Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Chapter 3 (pages 29-46) -- A-7713

Discuss the reasons why the prisoners were tatooed with numbers.

13 comments:

  1. In the concentration camps prisoners were tattooed with a number on their left arm. The Nazis tattooed Jews to identify them instead of memorizing their whole names. The Nazis also called the Jews by using the roll call and saying their identification number. It was easier using their number to avoid discussions because some people had the same names. But having a number is like your new name. I also think of it like your identification ID.

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  2. I think that the prisoners at the concentration Camps were tattooed for many reasons. If they tattooed someone the Nazis would not have to memorize their names and the prisoners would not have a chance in lying about who they were, once they had a number they could never take it off. This, was also very helpful because if a prisoner got to escape (which is not very likely) people would see their tattoo and turn them in or Nazis would see it and shoot them. Though the most important reason I think is that humans don’t mark others with numbers, they only mark animals. The message that the Nazis were leaving when they marked a prisoner in a concentration camp was simple, “You are an animal.”.

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  4. The Jewish prisoners were tattooed because it was easier for the German Nazi to identify them. It also gave the German Nazis an advantage. If the prisoner were to escape it would be easier to locate them. And think about it if a Jewish person was standing next to you with a identification number you might want to turn them in so you weren't accussed of the crime of helping a Jew. I don't think the idea of it is right but some would rather save themselves then do that right thing. The Germans were lead by a very lost and blind leader. When someone teaches you something wrong it's harder to relearn something the right way. Josh

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  5. The Nazis would tattoo Jews in camps for all of the reasons above, but also because if they change your name to a number, you are suddenly lesser. Once you go from a name to a number, you are a species, you are not human. That way, identifying everyone with numbers, you physically told them, engraved it, that they weren't like you. This way, Nazis ensured the feeling of superiority and diminished all thoughts of revolution, ideas, religion, and life from the Jews. They were very intelligent in a terrible way, seeing as though they had thought through this whole situation. The worst thing is that, for many people, it worked. Or the Jews began to believe they were the underdogs, or the others felt like the "clean, Aryan race," or the 'winners.' These false impressions were part of the beginning of Nazism.

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  6. The Jews were tattooed with numbers for quite a few reasons. Once the Jews were tattooed, they couldn't lie about their identity, they can't pretend to be someone else. It may have also been a torture that they wanted the Jews to endure. The Nazis wanted to make everything at the concentration camps violent for the Jews. They didn't have a heart, so they did awful things to the innocent Jews. Also, they could have tattooed them to make them think they are less human. When the Nazis tattoo them, they could imagine the Jews less human. Maybe some Nazis that have a bit of a heart, when they see the Jews tattooed, it gives them a sense of them not being as human. As them being something lower since people are doing whatever they want with the Jews. It could be a way of un-humanizing the Jews. Of making them know that they are not worthy. That they could be seen as an animal or something less. It lowered their self esteem so much.-Nalleli

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  7. The Nazi imprinted a series of numbers on the Jews for reasons. One of them was to make them feel owned, like if they could not have freedom anymore. Another reason was then they it was a way to keep track of the Jews in the concentration camps. They kind of treated the like the cows with tags, the Nazi wanted to make sure that the Jews did not run away or get rescued. If the Jews did run away, then they could find them easily. They were being treated like property instead of human beings, the Nazi barely had a heart, it was like if their heart was made of stone

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  8. Did anyone think of the tattoo as a "mark of the beast" (like the Antichrist)? At one point in time, people thought that Hitler was the Antichrist and the end-of-the-world signs from Revelation in the Bible were happening during World War 2. What do you think and/or what do you think the poor Jews were thinking at that point?

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  9. The Nazis branded their prisoners with tattoos because it made their jobs easier. It made it easier to keep the Jews identified. It was easier to distinguish them and to know them as a number as opposed to a human being with a name and with feelings who wished only to live a life which they were entitled to. It made it easy for them to count out numbers, instead of the names of the people they murdered. It gave Jews a mark that would stay forever to remind them that they were less, that they were worthless and nobody could care enough to even address them by a name.

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  10. Just as everyone has already brought up, some reasons why the prisoners were tattooed were because of the organization between the prisoners and to identify a prisoner's status, nationality, or religion. But going on to what Mrs. Tillery brought up, I think that some people did think it was the "mark of the beast." I mean some of the proves would be right there, like for example how Hitler was able to persuade so many people into believing that he was doing good but instead was betraying them. Another thing to hold into account is that it was prophesized that it would be placed on the hand or forearm where many Jews already had their numbers. So, of course those that knew of this would automatically connect all of this information and believe that the end of the world was coming according to all of these coincidental signs coming into alignment. But if I were to have been placed in their situation, I would consider it. I mean, it would be reasonable for me to ask myself "why is this happening to my family, to my friends, to me?" What did we do wrong? But then, I would probably just try to survive for today instead of looking off into a vague, distant, future. I would be too numb to think so clearly as well; I would be in utter and undeniable shock overall. Now, considering the views of the Jews, I think that they did focus more on it because they were the ones being mainly targeted. I think this and more thoughts would come across their minds but they would not try to focus on them but rather try to focus more on the survival of their friends and family with an optimistic view.

    -Lilly

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  11. I took it the same way you all have said. But we also had a discussion in my English class about how the numbers also could have been a way of taking away their identity. That seems more likely to me. The prisoners had already lost everything else they had, only some of them had some kind of family alive with them. Even then, the Nazis were teaching them how not to feel. Even Elie stopped feeling some pain for his father. All the prisoners had left were their names, that's all they had left of their lives before the camp. That was their humanity and their last sense of sanity and the Nazis believed they had to take that from them too. The Nazis were trying to turn the prisoners into animals, they didn't believe that they deserved to be human. Taking away the prisoners names and giving them numbers was the last step in turning them into nothing but slaves. They had no identity, no future, and almost no soul. All they had left were memories that were soon becoming like distant dreams to the prisoners.

    -Michael Salazar

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  12. For me they were given numbers because, first soldier were not gonnna memorize jews names, there were too many and numbers were an easier way.
    Then also it could be used as a way for counting and see if anyone is missing.

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  13. The prisoners were tattooed with numbers so that the German soldiers would not need to memorize the names of many people. The Jews were tattooed also because of the problem of having the same name. If not the German soldiers would have need to memorize the names of Jews with the last name too. it would have been way to long of the German soldiers to memorize it.

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