“A new dimension has been added to our identity. A number freshly tattoed on our left arms. I am no longer anonymous. I have a name. It is A-17360.” Elli, I Have Lived a Thousand Years, Chapter entitled “Tattoo” ( AUGUST 8, 1944)
Elli had lost her identity and become part of all the other people. They had all become the same no one was different. She was dehumanized, they weren't treated like humans at all. I think what Elli meant by “I am no longer anonymous.” That she has something she can be called and is getting back some of the things she lost. Such as being known by her name and not by “stupid dogs”. Even if her “new” name “A-17360” wasn’t really a name but a number. I think that the name-calling was not good but the number was barely any better because the numbers didn’t represent anything it only meant that you were another body in the camp. Because to me thats what it felt like the were treated to me.
Can one letter and five numbers give you an identity again? Elli’s mother grew accustomed to her number and when the lady officer asked what her name was she answered by saying “A-17361”. Hitler once said to his inner circle “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” I think this relates because the number was not a real name, but a false one instead, if you can consider it a name at all. I don’t consider it a name because it was a number and even they were called by it to me it wasn't a proper name. They were false “names” because the inmates already had names. But some inmates believed that the number was their name, because they were reminded of it all the time because it was tattooed onto their left arm. And since the inmates saw it all the time they began to believe it. Did you ever realize that the word lie is in the word believe? So are you believing a lie?
Yes Iris you hit it on the head, they did believe in the lie. And if there is no one else to make you believe otherwise, the lie seemingly becomes truth. When I was learning about this very subject when I was in school, the word "brainwashed" came up alot, as this made me understand better what this holocaust was all about. Not only did the Jews get brainwashed into believing that they were all sub-human, but Hitler and his propaganda team also were responsible for brainwashing the rest of his own nation into believing that what was going on in the concentration and death camps was okay, and should be accepted as truth. Unfortunately, and I said this in another post, "groupthink" can be a very powerful phenomenon, but as in this instance can be used for unspeakable evil as well. Keep up the good work!
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DeleteI would say that anyone that believed in what Hitler said was "brainwashed", because they were lead to think that hating the Jews was the right thing to do. And yes group thinking can be a powerful phenomenon or it can lead to destruction like it did in the Holocaust. Thank you for contribution!
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