One theme throughout the book is power and the affect it has on people. There is one section in the book where Levi analyzes the cycle of power and oppression in the camp with the Jewish prominent and the regular prisoners. A Jewish prominent, also known as a Kapo, is a prisoner out in a position of authority over his fellow comrades. He describes how the power leads the once oppressed turn into the oppressors “Moreover, his capacity for hatred, unfulfilled in the direction of the oppressors, will double back, beyond all reason, on the oppressed; and he will only be satisfied when he has unloaded onto his underlings the injury received from above. He will only be satisfied when he has unloaded on his underlings the injury received from above” (Levi, p. 91). A specific example of this seen is in Alex, the Kapo of chemical Kommando treated Jews with more brutality than the German soldiers, one time even wiping grease on Levi. This shows how easily people can get sucked into the power structure of a long chain of oppressive
One theme throughout the book is power and the affect it has on people. There is one section in the book where Levi analyzes the cycle of power and oppression in the camp with the Jewish prominent and the regular prisoners. A Jewish prominent, also known as a Kapo, is a prisoner out in a position of authority over his fellow comrades. He describes how the power leads the once oppressed turn into the oppressors “Moreover, his capacity for hatred, unfulfilled in the direction of the oppressors, will double back, beyond all reason, on the oppressed; and he will only be satisfied when he has unloaded onto his underlings the injury received from above. He will only be satisfied when he has unloaded on his underlings the injury received from above” (Levi, p. 91). A specific example of this seen is in Alex, the Kapo of chemical Kommando treated Jews with more brutality than the German soldiers, one time even wiping grease on Levi. This shows how easily people can get sucked into the power structure of a long chain of oppressive