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What Is Viewed as the Death’s Head?

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Elie Wiesel described his experience at the Nazi camps in his memoir Night. During his stay there, he observed thousands of German soldiers. The boy identified them by a specific sign on their helmets – swastika. Jewish people referred to this element as the death’s head.

Detailed answer:

Night is a book written by Elie Wiesel, the victim of German concentration camps. Even though Wiesel survived, his spirit still senses death and violence. He told the story of him and his father being entrapped in one of such places by the German soldiers. They sent Jews to Auschwitz since they failed to flee from Poland when the war began. Eliezer was separated from his mother and sisters right after they arrived at Buchenwald. Sadly, when the British and American Troops liberated the Jews, his father died.

It was a tough time for Jews because they were the subject of annihilation and banishment. The German troops in charge of administering and gathering the Jews called themselves the “Protective Echelon.” Initially, they were Hitler’s bodyguards and owed their loyalty only to him. The emblem they wore on their helmets and their shoulders were a silver skull, in German “Totenkopf,” called “the death’s head.” The swastika was a suitable emblem for the organizations in charge of atrocious massacres in Europe from 1939 to 1945.

The Jews tried to reassure themselves that nothing terrible would happen to them. However, those people with swastikas insignias began massive killings. When the Fascists were in the city, and Hitler announced the verdict, “the Jews of Sighet continued to smile. Solely after the attacks, they realized the “death’s heads” would murder every single resident.

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IvyPanda. (2024, August 21). What Is Viewed as the Death's Head? https://ivypanda.com/q/what-is-viewed-as-the-deaths-head/

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'What Is Viewed as the Death's Head'. 21 August.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "What Is Viewed as the Death's Head?" August 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/what-is-viewed-as-the-deaths-head/.

1. IvyPanda. "What Is Viewed as the Death's Head?" August 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/what-is-viewed-as-the-deaths-head/.


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IvyPanda. "What Is Viewed as the Death's Head?" August 21, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/q/what-is-viewed-as-the-deaths-head/.