One of the darkest periods in human history was the Holocaust. Numerous groups, including Jews, were consistently dehumanized. In the memoir “Night” by Elie Wiesel, we get firsthand account of the traumatic and dehumanizing events that took place during the holocaust. From Elie and his family being forced out of their home to Elie and his father being separated from his mom and sister to the death of Elie’s father. In “Night” by Elie Wiesel, we will explore Elie facing challenges in his self-identity that demonstrates the traumatic and dehumanizing events he and millions of other experienced in the holocaust.
During their imprisonment, Elie seeing other jews being beaten made him realize how much the camp had changed him. When Elie and his
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One afternoon at a concentration camp, the Nazi’s had Jews line up and be tattooed by a veteran prisoner, they were tattooed numbers. “I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name.” (42) This quote shows the significance that the Nazi’s do not acknowledge the Jews as people who do not deserve names like the Germans do but numbers like animal being lined up. It also highlights the dehumanizing effects where individuals were reduced to numbers and treated as expendable. Elie’s experience shows how power can be used to devalue and oppress others. Being in a concentration, Jewish prisoners and others were forced to starve because Hitler thought that if he could starve them, he could rule over Germany. “I was nothing but a body. Perhaps even less: A famished stomach.” (52) This quote illustrates the dehumanization that he and other prisoners experienced during the holocaust. As a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp, Elie was stripped of his identity and reduced to a mere number. He was deprived of basic human needs such as food, warmth, and rest. The Nazi’s treated him and other Jews as if they were disposable objects, not worthy of respect or