Examples Of Dehumanization In Night By Elie Wiesel

During the Second World war, the Nazis built concentration camps that were used to kill millions of people, mostly Jews. When the war came to an end, few camp prisoners were able to survive. One of the survivors of these death camps was Elie Wiesel, the author of Night. In his book Night, he shows how the Nazis dehumanized the Jews in the concentration camps. The Nazis did this through stripping the Jews from their identity, eliminating them systematically and by changing the feelings that they had towards their family and other people.
One of the ways that the Nazis used to dehumanize the Jews is by stripping them from their identity. Several privileges that we take for granted, were taken away from them. Privileges such as being able to
own gold or silver and being able to go to public places,“ a Jew was henceforth forbidden to own gold, jewelry or any valuables. Everything had to be handed over to the authorities, under penalty of death...We no longer had the right to frequent restaurants or cafes, to travel by rail, to attend synagogue, to be on the streets after six o'clock in the evening”(Wiesel 10-11) This shows that the Nazis stripped the Jews from their most basic human rights. The Jews were also forced to wear a yellow star, which separated them from the rest of the community, “...every Jew had to wear the yellow star.”(11) By forcing the Jews to wear the yellow star, the Nazis separated them from other groups. Upon their arrival to the camps, the Jews were assigned a number that resembled their name. Calling them by numbers instead of using their original names, is one of the strategies that the Nazis used to erase their identity. “...I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name”(42) By taking away their names, the Nazis took away a huge part of their identity, as our name represents who we are. By taking away simple privileges, forcing them to wear the yellow star and calling them by numbers, the Nazis dehumanized the Jews.
A second way that the Nazis used to dehumanize the Jews is by eliminating them systematically.
Upon their arrival to the Camps families were separated; women, girls and babies on one side and men and boys on the other. Women, babies and other Jews who were doomed as 'not fit enough to work' were all sent to the gas chambers. Some babies were even used as target practices as stated in Moishe the Beadle's story, “infants were tossed into the air and use as targets for the machine guns”(6) Also, prisoners had to dig their own grave, “...They were forced to dig huge trenches...without passion or haste, they shot their prisoners, who were forced to approach the trench one by one and offer their necks...”(6).Not only that, the Jewish prisoners were also forced to watch their children getting shot right in front of their eyes, “...the tailor who begged to die before his sons were killed”(7). Moreover, the prisoners of these camps were starved and randomly beaten, “...in the hope of finding something, perhaps a piece of bread...Hunger was tormenting us...One day when Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest...Idek was on edge, he had trouble restraining himself. Suddenly, he exploded. The victim this time was my father”(53-114)By sending women and children to gas chambers, using babies as target practices, forcing prisoners to dig their own graves, forcing them to watch their children get shot in
front of their eyes, randomly beating them and finally starving them, the Nazis dehumanized the Jews.
Lastly, the Nazis were so effective that they were able to change the feelings that the Jews had towards their family members and other people.
The strong sons wanted to get rid of their fathers because they were a great burden on them, due to their weakness and sickness. The sons abandoned their fathers just to be able to survive, “his son had seen him losing ground,sliding back to the rear of the column...And he had continued to run in front, letting the distance between them become greater”(91). This shows how the son of Rabbi Eliahu had abandoned him because he was sick and by staying with his father that would “diminish his own chance for survival”(91). Elie's feelings towards his dad changed very much. This change is shown in the following quotes, “ ...if I felt anger at that moment, it was not directed at the Kapo but my father. Why couldn't he have avoided Idek's wrath?...I knew he was running out of strength, close to death, and yet I abandoned him...If only I didn't find him! If only I was relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself... The officer wielded his club and dealt him a violent blow to the head... I was afraid, my body was afraid of another blow, this time to my head”(54-106) Elie's feelings and thoughts towards his dad changed very much. At the beginning of the book, Elie's main goal was to stay with his dad, but as more days went by in the camps, his feelings towards his dad
became very cold. In addition to that even after they were freed from the camps, none of the prisoners thought about their dead family members, “No thought of revenge, or of parents. Only of bread...And even when we were no longer hungry, not one of us thought of revenge...But still no trace of revenge”. Elie himself didn't think of his dad after he died, “...I no longer thought of my father, or my mother...I would dream. But only about soup...”. By changing the feelings of the Jews towards their family members and other people the Nazis dehumanized the Jews.
The Nazis dehumanized the Jews through stripping them from their identity, exterminating them systematically and changing the feelings that they had towards their family members. Though his book Night, Elie Wiesel shows how the Nazis dehumanized the camp prisoners, who were mostly Jews. The horrors of these concentration camps are something that we should never forget. Millions of people died in these camps, whether they were Jewish or not, they shall never be forgotten. In addition, these horrors should never be repeated again and we should all learn from them because, “Those who forget and don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.