Abstract Six-page essay that explores why Primo Levi chose to write "Survival in Auschwitz" using literary techniques instead of writing it as a strictly journalistic account.
Abstract The author uses Primo Levi's autobiography, "Survival in Auschwitz," to describe the everyday life of a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz. The author gives a brief biography of Primo Levi, and describes how he ended up at Auschwitz, including his experiences on the train ride from Italy. Some of the issues discussed are the day-to-day activities in the camp, and how Levi actually managed to survive the horror in which he was living.
From the Paper "Yet another element in his survival was his friendship with two Italians, Alberto, a fellow H"ftling, and Lorenzo, an Italian civilian worker at the Buna installation whom Levi met by chance. Levi was assigned to Alfredo's block after a two-week stay in the Ka-Be (sick house.) Levi and Alberto shared rations and supported each other in their quest for survival. Lorenzo's friendship was of even greater importance. Lorenzo became Levi's protector and brought him a piece of bread and what was left of his ration every day for six months. Lorenzo's conduct was atypical of the civilian behavior toward the H"ftlinge in the camp. The civilians saw the degraded and disfigured slaves as deserving of their fate even when they threw them potatoes or bread. Above all, Lorenzo treated Levi as a human being, and it was that treatment which Levi believes kept him alive."
Abstract This paper examines and compares the "Memoir Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account" by Miklos Nyiszli with the film "The Grey Zone" directed by Tim Blake Nelson. The paper argues that the two differ significantly in their portrayal of the reality of the gas chambers and crematoriums of Auschwitz. The writer believes that the essence of the book is a stark portrayal of the brutal, belief-defying reality of Auschwitz, however the film in typical Hollywood style, fails to capture this essence. The writer explains that the film focuses on one act of rebellion that took place in the camp, thus focusing on heroism but glossing over the full reality and horror of the SS death machinery, as well as the mystery of why so many people walked passively to their death. The writer concludes that while "The Grey Zone" is a good film with strong acting from an accomplished cast, it is too trapped in the conventions of Hollywood to do justice to the essence of the book on which it is based.
From the Paper "This is an example of the kind of evil that makes it inadequate to refer to Auschwitz as a moral gray area. Moreover, it should be noted that the detail of the murdered toddler twins is a good example of the way in which the film fails to capture the essence of evil that permeates the book. In the film, there is a very brief scene in which Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt (brilliantly played by Harvey Keitel in what must have been one of the greatest performances of his life) peeks at what looks like the corpse of a young woman on the dissecting table, and remarks that they are usually young. Nyiszli matter of factly explains that it is more usual to find twins together when they are young. This brief exchange does not remotely rise to the level of horror conveyed by Nyiszli's discovery that the twin toddlers have been killed with an injection of chloroform into the heart."
Abstract This paper presents a report to Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy with the aim of evaluating options and recommendation regarding the proposed bombing of Auschwitz. The paper discusses the implications of the discovery of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Southern Poland, and devises three possible courses of action and recommendations of the optimal resolution for the situation.
Table of Contents:
Executive Summary
Option I: Use Conventional Bombing: Target Gas Chambers and Crematorium
Option II: Use Dive-Bombing: Target Gas Chambers and Crematorium
Recommendation: Do not Engage in Bombing Auschwitz
From the Paper "The decision not to bomb Auschwitz will have obvious backlash throughout the free world because by not bombing it seems as though the Allies do not value the lives of the prisoners at Auschwitz enough. Large backlashes can be expected from the Jewish community especially . To make amends the Allies must seek a swift liberation of death camps like Auschwitz, a decisive defeat of the German War Machine, and a post-war world without Nazi ideologies.
"The recommendation of this advisory board is to halt plans of bombing Auschwitz and instead reroute resources and manpower in a way that ensures the fastest possible defeat of the Germany."
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of the Holocaust and how Primo Levi survived his imprisonment in Auschwitz. Specifically, it answers the questions: What perspective does Levi provide on day-to-day survival within Auschwitz? Was there order amidst the chaos of mass murder?
