Throughout This way to the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen they mention the theme of torture/guilt. For example, once they arrive at the train station with “ Canada Kommando”, the SS guards tell them to clean out the second cattle car. Tadek mentions how he felt the need to throw up because a dead body’s finger were very close to his. Once the transport arrived, the prisoners were crying out for fresh air and water. They were also kept in the dark about a lot of the things that were going on around them. The prisoners that were being unloaded began asking Tadek what was going on and he simply stated he did not speak polish. Once all the prisoners were unloaded the SS guards orders the Kommando to begin the cleaning up the car. The Kommando climbed …show more content…
into the car and began carrying out squashed and trampled infants. Afterward, the guards ordered them to take the infants and give them to the women. Many of the women wouldn't take the infants unless they were threatened by the guards. In the short passage of ‘ This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen’, Tadek expresses that he did not feel pity for those being taken to the gas chamber, he only felt anger.
He believes that the Jews were at fault for their own imprisonment and that it is their fault that he feels so badly about himself. Tadek says “...I am furious, simply furious with these people—furious because I must be here because of them. I feel no pity. I am not sorry they’re going to the gas chamber. Damn them all! I could throw myself at them, beat them with my fists.”(storybites). A very good example of physiological torture is when the very beautiful blonde girl steps off the train and asks Tadek what was going to happen to her and he does not tell her. If you really think about it, not knowing what was going to happen to you; that would mentally mess with a person. Tadek also tells us that even though they may work for the guards they still suffered. They were only allowed to live because they worked for the guards and that was even more dehumanizing than just being in the camp. Those who worked for the guards were forced to carry dead bodies to the crematorium as well as watch those around them starve and …show more content…
die. The workers did whatever they needed to do to survive otherwise their disobedience would have just simply signed their death warrants.
Tadek expresses that he is not guilty however he is overtaken with shame. In the beginning he is very anxious for the next transport of people so that he could get some of their belongings but little did he know that he would have to partially participate in the terrible treatment of the new people. The two main characters mainly relied on those who were murdered for their stuff as stated before. They begin seeking out new transports. The logic begins feeling very morally twisted. Borowski wrote, “I go back inside the train; I carry out dead infants; I unload luggage. I touch corpses, but I cannot overcome the mounting, uncontrollable terror. I try to escape from the corpses, but they are everywhere: lined up on the gravel, on the cement edge of the ramp, inside the cattle cars. Babies, hideous naked women, men twisted by convulsions. I run off as far as I can go, but immediately a whip slashes across my back. Out of the corner of my eye I see an S.S. man, swearing profusely. I stagger forward and run, lose myself in the Canada group. Now, at last, I can once more rest against the stack of rails.”
(Storybites.com). Another theme that plays a major part in this book is morality. In camp, morality does not exist. In the book Tadek and his follow prisoners look forward and rely on the deaths of others around them in order to survive. Thus, the murder of many Jews around them. At some points they were forced to take part in these horrifying acts and if they were to disobey that would result in the death of themselves. Our narrator was forced to detach himself both mentally and emotionally so that the results and guilt of his actions did not eat him alive. The narrator mentions the arrival of cattle cars as a diversion which resulted in the killing of thousands of innocent Jews simply for the guards entertainment. The only morality that appears is when the prisoners who knew what was going to happen kept it secret from those who did not simply for their own good. The narrator also points out some moral issues that arise when Tadek asks Henri if they were good people as stated before, Tadek did not feel pity for those who were going to be sent to the gas chambers, he was mad at them. He is under the impression that because of them he was forced onto the ramp at Auschwitz. I believe that the narrator asks if they were good people because they are being dehumanized so maybe it is possible that the narrator is beginning to blame himself for what is happening, maybe he believes he is a bad person or he is not good enough. Physical signs of morality are also shown from Tadek, he begins to feel sick while unloaded the cattle cars and eventually throws up after losing control of his nausea. Many of the people became so dehumanized that they stopped caring about those around them. As previously stated, many of them mentally and emotionally detached themselves to help protect themselves for their own good. Relating to the title of the book, I think that it sounds very ironic, all the women and men are treated and tormented in a very inhumane way. It almost sounds like they are being invited somewhere nice when in reality they are being invited to be tortured and are being directed toward their deathbed. It is almost as if they are being invited to a theme park when in reality they are being invited to torture and gut wrenching starvation. In this book we see many instances of torture and lack of morality. Throughout the book the author displays the torture and lack of morality in the form of stark realism. Stark realism is explaining or displaying something in a harsh manner. As seen in the story where we are introduced to Tadek having to clean out the cattle cars.
