Within a matter of years, millions of innocent people perished under the dehumanizing Nazi rule. Prisoners placed in concentration camps experienced extreme acts of brutality, causing them to perceive themselves as less than human. In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, recalls his time spent in an infamous concentration camp. Wiesel describes the dehumanizing methods which are used to degrade and annihilate countless prisoners. Overall the prisoners are stripped of their humanity and virtue, causing them to view themselves and others as less than human. In order to fully understand the full extent of dehumanization, one must be aware of the steps that lead up to the animalistic behaviors towards each other.
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Displaying extreme cruelty and dehumanization, a German officer states, “There are eighty of you in the car. [...] If anyone goes missing you will all be shot, like dogs” (Wiesel 22). The officers treat the prisoners unlike humans causing them to believe that are more like animals. Some prisoners display extreme acts of violence among other prisoners on the journey to Auschwitz. Several lack any emotion or restraint due to the lingering fear of the unknown. Finally the journey ends and the unknown becomes known; the nightmare truly begins. All prisoners are removed from the cattle cars upon arrival to Auschwitz, and anxiously await their …show more content…
Some fight each other to the death in order to survive, and others abandon those who they love to rid themselves of a burden. Many instances of animalistic behaviors occur along the death march to Buchenwald. They are given no choice but to march for countless miles or be shot without any haste. Describing the journey, Wiesel states, “If one of us stopped for a second, a sharp shot finished off another filthy son of a bitch” (81). The conditions along the march cause many to become exhausted and slow down, but the officers instantly shoot them without hesitation. Many prisoners, including Wiesel, begin to view themselves as worthless, and prefer death over the suffering inflicted among them. Also, they lack any signs of care for each other, and harm others with methods that were originally induced by the Nazis. While describing a fight between other prisoners, Wiesel mentions, “Wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes (95). The prisoners begin to act like animals and violently impose harm upon each other. As a matter a fact, the process of dehumanization causes the prisoners to act in inhumane manners and rid themselves of their
Displaying extreme cruelty and dehumanization, a German officer states, “There are eighty of you in the car. [...] If anyone goes missing you will all be shot, like dogs” (Wiesel 22). The officers treat the prisoners unlike humans causing them to believe that are more like animals. Some prisoners display extreme acts of violence among other prisoners on the journey to Auschwitz. Several lack any emotion or restraint due to the lingering fear of the unknown. Finally the journey ends and the unknown becomes known; the nightmare truly begins. All prisoners are removed from the cattle cars upon arrival to Auschwitz, and anxiously await their …show more content…
Some fight each other to the death in order to survive, and others abandon those who they love to rid themselves of a burden. Many instances of animalistic behaviors occur along the death march to Buchenwald. They are given no choice but to march for countless miles or be shot without any haste. Describing the journey, Wiesel states, “If one of us stopped for a second, a sharp shot finished off another filthy son of a bitch” (81). The conditions along the march cause many to become exhausted and slow down, but the officers instantly shoot them without hesitation. Many prisoners, including Wiesel, begin to view themselves as worthless, and prefer death over the suffering inflicted among them. Also, they lack any signs of care for each other, and harm others with methods that were originally induced by the Nazis. While describing a fight between other prisoners, Wiesel mentions, “Wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes (95). The prisoners begin to act like animals and violently impose harm upon each other. As a matter a fact, the process of dehumanization causes the prisoners to act in inhumane manners and rid themselves of their