searched his conscience?

Chapter 9 (pp. 107-109)

1. How long does Elie stay at Buchenwald?

2. What happens on April 10, 1945? (pp.108-109)

Who fled? Who took control of the camp?

What happened about 6 pm?

3. What were the freed prisoners' first acts after the liberation?

What things don't they think about?

4. What almost happens to Elie three days after the liberation? Why do you think this happens?

5. What does it tell us that Elie refers to the eyes of the "corpse" in the mirror as "his" rather than "my"?