“Night,” Elie Wiesel’s book tells the story of a young boy suffering from loss, torture, abuse, dehumanization. A person is made inhuman by losing the human qualities that make him or her unique. These tragic events can alter their morality and character. This could be the cause of their cruel and inhumane treatment. They are not developed people with animal-like characteristics. This is what they need to survive in such conditions.
Shaving prisoners’ hair could be a way to dehumanize them. In some cases, hair can make you feel better about yourself. This would be more harmful for women than for men. Women are known to have long and beautiful hair during this period. Your hair will make you appear more animal-like. It’s almost like shearing sheep. They used hair to make wigs and clothes. People feel more human if they have hair. The camps were full of prisoners, and they were given tattoos if they made it through selection. Eli was the one who got the number A-7113. He was not Eli anymore. To torture, enslave/kill a prisoner it is much easier to take someone’s last name. Prisoners are more hurt if they are treated as animals or as nothing.
The prisoner were informed that they were going on vacation. They packed all the food, clothing, shoes, and games that they would take on vacation in their suitcases. They found out they were not headed for vacation; they were going to be sent to death or as slaves to Nazis. They were packed into cattle cars to be taken to their destination. They quickly got out of the car and took their bags with them. They were sent to selection, where they were made to be fit and healthy. Older children, women and children were sent to the end. Only those who worked were allowed to put on one pair striped shirt. Due to the SS taking away all their personal belongings, including gold teeth, the SS officers made it impossible for prisoners to feel self-actualized.
The Nazis wouldn’t have been happy with this, but Jews were subjected to significant dehumanization. This included the loss or hair, clothing, and name. In many ways, the Holocaust caused many of the Jews to suffer. These included losing loved ones or being separated from family members, and getting to the point where they feel that death is their only option. There were many contributing factors to the Jew’s suffering during World War II, but dehumanization is the worst.
