Word List 3 - Groups 3-4

Question 1

alibi

Answer 1

An excuse that shows someone was not at a crime scene

If a Jew had no alibi to defend himself or herself, he or she would die to the Nazis.

Question 2

buttress

Answer 2

Strengthen; support

Moishe the Beadle buttressed Elie Wiesel’s interest in Judaism.

Question 3

delineation

Answer 3

Demarcation; explanation; definition; outlining

Adolf Hitler did not have a true delineation as to why the Jews were seen as inferior to Germans.

Question 4

evacuate

Answer 4

Vacate; empty; abandon

The Jews, including the Wiesel family, were forced to evacuate their homes in the ghetto by the Nazis.

Question 5

idiosyncrasy

Answer 5

A personal peculiarity; something unique to an individual

Elie Wiesel had a peculiar idiosyncrasy of crying and weeping whenever he was praying.

Question 6

libertarian

Answer 6

Someone who opposes tyranny

There were many libertarians among the Jews who opposed Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime from Germany.

Question 7

ominous

Answer 7

Threatening

The Nazis were an ominous force and army toward the Jews, through the Nazis’ intimidation of the Jews.

Question 8

potent

Answer 8

Powerful; compelling; strong

The Nazis were a potent threat toward the Jews, since they expressed their power toward Europe and the Jews.

Question 9

ruminate

Answer 9

Think over something; ponder

Elie Wiesel ruminated about why God would allow bad things like the Holocaust to happen to the Jews.

Question 10

transcribe

Answer 10

Copy

The evacuation of the Jews from their homes in Sighet transcribed the prior, similar situation that occurred in the past.

Question 11

allay

Answer 11

To lessen

If the Jews followed the Nazis’ orders in the concentration camps, their tortures would be allayed, since they were obedient toward their rulers.

Question 12

byline

Answer 12

The line that tell you who wrote an article

You would never see a Jew in the byline of an article in a German newspaper or magazine.

Question 13

demur

Answer 13

Hesitate; refuse

The Nazis would not demur when ordered to execute a Jew, which is what happened in the concentration camps.

Question 14

exacerbate

Answer 14

Make worse

Some Jews, including Wiesel, wondered why God exacerbated their lives in the Holocaust.

Question 15

ignominious

Answer 15

Shameful

Adolf Hitler and the Nazis believed that practicing Judaism was ignominious because of their racism.

Question 16

liniment

Answer 16

Soothing lotion

The Jews were prohibited from taking luxurious items to the concentration camps, such as liniment and jewelry.

Question 17

ominipotent

Answer 17

All-powerful

Elie Wiesel and the Jewish people believed in a supreme, omnipotent God who ruled over all of the universe.

Question 18

pragmatic

Answer 18

Practical

From the Jewish perspective, the concentration camps were definitely not pragmatic, due to the severity shown by Nazis toward Jews like Elie Wiesel and his father.

Question 19

ruse

Answer 19

Trick; stratagem

If the Jews attempted ruses to escape from the camps, they would suffer significantly as punishment.

Question 20

transgress

Answer 20

Go astray; disobey; commit a sin

Some Jews who were with Wiesel in the concentration camps believed that because they had transgressed, God punished them.