The "Others"

The title of the movie, "The Lives of Others," refers to the lives of people like Dreyman and Christa-Maria. The government and the Stasi classified these people as "others;" they were meant to be watched and not trusted. Yet again, we encounter a group of people that manages to alienate another group and classify them as the "other." In this case, the others are artists, but in East Germany, an other could basically be anybody who went against the government. In fact, a person didn't even have to commit any crime to be classified as an other. If someone in the government simply disliked you, bam!, you were an other. What is strange about this case is that the others are actually the majority of the people; much of the population of the GDR could easily be labeled an other. Most people, in fact, would think of the government and the Stasi as the others. They were the ones who weren't normal, leading lives based on spying and incriminating people. The majority of the population wasn't different. They were. So though we see "The Lives of Others" as Wiesler's journey of becoming one of the "others," it would almost be more accurate to see it as his journey of no longer being an "other." Or, perhaps the best would be to see it as his journey of simply becoming human, and transcending those labels of "other" or "not-other." Wiesler managed to break through that barrier. And isn't that exactly what happened when the Wall came down?

The Scapegoat as a Method for Coping with Grief

While reading through Night, the following passage seemed to leap out from the page:

"Some were crying. They used whatever strength they had left to cry. Why had they let themselves be brought here? Why didn't they die in their beds? Their words were interspersed with sobs."(35)

Wiesel's language is accusatory. He blames the Jews for "letting" themselves be taken away from the concentration camp. He speaks as though they had a choice. The Jews of Sighet, however, do have time to escape, but they are convinced by delusion that the terrible fate they have reached is unreal. Although Hitler may have set up the concentration camps, Wiesel seems to think that the Jews should have escaped when they were still able to. He asks, "why didn't they die in their beds?" in a moment of utter and primal rage. It is noteworthy that Wiesel uses the word "they" in all of his accusations because he is using the word to make the other Jews become the others. He really has no one nearby who he can blame for the Holocaust but those around him, so he takes the opportunity as a way of coping with his immense grief. This truth is further proved by the fact that he is guilty to just as much as he accuses the other Jews. Thus, as a way of coping, Wiesel creates a scapegoat, the exact same tactic Hitler used.