Transformations of Individual Identity caused by Experiencing Humanitarian Catastrophe: Examples from Elie Wiesel’s Memoir, Night Humphry Shan CHC 2DE-D: Canadian History since WWI May 2, 2022 When people hear the word “genocide”, few things come to mind quicker than the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the genocide to end all genocides, which lives forever in infamy, known for being the most catastrophic, lethal, and egregious example of genocide. Throughout their time in power, the Nazi regime in the German Reich sought to annihilate the Jewish, Romani, LGBTQ+, and disabled population of Europe, which we now know as the Holocaust. Increasing anti-Jewish laws and persecution culminated in the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” …show more content…
After the death march to Buchenwald concentration camp, Wiesel’s father Shlomo’s health and strength begin rapidly deteriorating as he gets sick with dysentery. Wiesel is a very conscientious person, and he continues giving his father his ration and attending to him until the very end. Despite this, even cracks in Wiesel’s conscience begin forming as a result of the desperation and life or death reality that he faced. When the Blockälteste of the barrack tells Wiesel that he should stop sacrificing himself for his father, Wiesel thinks to himself “He was right, I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself. Too late to save your old father … You could have two rations of bread, two rations of soup …” As Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states, human’s physiological needs take precedence over the interpersonal. When faced with such prolonged hunger and malnourishment, even Wiesel knows deep down that it might be worth it to give up on him, and let him die, which he does a day later. Wiesel does not dare admit it to himself because he does not want to believe that he is capable of even considering abandoning his father, yet he is capable, showing how drastically he changed during his period fighting for survival in concentration …show more content…
These changes result from a loss of faith in God, or God’s mercy, a loss of home and meaningful personal possessions, and a loss of conscience and personality. The Holocaust and all humanitarian catastrophes are often known for the sheer number of deaths that occurred, the number of displaced peoples, or whatever relevant statistics. These looks into the personal effects these events have on their victims make them closer and more personal, and are crucial in preventing them from occurring in the future. They are also important as they help people sympathize with survivors of other humanitarian catastrophes, and be better informed of the effects that such things have on people. The Holocaust was a tragedy that destroyed an entire generation of innocent Jewish, Romani, LGBTQ+, and disabled people in Europe. One can only hope the lessons learned from it can help future generations ensure such events remain relegated to history. Never
In this part of the book, it really shows how people were stripped of their identities. Their personal belongings, clothing, and even their hair. They cut off people 's hair so everyone was identical; men and women, they all looked the same. The German’s even numbered each person’s arm like an animal in a barn. Everything that makes a person who they are is taken away from them.
During the Holocaust many people lost everything, including belongings, family, friends, and even their lives. Even more people lost their identities. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie loses his identity because of the Germans. They took all of his possessions and his family. They even replaced his name with a number.
So, how was Wiesel denied his individuality? Well in the book it says “ We no longer have the right to frequent restaurants or cafes, to travel by rail, to attend synagogue, to be on the streets after six o’clock in the evening.” (Wiesel 11). The way this quote from the book proves that he was denied individuality is that the Jews didn’t have a choice about what they could and could not do while the Nazis took over. Then soon after, the ghettos were made and every single Jew was forced to live there for three days.
A theme within the book Night was about identity. The main character Eliezer and the rest of his fellow prisoner were stripped of their identities. Eliezer had his head shaved, he is dressed like all the other prisoners, his faith was taken away, and his innocence was also stripped from him. When entering the camp, Eliezer were all given numbers tattooed onto the instead of names to be called by. Everybody is no longer individuals, they are all one group or just bodies.
Indian social reformer B.R. Ambedkar once said of individuality: “Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.” Furthermore, Webster’s dictionary defines it as “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.” In Night by Elie Wiesel, it seems that both the author and his fellow Semites’ sense of selves are virtually erased by Hitler and the Nazi Party.
SECTION 1. “Defining Identity” (3-22) Emotion - a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. How do stereotypes affect relationships and the way a person views himself and others? Throughout section 1, we have seen that Elie Wiesel had been a very emotional character.
Many people have heard of the Holocaust but have never thought about how it affected an individual who went through it. The Holocaust is the most well-known genocide, although there are many other instances of mass killings, including the Bosnian Genocide. Bosnian Serb forces, with the backing of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, targeted both Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Croatian civilians for wicked crimes resulting in the deaths of some 100,000 people (80 percent Bosniak) by 1995. It was the worst act of genocide since the Nazi regime’s destruction of 6 million European Jews during World War II. In the memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel reveals the negative impact the Holocaust had on his identity.
“...I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me.” Elie Wiesel ends the novel Night off with a notably grave, yet powerful statement. One would say that this quote symbolizes the theft the Jews endured through the event known as the Holocaust.
The life of a Holocaust survivor is often thought of as a life that is filled with sorrow and suffering. This is not a false belief, as it is based off of truth. The Holocaust was a time period in which suffering lay at every corner. It was a major tragedy that demonstrates the dangers we humans hold when we fail to be tolerant and accepting of others. The Holocaust was an event happening before the start of the second World War and was caused when Hitler managed to convince people that the Jews were responsible for the events that had transpired.
Did you know that the Holocaust affected many people 's lives, mostly in a bad way? The Holocaust was a tragic event that happened in the 1940’s in Germany. Adolf Hitler the Chancellor of Germany during that time and his Nazi’s party killed about six million Jews because they blamed the Jews for Germany’s loss of World War I and all of the other faults of Germany. The article, “Broken Glass, Broken Lives” and the video “I Survived The Holocaust” showed that the Holocaust was a tragic event that ruined many people 's lives.
One reoccurring theme that is present in the Holocaust is a change of identity with everyone involved. The incidents people confronted, especially the Jews, during this harsh time was life changing and traumatic. The identity of many in the concentration camps changed; young and innocent children developed into mature men. Elie Wiesel in the novella, Night, faces a change of identity within himself and the surrounding people, the Jews, through a variety of events that he encounters.
The Holocaust was one of the most tragic events in history. It just so happened to be the cause of six million deaths. While there are countless beings who experienced such trauma, it is impossible to hear everyone's side of the story. However, one man, in particular, allowed himself to speak of the tragedies. Elie Wiesel addressed the transformation he underwent during the Holocaust in his memoir, Night.
“A traumatic experience robs you of your identity” (Dr.Bill). Concentration camps during the agonizing Holocaust disallowed their prisoners to obtain a personal identity. The renowned memoir, Night, written by Holocaust survivor, Eliezer Wiesel, published in 1954 expands the apprehension of the life altering challenges and torment the Jewish society encountered from 1933 to 1945. Identity consists of an individual's distinctive characteristics, beliefs and mannerisms which was forbidden for the Jewish hostages of the Holocaust to attain. Elie’s identity was shaped and reshaped by the traumatic experiences the Jewish community persevered through.
Wiesel addresses not only his own situation, but also the effect survival had inwards other fathers and sons in the camp. The memoir
Elie Wiesel started out as an innocent 15 year old who constantly studied the talmud and was dedicated for his religion of judaism. However, how can someone keep of hold of such an identity when having to go through world war 2, and being sent to a concentration camp where many people see it as hell. Also, being labeled as just a number, and not even to be considered as a breathing human being thought to have any sort of emotion. Showing that you may have an identity going in, but it’s mostly likely going to vanish if you get out. That being said, the book Night by Elie Wiesel expresses the identity with Elie Wiesel through religion, but experiences a struggle keeping it while going to the concentration camp of