Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz is a memoir describing in authentic detail his experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp. He, among too many others, suffered the destructive forces against humanity carried out by the Nazi regime. Tyrannical mistreatment forced the prisoners to adapt, physically and mentally, to the harsh conditions caused by the Holocaust. The prisoner’s experiences can begin to be understood through Levi’s description of human condition in the slave labor camp as they struggle to maintain a sense of humanity amid a structure designed to destroy it.
Summary
Primo Levi’s journey began on December 13, 1943 when he was captured by the fascist militia for joining the resistance movement. During interrogation, he informed …show more content…
Throughout Primo’s memoir, he references to shoes in many different instances. In the beginning, before arriving at Auschwitz, six hundred and fifty Italian Jews were loaded onto train cars from Fossoli. At their arrival, they were immediately separated into two groups; those who were healthy enough to work for the Reich, and those who were not. The men were taken to a room where the SS forced them to disrobe. Shoes were one of the first belongings taken from those who arrived at the concentration camp. Other prisoners of Auschwitz came into the room and shaved the men’s faces and heads. They were given clothes and shoes, forced to shower, and received a tattoo on their left arm with a number. Primo’s number, 174517, showed his entry period into the camp and his …show more content…
Prisoners were able to enter the hospital with the diagnosis of swollen feet, but as Levi writes, it was “extremely dangerous, because it is well known to all, and especially to the SS, that here there is no cure for that complaint” (24).Within two weeks after his arrival at the camp, Primo already had “those numb sores that will not heal” (26). While working in the camp, Levi was forced to work with a prisoner known as Null Achtzehn, which translates to “zero eighteen”, for the last three numbers on his tattoo. While carrying cast-iron supports with Null Achtzehn, Levi drops the load onto his foot, cutting it severely. He was sent to the infirmary named Krakenbau, abbreviated as Ka-Be, where he was kept for twenty days before being discharged back to work.
The prisoners used available rags to wrap around their feet to help aid in the healing of sores. Primo wore cloth as a foot-pad, one day on the right foot, and the next day on the left. Cloth was lacking in the camp and the only way of acquiring a rag was by cutting off the tail of a shirt prior to the clothing exchanges. Primo recalls how a man in his hut, Engineer Kardos, tended to wounded feet. He writes, “there is no one who will not willingly renounce a slice of bread to sooth the torment of those numbed sores which bleed at every step all day”
Summary
Primo Levi’s journey began on December 13, 1943 when he was captured by the fascist militia for joining the resistance movement. During interrogation, he informed …show more content…
Throughout Primo’s memoir, he references to shoes in many different instances. In the beginning, before arriving at Auschwitz, six hundred and fifty Italian Jews were loaded onto train cars from Fossoli. At their arrival, they were immediately separated into two groups; those who were healthy enough to work for the Reich, and those who were not. The men were taken to a room where the SS forced them to disrobe. Shoes were one of the first belongings taken from those who arrived at the concentration camp. Other prisoners of Auschwitz came into the room and shaved the men’s faces and heads. They were given clothes and shoes, forced to shower, and received a tattoo on their left arm with a number. Primo’s number, 174517, showed his entry period into the camp and his …show more content…
Prisoners were able to enter the hospital with the diagnosis of swollen feet, but as Levi writes, it was “extremely dangerous, because it is well known to all, and especially to the SS, that here there is no cure for that complaint” (24).Within two weeks after his arrival at the camp, Primo already had “those numb sores that will not heal” (26). While working in the camp, Levi was forced to work with a prisoner known as Null Achtzehn, which translates to “zero eighteen”, for the last three numbers on his tattoo. While carrying cast-iron supports with Null Achtzehn, Levi drops the load onto his foot, cutting it severely. He was sent to the infirmary named Krakenbau, abbreviated as Ka-Be, where he was kept for twenty days before being discharged back to work.
The prisoners used available rags to wrap around their feet to help aid in the healing of sores. Primo wore cloth as a foot-pad, one day on the right foot, and the next day on the left. Cloth was lacking in the camp and the only way of acquiring a rag was by cutting off the tail of a shirt prior to the clothing exchanges. Primo recalls how a man in his hut, Engineer Kardos, tended to wounded feet. He writes, “there is no one who will not willingly renounce a slice of bread to sooth the torment of those numbed sores which bleed at every step all day”