Ladies & Gentlemen, to the Gas Chamber

The author describes this short story in a matter-of-fact tone because every event was carried out just that way. Nothing was sugar coated, nothing was exaggerated, everything was conducted in a fashionable, straightforward and cruel way. The slogan of Nazi Germany can attest to this: "Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Fuhrer," translated One State, One People, One Leader! (2780). Also, the expression "ordnung muss sein," or order in everything, expands on the straightforward conduct of these concentration camps. The fact that "the trucks drve away and return continuously like some monstrous assembly line" describes the methodic way of life each prisoner and Nazi officer deals with everyday. The words "assembly line" is an interesting way to describe the routine in the camp. Dictionary.com defines the word as an "arrangment of workers assembled to perform a specific, successive operation on an incomplete unit as it passes by in a series of stages organized in a direct line." It is interesting to juxtapose this with those in the camp. They come in on trains, they are seperated, thrown into barracks and starved, and then thrown into the gas chambers. This point is made throughtout the short story and it is of much importance. The author's style and tone are juxtaposed with the content and theme throughout.