In the novel, Night by Elie Wiesel, the theme and concept of dehumanization is shown from start to end. The prisoners were treated throughout World War II in a horrific manner. No matter what the age or gender, they were all treated simply like animals; Without passion, without haste, they slaughtered prisoners (Wiesel 4). Elie speaks on his personal experience in the Holocaust and describes how people changed from civilized humans to vicious beings with animal like behavior. The Nazis targeted the Jews humanity, and slowly destroyed their identities of being human. The process of dehumanization starts when Elie and the rest of the Jewish community, as well as other types of people, are forced to evacuate their homes in Sighet. Through the constant beatings, killings, and torture they received in the concentration camps the process of dehumanization continued. Eventually prisoners, who were friends, as well as family, began to turn on one another. This shattered the family unit and transformed civilized people to animal-like beings functioning solely with survival behavior. .
Elies experience in the ghetto was just the beginning of the type of dehumanization he was going to have to endure. Even before entering the ghettos, peoples identities as human beings were being destroyed. Anything that was valuable and belonged to a Jew had to be handed over to authorities without hesitation. A Jew no longer had the right to keep in his house gold, jewels, or any objects of value. Everything had to be handed over to the authorities- on pain of death (Wiesel 8). They no longer had the right to own any property because they were now considered property themselves. Rights were taken from them one by one until they merely had any. .
Life in the Ghettos was not any better. It eventually became unbearable. Overcrowding was common. Contagious diseases spread rapidly in such cramped, unsanitary housing. People were always hungry and were still being harassed by the Nazis.