Dehumanization deprives people of human qualities, personality, or dignity by making them feel less human. Therefore, a person uses abusive and idiomatic language during communication. Everyone has the right to be respected regardless of race, age, or physical appearance. Dehumanization lowers a person’s esteem and might interfere with their performing confidence which they apply to their daily activities. The essay discusses how Hitler implements dehumanization toward Jews culture during World War II.
Dehumanization is implemented in two ways, one of them being animalistic dehumanization. It is defined as the view in which most people are incapable of achieving high levels of their activities, making dehumanization commonly implemented in the community. The most challenging task faced by every human being in their experience is rising from the lowest to the highest point (Terskova et al., 2019, p.770). A lot of negative energy is experienced before attaining the goal of success, as it hinders most success journeys. Therefore, this type of dehumanization is caused by people who always have negative thoughts and do not take a risk on something (Duffy, 2020, p.140). People fail to accomplish their plans when overwhelmed by this dehumanization as they are afraid of making any helpful move.
Animalistic dehumanization includes discouragement from people when one is about to attain a particular goal. The dismay given by friends regarding the helpful move their friends are about to make results in a significant failure (Terskova et al., 2019, p.768). Dehumanization may lead to a lack of trust in the organization as most workers feel disrespected by their partners. Most of the dehumanized personnel suffer from various mental disorders which implements big bills to their family. If one has a mental illness, the family must take care of their unhealthy member (Porto et al., 2022, p.2). Therefore, for one to be able to attain his goal, an individual is not required to listen to the negative compliments given by his friends.
Animalistic dehumanization is displayed as the most dangerous thing challenging human health, as it can lead to depression. For instance, if one is strong and resilient to positive thinking, the victim will likely have a mental illness (Terskova et al., 2019, p.772). People need to cheer a person to reduce suffering rather than make them feel they can not achieve anything from their goals. The animalistic dehumanization user has good discouraging words, including comments that lower esteem, making people believe that things are impossible. They aim to make people compare themselves with less productive things, making them feel like they will not make it (Porto et al., 2022, p.5). They almost kill one’s dream with just a word and never show the way forward to ensure that success does not follow.
The second way in which dehumanization is implemented is by using mechanistic dehumanization on how we think about robots and other things that do not have emotion. In this case, humans are denied some qualities, such as individuality and feelings, by being treated as objects (Terskova et al., 2019, p.774). The organizational settings and interpersonal interaction are the time by which this type likely occurs. Mechanistic dehumanization may result in antisocial behaviors among people working together or employees as it does not give an individual a chance to be themselves (Porto et al., 2022, p.7). As a result, the organization might experience a decrease in its production rate as employee output and effort will reduce.
During World War II, under Hitler’s rule, Jewish people experienced dehumanization. According to the complete story of Vladek Spiegel man and his wife, who survived in Hitler’s Europe, it is evident that there were several actions taken by Nazis that dehumanized Jews (Porto et al., 2022, p.10). The reason why Jews were dehumanized is that their values were different from others, and they lacked prosocial values. The Jews strictly followed their culture as it was unique, and no one could penetrate it. This culture triggered Hitler’s anger, making him more committed to finishing the Jews (Terskova et al., 2019, p.776). Regarding Hitler’s fame in Germany during those times, he ensured that people and Jewish culture would not have peace in the country.
Hitler developed various propaganda by showcasing poisonous fungi and rats with the heads of hooked-nosed Jewish men plastered on walls after he became famous and light posts across Germany. As Jews dehumanization was one of Hitler’s killing projects, it inspired the art of Spiegelman to replace humans with animals. Spiegelman used to compare Jewish people with mice and Nazis with cats from the way they were treated (Duffy, 2020, p.145). The mouse is displayed as the most defenseless creature, and the cats always try to capture them by hunting them down. Mice are said to be a nuisance, and cats are mainly reared to eradicate them, thus paralleling the mammalian representation of the Jewish. Comparing the Jewish and the mice were dehumanizing, considering that mice always run for their safety because animals and humans are targets to kill them (Porto et al., 2022, p.13). As a result, Jewish had a task to run for their life since no one would want to associate with them.
During the persecution of the Jews by Nazi Germany, they were named parasites and diseases, making it easier for Hitler to justify their termination. Jews were the most unlovable human beings in the eyes of Hitler since Spiegelman compared them to mice (Duffy, 2020, p.148). Mice are the most unlovable animal, and one would use every means to ensure they are dead, as Hitler used every method to kill every Jew that would start a generation. Comparing Jews with the mice was very dehumanizing to them. Comparing humans to animals is the most dehumanizing thing, especially those considered unlovable.
Dehumanization resulted in a reduced workforce as a worker were not able to fight for their rights. for example, during the Jew’s capture, they did not receive any support; instead, the propaganda used brainwashing main, and as a result, Jews had no other choice but to accept defeat and give in to the Nazis of Germany. After Jews were captured, according to the story, they were forced to remove their clothes, and they were labeled with numbers that were not identical (Duffy, 2020, p.150). Each prisoner had a unique set of numbers, and they experienced torture that resulted in death. It was humiliating to be stripped off and identified with numbers other than their names.
In the novel, Jews were forced to abandon and betray their loved ones out of necessity to survive. Betrayal was the most challenging decision that some of the Jews had to make to ensure their safety and the safety of those they loved (Terskova et al., 2019, p.768). He gives the case of Eliezer Wiesel, an ordinary Jewish boy in a small town who happened to experience physical and mental torture and watched other Jews lose themselves to torment in a concentration camp (Duffy, 2020, p.143). During the night, Nazis conducted themselves with inhumanity which dehumanized the Jews. From Eliezer’s experience, an older man was dragging himself with a remarkable speed while holding a piece of bread under his shirt where he drew it and put it in his mouth when his eyes gleamed and lit up his dead face (Porto et al., 2022 p.17). The man’s death did not alarm the people that all that needed to stop and save the Jews. The end was devastating to Eliezer, but he could not do anything about it since he was also a captive of the Nazis in Germany.
In conclusion, dehumanization has various effects, and most of them are negative. It leads to low self-esteem and antisocial behavior, especially in organizations and among adolescent children. Dehumanization makes someone feel like a failure and cannot achieve anything they want. It slashes one’s confidence and makes them think they cannot be something more in this life. Also, dehumanization might lead to death. For example, in the story, Jews were tortured and humiliated in front of people by removing clothes, and as a result, some died in the process. Many lives have been lost due to dehumanization, and actions should be taken. Instead of making a person feel like a failure, people should always try to pick and dust each other and speak positivity by comparing them with logical facts.
Work Cited
Duffy, Helena. “The Silence of the Mothers: Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Philippe Claudel’s Brodeck.” The Journal of Holocaust Research 34.2 (2020): 138-154.
Porto, Melina, and Michalinos Zembylas. “Difficult histories and the ‘problem’of sentimentality: a case study in an Argentinian university.” Pedagogy, Culture & Society (2022): 1-24.
Terskova, Maria A., and Elena R. Agadullina. “Dehumanization of dirty workers and attitudes toward social support.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 49.12 (2019): 767-777.