Examples Of Dehumanization In The Book Thief

Improved Essays
Classification- “When we came, they pushed in one way the men, and somewhere else the women” (Spiegelman 184). Before a Genocide begins there’s always classification where men and women gets separated; and, here shows how before things started Vladek and Anja got separated. By being separated makes easier for the opposite side to get things situated.
Symbolization- After getting everyone classified they get given a symbol whether it is a name or an actual item to wear. “They registered us in… They took from us our names. And they put me my number”(Spiegelman 186). This shows how everyone was being treated and now the number that everyone has in their arm represents who they are.
Dehumanization- The worse part about genocide is getting treated like a nobody. In the book it shows how someone would get treated “ Maybe on the way to work. A guard grabbed his cap away” “Go get your-cap quick!” “So what
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“We pulled the bodies apart with hooks. Big piles, with the strongest on top, older ones and babies crushed bel ow..often the skulls were smashed” (Spiegelman 231). It is not civil to have other humans beings move dead bodies; those type of things can affect scar someone till the day they die.
Preparation-Before the genocide happened it was important for things to be prepared a certain way. “Fellow jews: on Wednesday, August 12th, Every one of you, you and old, male and female, healthy and sick, must register at the dienst stadium” (Spiegelman 90). This shows how things got prepared how everyone was required to register to go into camps.
Extermination- Now things has really started and the mass of killing happens fast and legally. “The others had to jump in the graves while still they were alive…” “Prisoners that worked there poured gasoline over the live ones and the dead ones” (Spiegelman 232). This shows how easy it was for others to kill each other and how much people were

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