Jonah Wright English II Mrs. M. Scott February 21, 2023 Dehumanization of the Jews in Night Dehumanization is the denial of full humaneness in others and the cruelty and suffering that accompanies it. Throughout the book Night by Elie Wiesel, these accounts of dehumanization, starvation, and deprivation are shown. In the year 1944, The SS Officers transported the people of Sighet to a concentration camp called Auschwitz. There at Auschwitz was a form of punishment for the Jews, they experienced physical and mental torture identity loss and denial of food and water. These cruel treatments led to the dehumanization of the Jews which is exactly what Hitler planned. The initiation process into their camp was already torture for most. The Jews were separated into lines of men and women, and women and children were sent the "showers" to be killed off. For many of the Jews, it would be the last time their friends and family were ever seen again. Elie writes: "I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever" (Wiesel 22). In addition, Elie saw the children being murdered in the furnaces and with this, his faith shriveled. Elie states: "Yes I saw it, saw it with my own eyes, children in the flames" (Wiesel 24). Without a doubt, it is clear that the initiation was torture, and most were already at their breaking point before the concentration camp had even started. …show more content…
The SS officers stripped the Jews of their clothes and accessories, also shaving their hair. Elie writes: "They took our hair off with clippers, and shaved all the hair off on our bodies" (Wiesel 26). With the loss of their clothes and hair, their identity is finally stripped from the Jews when they are given names. Elie states "I became A-7713. After that I had no other name" (Wiesel 31). The Nazis had completely taken away their identity, which was perfect as it was Hitler's way of belittling the