Great book and a good description of the horrors of Auschwitz
this was a great account of a survival story in Auschwitz. yes, there were mistakes in the editing deparment of the book, but to me this didn't take away the suffering Primo Levi must have encountered. i gave it 4 out of five stars due to the badly edited print. otherwise i am recommending this book for the story that is told in this book.
A remarkable story, brilliantly told
This is one of the finest books on the Holocaust I've ever read. Levi writes beautifully - simple, straightforward sentences. No flourishes. As Bellow said, every word is essential. When he describes the various persons he encounters in his memoir, the descriptions are brilliant and memorable.
After finishing "Survival In Auschwitz," I quickly got Levi's next memoir "The Reawakening," which is about the journey he and hundreds of other Italian Jews made back to their homeland after being liberated. This book was also excellent, and covers a part of the Holocaust history that many are unaware of: what happened next to the survivors?
These two books are really a wonder - any person interested in the Holocaust should read them. Anyone who simply enjoys a well--written memoir should also read these two books.
What humans become in a time of basic survival, unfortunately it was by design
When humans are placed in environments similar to those of the concentration camps created by Germany in World War II, the currency becomes calories, clothing and shelter in that order. Survival is based on getting enough food, oftentimes by having others die or be denied. Every crumb becomes important; over time saving and consuming them is literally the difference between life and death.
Primo Levi was in his mid twenties, a chemist and an Italian Jew when the war broke out. At first, Italian Jews were relatively safe, that changed as the war dragged on and Germany and the Nazi philosophy grew to dominate the European continent. Captured and deported in 1943, Levi was transported to Auschwitz, where he struggled to survive until the German guards fled and the Russians arrived. This is his story and like all others, his survival was based almost totally on luck and skill. Those skills were due to his ability to quickly shift from a normal, rational world to one of harsh and brutal reality. His luck held as at any time, a whim of a guard could have sent him on the journey that ended with his exiting up a chimney.
Levi describes his life in hell in great detail, yet with a surprising detachment, almost as if he was engaged in an open and candid conversation about something more normal. It is a stark reminder to everyone that it was a time of great brutality and demonstrates how far away from history and reality the Holocaust deniers really are.
Auschwitz and its emotional consequences
In the book Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi paints a detailed picture about living as a Jew in fascist Northern Italy and then being transferred to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. By 1943, the Nazis had moved south and set up holding camps around Italy to detain political prisoners and those of the Jewish nationality until they could be transported to established concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau. This book depicts what happened to Levi after his arrest in 1943. Along with 650 others, he was loaded into a freight train for a four-day journey without food or water and without the liberty to leave the train at anytime. Upon their arrival at the camp of Auschwitz, Poland, the first of a precession of selections took place. The German SS Soldiers separated those they deemed capable of work from those they deemed incapable, such as women, children and elderly. Only 135 of the 650 from Levi's train were admitted into Auschwitz, the other 515 went immediately to the gas chambers. Levi recalled with remarkable accuracy the humiliation and confusion felt as he was forced to assimilate into his new surroundings. The food rations were too insufficient to stave off the hunger. Thousands of others around him were suffering and unavoidably dying as a result of this insufficient food supply. Although he was new to the camp, his experiences with others and his own observations told him that the Germans militant nature was at its worst. In order to outlive the war and survive, he found ways to maintain the illusion of usefulness with the least possible exertion. Any protest or disobedience from prisoners ended swiftly with beatings and death.
Levi described how many of the prisoners, after long hours of manual labor, would gather in a corner of the camp for a market. They would trade rations and stolen goods. Such goods as a spoon or buttons were as valuable as gold. The market followed all the classical economic laws. This seemed to show the ability of people to live and think and work in the most adverse of conditions. Inside the barbed wire, the prisoners had created their own social and economical world in order to endure. Primo Levi seems to write as a means in which he could express the physical trauma that he experienced as a survivor of Auschwitz and its emotional consequences. He recalls for the reader the challenges that he faced on a daily and hourly basis to meet the basic needs necessary to remain alive. Levi depicts his time as a prisoner with a straightforward and narrative approach and with an almost unemotional tone that often disguises the horror of what he is describing.
Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.
Freelance Writer
Author of For the Fatherland
survivor in auschwitz
this is about the most vivid description of the camps. the only problem i had was the very poor editorial work with frequent misspellings and/or wrong words or spaces in words where they do not belong. this became distracting at times despite the intensity of the story.
(85 reviews)
