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Ava Salamey
Mrs. Newbound
Honors English 9
11 February 2025
Dehumanization
Dehumanization can be found everywhere in the world, but it was especially
prevalent in Germany during World War II. Jews were treated worse than livestock as
they were transported to various camps. The treatment within the camps was even
worse. They were seen as less than human by the German soldiers. There are many
stories and books written by people who survived the horror that was the Holocaust, but
one in particular takes the cake in showing just how cruel the camps were. As described
in Elie Wiesel’s Night, the enslaved Jews are treated like less than dirt while at various
camps, exposing how quickly people can become like animals and turn on their own
kind.
The Jews were terribly treated and abused by the guards both in and out of the
camps. When Elie arrived at the first camp, he and the people with him were taken out
of their cars by “[s]trange-looking creatures, dressed in striped jackets and black
pants… [h]olding flashlights and sticks, [and] they began to strike at us left and right”
(Wiesel 28). The guards were solely focused on hurting the Jews and showing them
suffering, even if that was merely a fraction of what they would face within the camp.
They didn’t care about the fact that the Jews were human as well, they only cared about
doing their job. Wiesel and his fellow Jews were beaten without so much as a second
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thought, with Elie having said, “[w]e received more blows than food” (77). The guards
did not see the prisoners as human, lashing them with reckless abandon. They did not
care about how the Jews would be affected physically or mentally from the constant
harassment. The prisoners were abused not only by the guards, but also by the people
who were supposed to be on their side.
Jews were turned on by their own brothers, furthering their suffering. Whilst on
their way to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Mrs. Schachter began to scream about a fire, causing
some of the other prisoners to deliver “several blows to [her] head, blows that could
have been lethal” (26). The prisoners–Jews, just like Mrs. Schachter–beat, as well as
gagged, the madwoman. Even though they should have stuck together through the
tough times, they did the opposite. Idek, a Kapo–otherwise known as prisoner who
worked as a guard–got frustrated one day and decided to “[throw]himself on
me[Elie]…beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking
me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood”
(53). The Kapo was working with the enemy, completely disregarding his people. He
beat Wiesel for no apparent reason, even though they should be working together to
overcome the hardships they were facing. Even though there were many soldiers and
guards working to imprison the Jews, there was one person pulling the strings.
Hitler cared only for himself, doing whatever he wanted at the expense of others.
The infamous dictator had only one goal in mind–to “[wage]... war not only against
Jewish men, women, and children, but also against Jewish religion, Jewish culture,
Jewish tradition, [and] therefore Jewish memory” (Preface). Hitler used the commotion
of World War II to start the Holocaust in an attempt to kill all of the Jews and uplift the
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Aryan race. He abhorred the Jewish people so much that he wanted them all gone from
the face of the earth. As rumors of the Red Army approaching began to circulate,
someone told Elie that “Hitler has made it clear that he will annihilate all Jews before the
clock strikes twelve” (80). The Jewish people were abused at every possible time and in
every possible way during the Holocaust.
In conclusion, the Holocaust was a horrific event in which Jews were horribly
mistreated, that should never be repeated, even if current world situations are coming
close to copying it. Elie’s warnings should be heeded; the suffering should not be
forgotten. Everyone should stick by their people, supporting and uplifting them, rather
than hurting and ignoring them. The cruelty that the Jewish people faced should never
be experienced by even the worst criminals. Humanity should learn from their mistakes
and never replay the abhorrence that was the Holocaust.
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Work Cited
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Hill and Wang. 2006. Schoology, https://www.schoology.com. PDF
download.
