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The identification numbers that the Nazis tattoo on Jewish prisoners’ arms symbolize those prisoners’ trauma—and the fact that they can never forget that trauma, even if they try. Tattoos are forbidden in many Jewish communities, and so just the act of tattooing Jewish prisoners demonstrates how Nazis were trying to destroy Jewish culture not just through killings but culturally as well. In particular, it’s significant that the tattoos are identification numbers, because this represents how one of the Nazi strategies was to strip Jewish people of their identities, removing names to turn them into numbers. Rather than resist using identification numbers, Rivka advises Hannah that it is actually better to follow the Nazi rules and try to avoid attracting attention. Hannah learns to refer to people by their numbers in public—but she never forgets their true names. This way, Hannah can show fellow prisoners respect, while also protecting them and herself from attracting unwanted attention.
In the novel’s present, Hannah’s family members Grandpa Will and Aunt Eva, themselves survivors of the camps, still have their identification numbers tattooed on their arms. While the tattoos still symbolize the dehumanization and trauma they suffered in the concentration camps, the tattoos ultimately also become a symbol of Will, Eva, and other survivors’ resilience.
Tattoo Quotes in The Devil’s Arithmetic
The The Devil’s Arithmetic quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tattoo. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
There was a lipstick stain where Aunt Eva had kissed her on the forehead. She ran some water and tried to scrub it off, feeling guilty because Aunt Eva was her favorite aunt, the only one who preferred her over Aaron. Hannah was even named after some friend of Aunt Eva’s. Some dead friend.
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Chapter 2
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“Give them this!” Grandpa Will shouted at the TV, holding up his left arm to the set. The sleeve of his shirt was rolled up above the elbow.
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Chapter 6
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Photographs of Grandma’s family but none of Grandpa Will’s, because, Aunt Eva had once explained, no photographs had been saved in the death camps. “We are our own photos. Those pictures are engraved only in our memories. When we are gone, they are gone.”
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Chapter 11
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“You are zugangi, newcomers, the lowest of the low,” the tall, dark-haired woman said to them as they huddled in the stark barracks room. She was in a blue dress with green piping and the short sleeves displayed a long number tattooed on her arm.
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Chapter 12
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“When the man finished the number, he reached out and touched the collar of her dress, smoothing it down gently. “Live,” he whispered. “For my Chaya. For all our Chayas. Live. And remember.”
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Chapter 19
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“In my village, in the camp . . . in the past,” Eva said, “I was called Rivka.”
Hannah nodded and took her aunt’s fingers from her lips. She said, in a voice much louder than she had intended, so loud that the entire table hushed at its sound, “I remember. Oh, I remember.”
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Get the entire The Devil’s Arithmetic LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tattoo Symbol Timeline in The Devil’s Arithmetic
The timeline below shows where the symbol Tattoo appears in The Devil’s Arithmetic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...shouting at footage of the Holocaust on TV, saying “give them this” and showing a tattoo on his left arm. For as long as Hannah can remember, her grandfather has had...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...them “the lowest of the low.” Hannah points out that the woman herself has the tattoo of a prisoner, but the woman specifies that she isn’t Jewish. She is a blokova,...
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Chapter 12
The prisoners line up to get tattoos on their arms. Gitl gives Hannah’s name as Chaya, and she receives the tattoo J197241....
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Chapter 19
When Aunt Eva raises her glass, Hannah notices that she has a tattoo on her arm—J18202, the same one as Rivka. Aunt Eva notices Hannah staring and asks...
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