From the Paper "Primo Levi was one of the lucky few who survived the horrific prison camp of Auschwitz operated by the Nazis with the sole purpose of exterminating as many Jews as possible. Levi opens his book with the statement, "It was my good fortune to be deported to Auschwitz only in 1944, that is, after the German Government had decided, owing to the growing scarcity of labor, to lengthen the average life span of the prisoners destined for elimination" (Levi 9). Initially, this opening sentence in the Preface not only illustrates the strength of the man who the reader will come to know throughout the book, but his essential optimism, which is one of the many things that ultimately helped him survive his nine months in the world's most notorious Nazi prison camp. As the book unfolds, the traits necessary to survive become quite obvious, and Levi's trait of optimism even in the pit of despair is one of the things that helped pull him through, and helped many others survive, too."
Abstract 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. "
Abstract This seven-page undergraduate paper discusses the historical similarities and differences between Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz. The paper will also consider works by Rousseau and Andre Ure to further analyze these historical similarities and differences.
Abstract This essay provides an overview of the history of Auschwitz. It takes the reader through the process from the prisoners' arrival by train to their eventual means of extermination or liberation. The paper describes the different groups into which the prisoners were split and their fates.
From the Paper "On October 7th, 1944, a group of inmates came together during an uprising, taking SS guards by surprise using makeshift weapons of stones, axes, hammers, and homemade grenades. They overcame the SS guards and blew up a crematorium with smuggled explosives. Hundreds of prisoners ended up escaping, but were recaptured and executed promptly. This revolt, although the most effective of all attempts, still did not liberate any of the prisoners."
Abstract The paper describes how Primo Levi, author of "Survival in Auschwitz" clearly documented life and death in the concentration camp despite the fact that he was physically, emotionally and spiritually part of these horrible days. The paper does show, however, that at times it was impossible for Levi to retain his external journalistic objectivity in face of the cruelty he experienced.
From the Paper "A good journalist reports the news in an objective fashion, observing and describing everything that is taking place regardless of his or her own personal bias. Some writers feel so strongly about their own beliefs that despite attempting to paint a factual picture, their stance on an issue is apparent. The more one is closely involved with a topic, the more difficult it is to separate oneself from the written piece. Imagine then, how difficult it was for Primo Levi, author of Survival in Auschwitz, to take a journalistic approach to his experiences in a German death camp."
Abstract This paper discusses how Primo Levi, in his books "Survival in Auschwitz" and "The Drowned and the Saved", and Christopher Browning, in his book "Ordinary Men", write with merciless truth about the human conditions and experiences in the Lagers or Nazi concentration camps. The paper explains that, through these sources, Levi and Browning help us understand that the polar opposites of good and evil may be more of a blended mixture. As such, we can begin to understand the horrific conditions and the human characteristics comprised in both the victims and perpetrators that ultimately lead to the Holocaust, this catastrophic event in our global history.
From the Paper "Levi furthers his theory of the gray zone in his book The Drowned and the Saved. Levi portrays the Lager, a concentration camp confined with subhuman conditions, as the sad historical example of humanity cruelty, but upon close examination, Levi concludes that both victims and executioners belong to the same "semenza" (original seed) as well as the same human nature. The most controversial aspect of Levi's gray zone is Levi's refusal to claim that victims were sanctified by their suffering, and that the perpetrators were monsters. Levi asserts that the prisoners were guilty in some sense as the perpetrators were innocent in some sense. As an example, Levi asserts in The Drowned and the Saved that some prisoners imitated, collaborated with, and/or assisted the Nazis for the reward of better treatment for themselves; Levi pleads with us to consider that man "becomes all the more confused....the more he is subjected to tensions: at that point he evades our judgment, just as a compass goes wild at the magnetic pole" (43)."
Abstract The author uses Holocaust survivor, Primo Levi's autobiography about his experiences in Auschwitz to debate the issue of "what is normal?" when discussing the Holocaust. The author gives a brief overview of the Holocaust, Auschwitz and some of the terminology used when referring to this death camp. Then, using Levi's experiences, as an Italian Jew, the author begins to examine what normal behavior is when confronted with the conditions that the survivors faced in Auschwitz.
