Name:____________________________________________________

Number the Stars WebQuest Project

Our next class novel will be Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It is a
historical fiction novel, meaning that the characters are made up, but the
situation is real. You will enjoy the book much much more if you have an
understanding of what was going on in the world at the time and place the
book is set. The below webquest will help you gain an understanding of the
deep issues the book is truly about by exploring historical topics that impact
the plot of Number the Stars.
*The questions that you must answer for each website are listed right
below the link to the website. You must answer the questions in complete
sentences.
*After your research is done and you have answered all of your questions,
have your responses checked with your teacher.
*After your assignment has been approved, your teacher will place you in a
group and you may then start creating a powerpoint presentation with
slides about the information you have learned.
*You must save this question page and your powerpoint on your own drive.

Topic #1: World War II Background

Website 1
1. On what date did Germany invade Poland, starting World War
II?
____________________________________________________________
2. When did Germany invade Norway and Denmark?
____________________________________________________________
3. What happened in December 1941?
____________________________________________________________
4. When was D-Day?
____________________________________________________________
5. What happened in May 1945?
____________________________________________________________
Website 2
6. How many people died and how many nations took part in World War II?
____________________________________________________________
7. For Americans, why did they enter World War II and what was their clearcut purpose?
____________________________________________________________
8. What is a totalitarian government? Explain.
____________________________________________________________
9. In what specific part of the world did U.S. troops fight?
____________________________________________________________
10. Who was president of the U.S. during World War II and what did he
order to be dropped, which led to Japans surrender?
____________________________________________________________

Website 3
11. Who is the author of Number the Stars?
____________________________________________________________
12. In what city and state does Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen live?
____________________________________________________________
13. Define the terms Jewish and concentration camp.
____________________________________________________________
14. Define the term Aryan.
____________________________________________________________
15. What did Hitler believe about German people and non-aryan people?
____________________________________________________________
16. What happened in 1935 to Jews, shortly after Hitler became the
Chancellor of Germany? Explain at least 4 examples stated in the test.
____________________________________________________________
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Website 4
17. In the 20th century, there were two world wars. What were the dates
of these two wars? How long did they last?_________________________
____________________________________________________________
18. What are civilians?
____________________________________________________________
19.Why were children evacuated and where did they go?______________
____________________________________________________________
20. Summarize the article on the war effort.________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
21. What is a refugee?_________________________________________

Topic #2: Denmark

Website 1
1. What is the capital of Denmark?___________________________
2. What is the official language of Denmark?____________________
3. Denmark borders what country?____________________________
4. Describe the climate in Denmark.___________________________
________________________________________________________
5. What famous author is from Denmark? He wrote The Ugly Duckling and
The Little Mermaid.___________________________________________

Website 2
6. Summarize the Theresienstadt, what it was, where it was, and what
happened there. This is your only question so make it a thorough summary.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Website 3
7. Who was the king of Denmark who symbolized the nations resistance to
the German occupation during World War II?________________________
8. Who was Christians father?___________________________________
9. Who did Christian marry?_____________________________________
10. In what year did the sale of the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin
Islands) to the United States take place?___________________________
11. During World War II, after the German occupation of Denmark began in
1940, what did Christian often do?________________________________
Website 4
12. The Kingdom of Denmark has 2 autonomous provinces. What are
they?______________________________________________________

13. The Faroes is comprised of how many islands?__________________

14. How many Danes live in Denmark?____________________________
15. What is the life expectancy in Denmark of women and men?_______
__________________________________________________________
16. What is the Danish flag called?______________________________

Topic #3 The Resistance in Denmark

Website 1
1. What other countries besides Denmark were considered
neutral?
_________________________________________________________
2. What does neutrality mean?________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. How many Jews were found, out of 8,000, during the raid between
October 1 and 2? Why were so few found? Explain.________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
4. How long was the water passage through which the Jews were
smuggled?___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Website 2
5. What was the Danish resistance? Explain.________________________
____________________________________________________________
6. Where did the Danish Jews hide?_______________________________
____________________________________________________________

7. Why was the Danish rescue effort unique? How did this uniqueness help
the effort to be successful?______________________________________
___________________________________________________________
8. What was the code name for the earliest rescue operations?__________
Website 3
9. How many years did it take for the Germans to begin persecuting Jews
from the time that they first occupied Denmark?______________________
10. What was different about Jews in Denmark compared to Jews in other
countries?___________________________________________________
11. How did the Danish police help Jews?_________________________
___________________________________________________________
12. What does it mean to have one of the highest Jewish survival rates?
Explain._____________________________________________________
Website 4
13. What happened on Rosh Hashanah in 1943?____________________
___________________________________________________________
14. Why did the Jewish people escape to neutral Sweden? What did the
Jewish people fear?_________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
15. If the Jewish people did not escape to Sweden, what would have
happened to them?____________________________________________
16. What is one item that can be found at the Museum of Danish
Resistance 1940-1945?_____________________________________
17. Who was one famous Dane who fled to Sweden?_______________

Topic #4 Jewish Traditions and Culture

Website 1
1. Describe the flag of the State of Israel.___________________________
2. What type of government does Israel have?_______________________
3. Is Israels government very different, similar, or exactly the same as the
United States government?______________________________________
4. When was the State of Israel proclaimed?________________________
5. What happened in 1973?_____________________________________
Website 2
6. What does kosher mean?___________________________________
___________________________________________________________
7. What is a major rule for cooking kosher regarding milk and meat?_____
___________________________________________________________
8. What is the English translation of the excerpt fro Ex: 23:19 from the
Torah?_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
9. Besides not cooking meat and milk together, what are three ways to
keep a kosher house or kitchen?_________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
10. Why do you believe that there are laws in the Torah about what people
should and should not eat?______________________________________
Website 3
11. When did the Nazis come into power in Germany?________________

12. Approximately how many Jews lived in the countries that would be
occupied by Germany?________________________________________
13. Many of the Jews of Eastern Europe lived in predominantly Jewish
towns or villages called what?___________________________________
14. What does the term emancipation of Jews mean?________________
____________________________________________________________
Website 4
15. Who was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and
Edith Frank?________________________________________________
16. Where did Anne Frank live the first five years of her life?___________
___________________________________________________________
17. In Annes diary, what did she call the secret attic in which her family
lived?_______________________________________________________
18. What is the Gestapo?_______________________________________
19. While in hiding what did Anne keep in which she recorded her fears,
hopes and experiences? Why did this become so important?___________
___________________________________________________________