A Holocaust Novel

Paper Summary:

The paper examines Borowski's book that looks at what the thoughts of the emotionless prisoners were as they witnessed atrocity without reaction. The paper analyzes how his writing conveys his lack of emotion; the narrator seems wholly numb to the events that occur around him. The paper is of the opinion that it is one of the most moving accounts of the Holocaust. The paper concludes that overall, "This Way for the Gas" is a fascinating piece of literature. It illustrates plainly the way survival in human society can sometimes mean surrendering one's humanity. Borowski was no longer able to see the other prisoners as human beings. The paper explains that as a result he survived the war but afterwards could not live with himself.

From the Paper:

"Everyone has seen the sixty year old footage of the prisoners of Nazi concentration camps; we have all seen the black and white film clips of nude and starved human beings lumped together behind barbed wire fences. Yet, perhaps the most haunting features of all such footage are the gaunt, hollow, and emotionless faces of the men and women forced to live and die under some of the most terrible conditions imaginable. Of all the horrifying things to be said about the Nazi Holocaust, one of the most difficult to comprehend is what the thoughts of the emotionless prisoners were as they witnessed atrocity without reaction. Maybe the best answer to this question is provided by Tadeusz Borowski in his semi-autobiographical novel This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Borowski, Tadeusz. This way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. New York: Viking, 1959.

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