From the Paper "From the beginning, Primo Levi was faced with a situation in which he had to transgress morality in order to live. He experienced Auschwitz as another planet, from the perspective of a prisoner. The rules of his previous existence were both turned up side down or erased. He was forced steal in order to eat. He stole to obtain more soup or the rare, coveted carbohydrate in the form of a half a loaf of bread. The notion of stealing for survival became so ingrained in him that his first thoughts when he entered the camp's infirmary was what wonderful thing could he steal from the premises. He immediately considered creating a secret pocket inside his coat just for the purpose of stealing. (140)"
Abstract The paper shows how, in Khushwant Singh's "Train to Pakistan" and Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz", characters' lives are changed solely by the events that surround them, of which they have no control. The paper highlights the common thread in both works that identity is the only key to status and opportunity, whether it is Jews in Auschwitz or a Sikh individual in Pakistan.
From the Paper "Within the personally charged works Train to Pakistan and Survival in Auschwitz there is a clear sense that circumstances rule the day and that characters' lives are changed by the events that surround them, of which they have no direct or indirect control. The most logical and obvious line in each work is that identity is the key to status and opportunity. Identity as a Jew or another undesirable "race" as well as national identity in the camp determines a great deal about the future and present life and treatment in Survival in Auschwitz while national, birth and religious identity is crucial to division and or protection in Train to Pakistan."
Tags: circumstances, choice, control, power, religion, nation, status
Abstract This paper discusses Alain Resnais' 1955 masterpiece film, "Nuit et Brouillard" ("Night and Fog"). The paper focuses on how Resnais' resurrects the horrors of Auschwitz by contrasting the black and white brutal and historical footage of Auschwitz with present-day color footage of the European countryside. The paper explains that, when contrasted with the black and white footage of the camps, these colored shots seem almost deceptive, as though the camera is lying to the audience, by trying to cover up the ugly history of the place. This beauty, however, quickly gives way to the brutal and recent history of the place, as the viewer is soon presented with one horrific image after another.
From the Paper "The next shot depicts bones of every description, taken from every part of the human body. The very picture of death, these bones give way to a picture of a fertile field. Death and decay, is here contrasted with new life springing forth. These images, taken with the narrator's commentary echo the juxtaposition that pervades throughout the film. The color and beauty of the countryside, next to the cold, harsh, black-and-white reality of the camps; the comfortable home-life of the commandant, while the prisoners starve and freeze--all serve to highlight the untruths and abuses that became second nature to the Nazis."
This paper analyzes the personal memoirs of Etty Hillesum's experiences in the concentration camp of Auschwitz in her book "An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork".
Abstract This paper studies discusses Etty Hillesum's Auschwitz diary as well as letters she had written to people that are included in the book. The author finds that her story is a remarkable and tragic one and her diary describes her everyday life in a very optimistic and surprising way as she wrote about her love life and her simple adventures and did not fill her diary with hate for the Nazis but only with hope and optimism.
From the Paper "Etty Hillesum was a Dutch Jew from Amsterdam. Her life might have been unremarkable and her story might never have been told had she not been an aspiring writer. Through these letters and diary entries, I watched a young woman in her mid and late twenties for almost three years until she died at Auschwitz in 1943. Her book begins about nine months after Hitler's Germany invaded the Netherlands. In addition to her diary, she wrote letters to her loved ones from Westerbork Detention Camp, where Jews were confined before being taken to the death camps. ?If I have one duty in these times,? she asserted, ?it is to bear witness. Etty Hillesum wrote about the little things in her life, like eating breakfast. She also wrote the same things that all young women write about ? men and romance. Considering her circumstances, I expected that much of her day was spent anticipating her empty future and contemplating when she was going to die. Her optimism and her gentle spirit, particularly under these dire circumstances, were astonishing."
Abstract This paper introduces and discusses Primo Levi's concept of "the drowned and the saved" in chapter nine of "Survival at Auschwitz." Specifically it compares two individuals that are not mentioned in that chapter, as examples of men that Levi might put into those two categories, and what it is about these men that put them in these categories.
From the Paper "Levi's concept of the "drowned and the saved" is simple. He describes those who make it through living in the concentration camp of Auschwitz, and those who do not. The bottom line is, those who make it are the saved, and those who do not are the drowned. There is much more to it than that, and Levi tries to delve into the people themselves, and what made them give up, or not give up, but essentially, the principle is the same, there are saved and drowned individuals in each of the camps. "?the drowned, form the backbone of the camp, an anonymous mass, continually renewed and always identical, of non-men who march and labour in silence, the divine spark dead within them, already too empty to really suffer" (Levi 82)."
