History Essay Sample: Dehumanization of Jews

The Nazis used propaganda to implicate Jews for the economic as well as social constraints that were experienced in Germany and the world at large. The propaganda aimed at dehumanizing Jews by referring to them as the inferior race. The core objective of the Nazis was to spread anti-Semitism and elimination of rights as well as the freedom of the Jews in Germany. Use of propaganda and anti-Semitism in Europe resulted in violence, humiliation and the persecution of the Jewish community. These actions drove the Jewish community into poverty and despair since their businesses were boycotted, intermarriage between the Jews and the Nazis was prohibited and the Jews were excluded from schools. Therefore, it is very clear that the actions partaken against the Jews due to propaganda and anti-Semitism were really dehumanizing. The Nazis had no right to exercise the tremendous outright discrimination against the deemed inferior race, Jews (Martin).

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The Jews were forced to evacuate from their homes and live in concentrated camps whereby they were badly treated. According to the book Night by Elie Wiesel, he clearly expresses the inhuman manner in which they were treated in the camps. All the Jews were brutalized by the Nazis who perceived them as the nuisance and worthless. Men and women were separated in these camps while their children were ruthlessly killed. Mature kids were tossed into the fire while conscious thus burning alive. This act by the Nazis against the Jews was really dehumanizing. The Nazis seemed not to care about the pains they implicated on the Jews thus undermining their existence. In addition, it is evident that the Jews who passed the Nazis inspection were treated as slaves and had to obey every order coming from the Nazis without any questions or complaint. According to Schindlers list movie, Schindler was a member of the Nazi party whose main aim was to take advantage of the polish Jews forced relocation to Krakow ghetto. This is a clear indication that the Nazis were self-centered and only embraced what favored them. Notably, Schindler was not pleased by the manner in which Krakow Ghetto was liquidated by Amos Goeth the SS officer who was in charge of Plaszow. However, he did not intercede to plead for the Jews but rather bribed Goeth to allow continuation of his factory. In my opinion, the act of mistreating others for ones benefit is a dehumanizing act since it shows no respect for the other person (Helmreich, Rosenblum, and Schimel).

Notably, one of the most dehumanizing action that the Jews were forced to do is dig trenches which ultimately became their deathbeds. The act of tossing infants in the air and converting them to be targeted was also an inhumane act. In my opinion, making people dig their own graves and killing them without any remorse is very cruel. However, playing with infants as if they were toys and later killing them is beyond cruelty. Such heinous acts are the clear depiction of how the Nazis disregarded lives of the Jews. In his book, Wiesel narrates the story told by Moishe the battle regarding what was happening in the concentrated camps. Moishe was one of the captives who dug their own grave but by a miracle, he managed to escape. From this story, it is clearly evident that the Nazis were so heartless and lacked value for the life of Jews. They viewed them as objects that did not deserve to live. In addition, they regarded them as labor objects for example in the film Schindlers list; the Jews were segregated in accordance to their ability to work during the liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto led by Goeth (Helmreich, Rosenblum, and Schimel).

The Nazis lacked human conscience anyone normal would feel guilty of killing innocent people and much more infants who were unaware of anything. However, Schindler was quite different since after hearing of Goeths plan to execute all the Nazis including those working in his factory, he pleaded to relocate his factory with his workers to his hometown Moravia in Poland Goeth agreed to it thus Stern the Council leader of the Jews in Krakow Ghetto together with Schindler formulated a list of those who would be sent to Moravia instead of Auschwitz for execution (Martin).

In conclusion, it is crystal clear that the Nazis used propaganda to dehumanize the Jews who formed the inferior race in Germany. Some of the most heinous and ruthless dehumanizing acts that they embarked on included, boycotting the Jewish business, discriminating them from attending schools or obtaining medical attention from the hospitals in Germany, Jewish doctors and teachers were also forced to attend to the Jews only. However, the most dehumanizing act exercised against the Jews was maltreatment and mass killings for no reason. The Jews were normally forced to dig their own graves in which they were buried after being killed. Innocent infants were also used as targets to test operational effectiveness of machine guns as it can be deduced from Wiesels book, Night. The more mature children were killed alive thus being exposed to intense unbearable pain. Such actions, in my opinion, are beyond cruelty and the Nazis clearly lacked regard for the Jews life (Resnick).

Work Cited

Helmreich, William B., Mark Rosenblum, and David Schimel. The Jewish Condition: Challenges and Responses-1938-2008. Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print.

Martin, John D. Representations of Jews in Late Medieval and Early Modern German Literature. Peter Lang, 2006. Print.

Resnick, Irven M. "Odo of Tournai and the Dehumanization of Medieval Jews: A Reexamination." Jewish Quarterly Review 98.4 (2008): 471-484.