"In the afternoon, they made us line up. Three prisoners brought a table and some medical instruments. We were told to roll up our left sleeves and file past the table. The three 'veteran' prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name" (Wiesel 42).
How did being tattooed affect those with them?
How did being tattooed affect those with them?
"During the Holocaust, concentration camp prisoners received tattoos only at one location, the Aushwitz concentration camp complex, which consisted of Auschwitz I (Main Camp), Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau), and Auschwitz III (Monowitz and the subcamps). Incoming prisoners were assigned a camp serial number which was sewn to their prison uniforms. Only those
prisoners selected for work were issued serial numbers; those prisoners sent directly to the gas chambers were not registered and received no tattoos." (ushmm.org)
The prisoners at the concentration camps who were forced to be tattooed were affected by them physically and emotionally. In some cases, due to the terrible living conditions and the lack of care for their new tattoos, some tattoos became infected and caused much pain to younger children who were forced to get them. However, the emotional damage was far worse. These people were now given a number and had their name taken away from them. It was the only thing that they had left to identify them after they were stripped of their belongings. This tattoo replaced their name and they were reminded of that constantly. It was on their arm, as well as their clothing, and that was what they were referred to during roll call and anytime they were spoken too by someone in a higher position than them. A few of the children who had survived the Holocaust did not even know or remember their name because they were referred to by the number imprinted on their arm and everywhere else around them. Even those who are still alive today, even though they have survived and been taken to a place of safety, will always be reminded of their road that got them there, just by rolling up their sleeve on their left arm.
Citing
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007056
