Dehumanization diminishes the humanity of others into mere objects of indifference. Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, depicts the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young, innocent Jewish boy. He recounts the horrors he’d witnessed, and the fragility of human decency in the face of suffering. Their dehumanized treatment began as Wiesel and the other captives were loaded onto cattle cars and deported out of Sighet. A cattle car is meant for animals, providing conditions that are too harsh for humans. Such oppressive conditions affect the passengers negatively. On the train, a woman separated from her family mourns her loss. At first, fellow captives try to console her as she becomes psychotic from stress, “‘She is mad, poor woman.’ Someone …show more content…
This woman was a part of their community and a friend. This scene demonstrates that under conditions of starvation, dehydration, and extreme stress, people lose their sense of morality and empathy. The effects of abuse and starvation that Wiesel and the other prisoners experienced for months are displayed in Buna. During the time in this concentration camp, Wiesel and the other Jews watch as a young boy is hung in front of them, “his extinguished eyes, the tongue hanging from his gaping mouth. The Kapos forced everyone to look squarely at him in the face” (Wiesel 63). Instead of mourning for the gruesome end of the boy, many were consumed by their hunger, showing little empathy as they only cared about when they would be able to eat since his hanging was before the Jews were allowed dinner. The lack of regard for human life goes even further as Wiesel states, “I remember that on that evening, the soup tasted better than ever” (Wiesel 63) since he had to wait longer to eat. Hunger has overpowered any sense of compassion, leading them to only think of