There are unexpected aspects of life in the camp depicted in “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlement” by Tadeusz Borowski. The prisoners were able to make very obvious improvements to their lived in the camp, without reaction by the SS officers; the market was even made with the support of the camp. The prisoners actually hoped for a transport of prisoners, so as to gain some supplies. The true nature of the camp is never forgotten, even in better moments at the camp.
And when I saw these things that were taken from the prisoners (there is also one room just filled with hair), all the pieces came together in my mind, and I realized the first time on an emotional basis the whole horror… I found the toughest guy in our group, who would normally never show feelings, standing in front of a display cabinet with baby shoes crying. When the tour ended, we didn't know how to look our Polish friends in the eyes again… When our Polish friends saw us again after their tour and saw that we were all shocked and some still crying, they came up to us and told us that we shouldn't be ashamed at all and that we are not responsible for the deeds of our ancestors. It took me a few years to get to the point where I could really feel that way, but I got there
On their way to the concentration camp, a German officer said, “’There are eighty of you in the car… If anyone is missing, you’ll all be shot like “dogs” ”’ (Wiesel 24). This shows that the Germans compared the Jews to dogs or animals, and that the German have no respect towards the Jews. Arrived at the concentration camp, the Jews were separated from their friends and family. The first thing of the wagon, a SS officer said, “’Men to the left! Women to the right!”’ (Wiesel 29). After the separation, Eliezer saw the crematories. There he saw “’a truck [that] drew close and unloaded its hold: small children, babies … thrown into the flames.” (Wiesel 32). This dehumanize the Jews, because they were able to smell and see other Jews burn in the flames. Later on the Jew were forced to leave their cloth behind and have been promise that they will received other cloth after a shower. However, they were force to work for the new cloth; they were forced to run naked, at midnight, in the cold. Being force to work for the cloth, by running in the cold of midnight is dehumanizing. At the camp, the Jews were not treated like human. They were force to do thing that was unhuman and that dehumanized
Wiesel suggests that,“Toward five o’clock in the morning, we were driven out of the barracks. The Kapos beat us once more, but I ceased to feel any pain from their blows.” (27) This quote reveals that the officers did not care what time of day it was if they felt like punishing the prisoners they did. Elie was at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he wasn’t supposed to see and was punished. “A-7713! I came forward. A box! He ordered. They brought him a box. Lie down on it! On your stomach! I obeyed. Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes of the whip” (Wiesel 42). This quote shows the cruel punishment that Elie and other Jews endured in the Holocaust. The Nazi’s were cruel and inhumane to the Jews when it came to feeding them and clothing them during the cold winters. “Mountains of prison clothes. On we ran. As we passed, trousers, tunic, shirt, and socks were thrown at us”( Wiesel 27) “ Such outfits! Meir Katz, a giant, had a child’s trousers, and Stern, a think little chap, a tunic which completely swamped him” (Wiesel 27) This quote shows that the Nazi’s did not care if they got the right size shirt or pants or not they passed them out and you got what you
How can inhumanity be used to make one suffer? The book Night by Elie Wiesel is about a young Jewish boy named Elie who struggles to survive in Auschwitz, a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Throughout the memoir, there are many instances where inhumanity is portrayed. The theme seen in this novel is inhumanity through discrimination, fear, and survival. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish boy, lived in Sighet during World War II with his mother, father, and two sisters, and he is very religious and wanted to study Judaism.
Nearly all of the deportees who were sent to the centers were instantaneously guided to the gas chambers to die, except for a select few who were chosen to be sonderkommandos. Over two million Jews were murdered inside killing centers either by smothering with poison gas or by shooting with guns (Killing Centers ). The gas-van was a product of the Third Reich; it consisted of a van with a gas-tight cabin attached on its understructure used to kill victims by the motor-exhausts led into that cabin (The Development of the Gas-Van in the Murdering of the Jews). The Germans executed over 150,000 people at Chelmno between December 1941 and March 1943 and then again in June and July 1944 by means of gassing vans (Killing Centers ). The Germans also found the use of gas chambers to be more effective and usually killed thousands of people daily. Within minutes of being inside a gas chamber, pris...
Dehumanization was a big part of these camps. The Nazis would kick innocent Jewish families and send them to concentration or death camps. The main way they dehumanized these Jewish people is when they take all their possessions. In Night they go around taking all there gold and silver, make them leave their small bags of clothing on the train, and finally give them crappy clothing. All this reduces their emotions; they go from owing all these possessions to not having a cent to their name. If I was in that situation I would just be in shock with such a huge change in such a short amount of time. The next way they dehumanized the Jewish people were they stopped using names and gave them all numbers. For example in Night Eliezer’s number was A-7713. Not only were all their possessions taken, but also their names. Your name can be something that separates you from another person. Now they are being kept by their number, almost as if that’s all they are, a number. If I was in their place I would question my importance, why am I here, am I just a number waiting to be replaced? The third way they were dehumanized was that on their “death march” they were forced to run nonstop all day with no food or water. If you stopped or slowed down, you were killed with no regards for your life. The prisoners were treated like cattle. They were being yelled at to run, run faster and such. They were not treated as equal humans. If the officers were tired, they got replaced. Dehumanization affected all the victims of the Holocaust in some sort of way from them losing all their possessions, their name, or being treated unfairly/ like animals.
