Survival through Humanity: A Review of Levi's Experience

The quote, “how can one hit a man without anger,” (Levi et al. 1947). really shows the hatred of the Jewish People by the German people. Levi says this quote in the first chapter of the book, setting the stage for the violence and hatred he and the Jewish People were about to face. This hatred was just normal life for the SS Solders. After realizing the hatred, they faced, many of the Jewish People questioned how they could survive this. You see many methods of survival throughout the book. One of the ways that people survived this was showing humanity towards each other. There a few examples of this in the book. Some of them include; Steinlauf giving Levi advice in the washroom, Levi talking about the “drowned” and the “saved”, and Levi’s friendship with Alberto.

Steinlauf giving Levi advice in the washroom shows

The drowned are those people who have lost themselves. They have no humanity anymore; they have no will to survive. Levi talks about how very rarely do you find a man alone. He says this is very different in the Lager. Levi talks about how almost everyone is alone in the camp. That if a man were to fall ill and pass out, no one would be there to help him. The people who fall victim to this are put into the category of the drowned. They are being drowned by the loneliness. The saved are the camp members who show the humanity to each other. The drowned and the saved are exact opposites of each other. Levi talks about this that there are other pairs of opposites with it. Some of those include, the good and bad and the wise and the foolish. Levi’s quote, “This division is much less evident in ordinary life,” (Levi et al. 1947). shows that there was a huge distinction in camp. Either you given your consent or you strive for humanity and want to fight