Since the novel is set in Germany during World War II, the negative impact of words is strongly felt due to the anti-semitic propaganda. In that time, people were labeled based on their ‘race’ and social stance. These labels were powerful enough to dehumanize the Jewish and other affected minorities, making others begin to see them as animals that had no place in the Volksgemeinschaft. Through this constant dehumanization and use of derogatory words - Jews were referred to as ‘rats’ and ‘pigs’, also as “Untermenschen” (sub-humans), people began to undermine their individuality and humanity, believing that it was acceptable to treat them
