Consider the following from on online source:
"Convincing an average citizen to commit a violent act or to murder a fellow human being is extremely difficult. Our moral code tells us that such acts are immoral and indefensible. However, through the skillful use of dehumanization, leaders throughout history have succeeded in doing just that. Once the enemy has been stripped of humanity and becomes an object worthy of punishment, the idea of mistreating or even destroying this threat becomes morally justifiable." (from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dehumanization.htm on November 6, 2008)
Discuss at least three specific examples of events that occurred which dehumanized Eliezer, his father, or his fellow Jews.
In your response you should also consider what effect this has upon the Jews such as how it impacts their mental state, interactions with one another and their self-concept, as well as how it may influence non-Jews to treat them.
Posts should be 7-10 sentences each.
For further reading on dehumanization you may consider online sources on the topic such as Wikipedia to inform your opinions.
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There were many examples of how a person or even the person itself, can be dehumanized. One example of jewish people being morally dehumanized is the incident of the soup. A person, who was starving, mistreated, and knows the consiquences for approaching the soup can be consider a dehumanization process. The prisoner didn't care whether he was shot, or beaten up; He just wanted that extra portion of soup.
One of the events that dehumanized all that were held in the concentration camp was the tattoo of a number painted on their bodies as identification. Secondly, was the event when Eliezer, his father, and fellow Jews were placed on the wagon being transferred to another concentration camp and the Germans would throw pieces of bread and watch violent men fight in reach of a piece.
Another occurence of an event with dehumanization is the jewish boy leaving his father behind the line. Although it was instinct and love that kept most jewish families alive, with this little boy it was more of every man for itself. He portrayed betrayel towards his father, because he didn't want to carry a heavy burden on his shoulders. The fact of just leaving his father, would be out of the question from a religion who basically idolizes family bonding. How it effected Eli would be getting closer to his father. He see's the betrayel, and prays to God that he doesn't go through the same tragedy.
One example which the fellow jews were dehumanized was when they were in the cattle car, the ss officers were throwing bread and all of the jews were fighting each other and jumping on top of each other in order to get the bread. The jews were going against each other for a piece of bread. They were so hungry that their first reaction was to go after it just as animals do when they are hungry they go after their prey. This form of behavior from the jews proved to the non-jews that they were indeed animals because of this
type of behavior. Just as an animal.This effected their mental state because their hunger came before realization. It took over them. There behavior were not no longer human. They no longer thought or cared or anyone, they just wanted to get a taste of the bread.
An example of the Jews being dehumanized was when they had to have their bodies marked with stamps. The stamp was so the Germans can know who they were by their numbers. I bet that made them feel less than a person. Only animals get their bodies marked and I believe they felt like animals having their bodies marked involuntarily. By the Germans treating the Jews like animals this would allow anyone else to do the same.
There were so many acts of dehumaniziations that took place in under circumstances. From the very point of when they were separted from their families, their homes. They were then again tranferred from concentration camp to another and yet another. They were no longer known by their names but as numbers. The mere fact that they weren't allowed to speak or defend themselves, fathers, brothers. They were only feed small rations of bread and soup. They were made to watch hangings and other acts of dehumanization that took place from camp to camp. Often they were beat mercilessly for reasons only because they may have been too tired or too sick too keep up, work, etc...
Francis, does the fact that the crowd and some of the Nazi Soldiers would not kill the pipel and that the crowd reacted emotionally, treating the hanging differently than the other described figure into your first post?
In the concentration camp is a great example of being dehumanized . People in the concentration camp had tattoos as ID and people would know who they are due to that number. Thats not usually how people are identified, so thats a good example of being dehumanized. The people were treated like animals. The only thing that gets their attention is food, so they used that to their advantage.
Jewish families are to be known as family oriented. An example of the Jews being dehumanized is when Eli begins to think selfishly and doesn't want to carry the responsibilty of his father.The Germans completly conquered everything they wanted from the Eli telling him that their is no such thing as family and that it's every man for himself. Eli hears his father calling his name and decides to not react.
The main theme of this book is dehumanizing. We see it through the persecution and torture of the Jews that Hitler made them go through. Instead of geating ride of them by killing them all at once, he made them starve and work hard. I think thats the worst anybody can go through, seeing loved ones dye and living in fear each day not knowing if you will live the next.
Kleber, *How* does starving and risking your life reflect the behavior of one who has been dehumanized...?
Another way they were dehumanized was when they were moving from one location to another they were piled onto the wagons. There were at least 100 people on each wagon. They didn't give them any room to move or breathe. There was no care in the world on how they felt about being crowded on the wagon. Then when they started to throw the bread onto the wagon it definitely showed that they didn't care about them getting hurt. There were people on top of people trying to fight for a portion of bread.
Amanda, *how* does the number fit in to the dehuminization process. PLease explain...
Remember, all post should be sepreate and 7-10 sentences each.
A good example of the way they dehumanized the Jewish people is when they tattooed numbers on their left arms. From that point they were no longer known as Elizer, Moshe the Beadle, Rabbi Eliahou, to name a few. They lowered their value by numbering them and practically saying that they own them. By marking them with numbers they showed them that they weren't good enough to be called by names. Comparing them with animals because only animals get carved with a symbol on them representing who they belong to.
