Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz", which describes his personal experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp. It discusses how, for Primo Levi, the strength and tenacity to withstand the terrors of the death camps had much to do with his physical and mental stamina, his scientific background as a chemist and perhaps his personal religious beliefs, which certainly helped other Jews to survive.

From the Paper:

"Without a doubt, Levi did indeed possess great luck, good, sturdy health and much spiritual strength upon entering Auschwitz and certainly retained these traits when he was released in 1945. Physically, Levi was a rather small man but possessed much body mass and strength as a result of climbing mountains as a hobby. He once declared that he "learned the virtues of resistance, endurance and sustenance in the mountains" and admitted that without these "virtues" he would not have been able to survive the death camp at Auschwitz (Pytell, "The Grey Zone: Viktor Frankl's Auschwitz"). Clearly, as a denizen of the Auschwitzian version of "Hell on Earth," Levi found himself dependent on these "virtues" in order to endure and overcome the horrible conditions at the camp and the never-ending taunting and coarse discipline of his Nazi inquisitors. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
• Pytell, Timothy E. "The Grey Zone: Victor Frankl's Auschwitz."

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