Nameless

A Story by A.T.

Taking away someone's name dehumanizes them and I will not play into that.

When first reading the essay prompt, I thought there would be no problem writing this. Essays come easy to me, and there is so much that can be called a "system of persecution" in the Holocaust. So there definitely is enough to go through. The real problem came when I began researching.

Hitler killed millions of people. About six milllion Jewish people (fact). For his sick idea of perfection. Reading about how Hitler killed millions of people -and not even in a humane way- was making me sick. These people had families and friends and people who loved them. Yet, they were killed without even the dignity of a funeral. They didn't die gracefully and they certainly didn't have a grave to lie peacefully in. So even though they had died, they could not "rest in peace," as people say.

Many were lied to and fooled into walking to their deaths. The SS soldiers told the now deceased that they were going to showers (fact). After being packed in, the Zyklon-B was sprinkled through vents or dummy shower heads. Zyklon-B are pellets that vaporize when exposed to the oxygen in the air. It had a bitter smell and coated red blood cells so they couldn't absorb oxygen(via http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-zyklon.htm). These people died in panic. No one should have to leave their life like that.

So many died. What's worse is, so many died that they were grouped into one big category: victims. These people lost their names to a single word telling of the masses. Victims. I ask you to find one normal person on the street to name 10 of these humans and not to name one that is famous such as Anne Frank. Can you do that? I certainly can't.

But wait. Things get even more disturbing. Even after all this, people still die for a person's sick idea of perfection. Young girls die from anorexia because someone somewhere told them that perfection is hip bones, flat stomachs, and thigh gaps. Bullied kids die because someone along the way told them that they were different and that they weren't right. And as adults, we learn that there is no perfection. But yet we still work for the illusion.

Yes, none of this equals the death in the Holocaust. But it is still a form of terror. The farther we reach for perfection, the farther we fall from it. These people became nameless in millions. No one else should become like that. No one should lose their name. Because even after death, that still belongs to them.

© 2013 A.T.

My Review

Would you like to review this Story?
Login | Register

Featured Review

A.M. Victoria (LostWrit..

Outstanding. I would have never have thought of the connection you found on the topic of perfection, which is sad but also so true!

The only thing I noticed was a few minor spelling and tabbing mistakes, but all in all, this essay is very good.

Very interesting piece, job well done!