ghetto
Enclosed communities in which Nazis forced Jews to live during World War II.
acrid
Possessing an unpleasant taste or smell.
insolent
Lacking respect in one's behavior.
tsholnt
Stews cooked by Jews overnight on Friday to be consumed on the Sabbath.
ration card
A card that residents of ghettos had to display in order to receive an allotment of food.
corpulence
A largeness of the body.
meerschaum
A type of pipe made from the porous mineral sepiolite.
diffidently
In a manner that shows a lack of confidence.
khasene
The Yiddish term for wedding or marriage.
gestapo
The secret police of Nazi Germany.
earlocks
Locks of hair worn in front of the ears by observant Jews.
personage
A person of importance.
unheralded
Not announced in advance.
Iron Cross
A military decoration in Nazi Germany.
Kommandatura
The allied powers' joint governing body for the city of Berlin after the German defeat in World War II.
Red Army
The official military force of the Soviet Union between 1918 and 1946.
mourning crepe
A type of black fabric that was worn in clothing by the bereaved as part of a practice of mourning.
certificate of denazification
A document given to Germans during the period after World War II to clear them of having been a Nazi.
clan liability
A translation of sippenhaft, which is a German term referring to the idea that a family can be punished for the actions of one of its members. The Nazis employed sippenhaft in punishing the families of their political enemies.
transom
A horizontal beam above a window or door.