The sullen narrative This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen poignantly recounts the events of a typical day in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The author, Tadeusz Borowski, was Polish Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz, the series of death camps responsible for the deaths of the largest number of European Jews. Recounted from a first-person point of view, the novel unfolds at dawn as the unnamed narrator eats breakfast with a friend and fellow prisoner, Henri. Henri is a member of Canada, the labor group responsible for unloading the Jewish transports as they arrive into the camps. They are interrupted by a call for Canada to report to the loading ramps. Upon the arrival of the transport, the narrator joins Henri in directing the prisoners to either life, in the labor camps, or to death, in the gas chambers. In reality the path is neither one of life or death, rather it is routing prisoners to inevitable death or immediate death. Regardless of how many times he is asked, the narrator refuses to disclose to the transport prisoners what is happening to them or where they are being taken. This is camp law, but the narrator also believes it to be charitable to “deceive (them) until the very end”(pg. 115). Throughout the day the narrator encounters a myriad of people, but one is described in great detail: a young woman, depicted as being unscathed by the abomination that is the transport. She is tidy and composed, unlike those around her. Calmly, she inquires as to where she is being taken, like many before her, but to no avail. When the narrator refuses to answer, she stoically boards a truck bound for the gas chambers. By the end of both the day and of the novel, the camp has processed approximately fifteen thousand p...
Imagine the worst torture possible. Now imagine the same thing only ten times worse; In Auschwitz that is exactly what it was like. During the time of the Holocaust thousands of Jewish people were sent to this very concentration camp which consisted of three camps put into one. Here they had one camp; Auschwitz I; the main camp, Auschwitz II; Birkenau, and last is Auschwitz III; Monowitz. Each camp was responsible for a different part but all were after the same thing; elimination of the Jewish race. In these camps they had cruel punishments, harsh housing, and they had Nazi guards watching them and killing them on a daily basis.
Others weep for the ones lost. They then got prison clothes that were ridiculously fitted. They made exchanges and went to a new barracks in the “gypsies’ camp.” They waited in the mud for a long time. They were permitted to another barracks, with a gypsy in charge of them.
(It should be noted that when describing hardships of the concentration camps, understatements will inevitably be made. Levi puts it well when he says, ?We say ?hunger?, we say ?tiredness?, ?fear?, ?pain?, we say ?winter? and they are different things. They are free words, created and used by free men who lived in comfort and suffering in their homes. If the Lagers had lasted longer a new, harsh language would have been born; only this language could express what it means to toil the whole day?? (Levi, 123).)
Majdanek was a very harsh concentration camp for the Soviet Union and the Jews. Majdanek was more a working camp than a death camp. Also it was the only camp that held a few American prisoners of war. Majdanek was located in the Polish city of Lublin and was open from October 1, 1941 to July 23, 1944 or open for thirty-four months (Holocaust-History). Many of the Soviet prisoners of war were too weak to work so they were shot. The secret service and police rounded up about 300 Jews and from the 300 they chose 150 to be the first Jews at Majdanek. Both the Jews and Soviet prisoners were forced to do labor work (Holocaust Encyclopedia).
The Europeans had bad concentration camps. They would barely feed the prisoners, and would work them to the bone. “Before being sent to a camp, a captured prisoner of
Within the graphic memoir Maus Artie Spiegelman discusses the controversial theme of racism during the Holocaust. Tim Holden once said, “The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction.” Artie’s father Vladek was a Jewish prisoner during the war; he experienced cruel and unusual punishment, harsh treatment, and abuse simply because of he was Jewish. After experiencing racism first hand it seems surprising and ironic that Vladek would be racist and try to generalize a person because of their ethnicity. Despite being a victim of racism during the Holocaust Vladek doesn’t have racial tolerance.
If This Is a Man or Survival in Auschwitz), stops to exist; the meanings and applications of words such as “good,” “evil,” “just,” and “unjust” begin to merge and the differences between these opposites turn vague. Continued existence in Auschwitz demanded abolition of one’s self-respect and human dignity. Vulnerability to unending dehumanization certainly directs one to be dehumanized, thrusting one to resort to mental, physical, and social adaptation to be able to preserve one’s life and personality. It is in this adaptation that the line distinguishing right and wrong starts to deform. Primo Levi, a survivor, gives account of his incarceration in the Monowitz- Buna concentration camp.