NIGHT VOCABULARY

1. holocaust- fire that causes destruction

2. Holocaust- term used to designate the destruction of approximately six million Jews by the Nazis during World War II.

3. Beadle- a minor Jewish religious official

4. synagogue- place used by Jews for study or religious worship

5. Gestapo- secret police of German Nazi state

6. rabbi- teacher of the Jewish law; spiritual head of congregation

7. SS- German secret police

8. truncheon- short stick or club

9. Kaddish- Yiddish for "holy"- a Jewish prayer for the dead, esp. family member

10. Kapos- German word for guard chosen from prisoners themselves(often more cruel than Germans)

11. Aryan- fair skinned Nordic people(usually w/blond hair and blue eyes)

12. Anti-Semitism- Coined by Wilhelm Marr, an Anti-Jewish German journalist in 1879, was used to mean "opposition to Jews."Today it refers to prejudice against Jews.

13. Bigotry- intolerance for the beliefs of others, particularly those of minority groups.

14. Ethnocentrism- The belief that one's own ethnic, religous, or political group is superior to all the others.

15. Genocide- (genos=people,race,kind;cide=murder)The use of deliberate,systematic measures to bring about the destruction of a racial,political or cultural group.

16. Ghetto- A section of a city in which Jews were required to live surrounded by walls & barbed wire; has been adopted to include sections or cities predominantly inhabited by minority groups which may have socio-economic rather than physical barriers.

17. Prejudice- An unfavorable opinion formed against a person or a group based on a stereotype.

18. Propaganda- Information which is used to promote a cause or to injure or enhance the reputation of a group,individual, or position,and which may either not be factual,may "bend" the facts,or does not tell the entire story,in order to suit the purposes of the author.

19. Racism- A belief that one race is superior to another.

20. Scapegoat- A person or group who is given the blame for the mistakes or failues of others, promoted through the use of propaganda.

21. Stereotype- A generalized image or label of a person or group, which does not acknowledge individual differences and which is often prejudicial to that person or group.

22. Passover- Jewish holiday commemorating escape from slavery in Egypt

23. Pentecost- Jewish holiday commemorating Moses & the 10 commandments

24. fascists- the government of Italy during WWII when they were allies of Germany

25. Rosh Hashannah- Jewish new year

26. Red Army- the Russian army (fighting against Germany in WWII)

27. dysentery- intestinal disease which develops from consuming unsanitary water or food & for which the main symptom in severe diarrhea

28. front- the foremost part of the battle (literally, those fighting in the front)

29. resistance- an underground organization fighting to overcome those in power




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