Another example is they lost thought and turned animalistic. the prisoners were ordered to march, if a prisoner fell he was trampled to death. No one cared about you, they only thought of themsleves, it was survival. I imagine that the thought was
" forget everybody else, I need to get through this."
All they cared for was food. We see sons turning against their fathers. Even Elie who throughout the book looks after his father, making sure he was safe making sure he isn't thrown off the train as a corpse, at the end he has thoughts of being rid of his father.
Elie was dehumanized when he caught the Idek fooling around with the girl. Idek beat Elie in front of everyone. Elie basicly got a beaten for witnessing someone else's act. The bad part about it Elie wasn't able to speakon what the beaten was for.
Another example was towards the end, when they were on the wagon going to what i believe was the last concetration camp. The outsiders were throwing pieces of bread at them and watching them fight one another for it. As human beings, we have the ability to reason but in their case, they had no other choice but to fight for that piece of bread because they were starving. The fact that these outside people stood there to watch them fight for it made it more cruel. They weren't doing this because they wanted to help them, they were doing it as a sign of entertainment.
The mental state of the Jews was that of confusion,selfishness it very easily became every man for themself. It no longer mattered that your father, or son, was there enduring the same types of inhumane physical and mental abuse as the next. The torturing, and often starvation of those around everywhere. The fact they could not help themselves let alone anyone else. There were some who began to lose their faith, some who believed there was no need to live and would have been better off dead.
The painting of a number on the Jews body dehumanizes them because they no longer are identified by a name but, now by a number. When you are identified by a number it makes a comparison to animals because that is how they are identified. Also, when the number is stamped on their bodies they no longer have any characterisitic or qualities they once had that defined each of them as their own person. The tattoo was degarding and humiliating.
Other way that the Jews were dehumanizating the jews was went there were force to run kilometers at a time with hardly any stregth and with barely any clothes.Like animals but a little bit skinner.Imagine the conditons,20 degrees and you havent had a good meal in months,lost problaby 40 50 even 60 pounds,work 18 hours and are running not walking wit a tee and torn up pants.To add, in Eli case a foot than need care of a doctor bleeding and getting infected badly.If that not dehumanization that I dont know what is.
Starving and risking a life for just food to me, can be interprit as dehumanization by the way Eli presented the case. The fact that the man knew he was going to die, and risking his possiblity of living can be suicidal. Everyone knew that something was going to happen if the man reached the soup, but noone would stop him. They wanted to see if the rest can get soup, if the man survived. They were willing to sacrafice one man, for all.
Kleber, make more of a connection between dehumanization and your second example. How does it show that there is a loss of humanity?
Andrea, Be sure you are discussing 3 specific instance in detail and in 3 posts of 7-10 sentences.
I would say one way they were dehumnized is when elie was nearly beaten to death for finding the ss office having sex with that girl. It dehuminzes him because he beats him infrtont of evryone like he is an animal or how the slaves were beat. It shows how they have no feeling of what they do to the jewish people. To alot of people i think after that they would have felt a diffrent way as a human being to be treated that way .
I would say having them run for long periods of time.People were running freezing cold.Almost like a stampeed of animals if u fell u were dead because everyone just kept running. All of the jews weere in the only conditon of starving bruised torn clothes. Thats treating them like there nothing but workers and animals by that time it was everyman for himself.
I guess what I'm trying to say for my second example, is the boy leaving his father to get shot. What kind of son, loved or hated would leave a father behind, to die. It's abandonment towards a love one like some animals do.
My third example of the way they dehumanized them was when an SS soldier was hitting Eliezer's father. He was asking his son for help and for water and Eliezer didn't even move. Perhaps he was too scared he might get punished as well but in my opinion, that shouldn't stop him from helping his own father. These people got into everyone'e head that the only thing they could do was to think about themselves. Eliezer was scared for his own life that he had forgotten about his father's cry for help.
The third example was the situation of elie and the ss guard. Elie dicovered the ss guard having sexual relations with the polish woman on time of duty. The guard realized and took elie and beat him horribly. He explains that he got beaten so hard he could not even hear anything at one point. I beleive that the ss guard did not have to beat elie do that he won't tell anyone what he discovered. He beat him like an animal. The ss officer made everyone watch. Thiseffected the jews mental state because they became afraid more and more everyday. No one defended anyone. None of the jews helped elie.
Another duhumanizing event took place when they forced into cattle cars with little to no food. It was snowing like crazy. They all ate the wet snow off each other's clothing in order to stay nourished in some of way. To have some kind strength to face whatever was ahead of them as they traveled like herds, crammed together, dead amongest the living.
Another inccendent for a whole race to be dehumanized is the process of the numbering. Us humans are born with names, a birthdate, and a family to go to. When the concentration camp had begun, they were no longer called by there names, but by the number they were branded by. This relation can come close to a cow being branded to be kosher or not. How it affected the jewish community was just being tattooed. to a number. Taking away there names and for who they stand for is enough of a dehumanization to come across.
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