Fragmented Identity
The Holocaust victims faced dehumanizing atrocities that altered their perspective of their selves. After witnessing such horrors and being subject to absolute brutality, their identities were stripped from them and left broken like a shattered mirror. Not only were the victims deprived of their human qualities, but they also lost their names! The captive Jews were assigned numbers that were tattooed to their skin. This brand stuck with them throughout the Holocaust, and served as a reminder of their fragmented self. In the list below, I will provide quotes that give insight as to how the Holocaust victims loss their identity and image of their selves.
- “I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name.” (pg. 42)
- “‘A-7713?’ ‘That’s me.’” (pg. 51)
- “‘A-7713!’ I stepped forward.” (pg. 57)
- “One day when I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror opposite of the wall. I had not seen myself from the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left.” (pg. 115)