What Is A Brief Summary Of Survival In Auschwitz By Primo Levi

In the memoir Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi, the author shows how prisoners in Auschwitz are stripped of their humanity through brutal oppression. Due to the insufferable conditions in the camp, many prisoners are unable to remain compassionate and thoughtful towards others. Humanity is lost when one is completely hopeless, but by resisting against oppression, all is not lost. Despite the horrendous conditions, the prisoners who survive find their will to live by remaining hopeful that there is still good in the world.
Once arrested, the prisoners are exposed to harsh treatment that will succeed in dehumanizing them for the rest of their time in the Lager. Before even entering the camp, the prisoners are referred to as “pieces” loaded

into “goods wagons” (16). The prisoners, especially the Jews, are subhuman in the eyes of the German officials. Seeing the prisoners as less than human, helps the Germans to justify their cruelty. Upon arriving at the camp, the SS officers tell the prisoners to strip out of their clothes. Seemingly at their most vulnerable, all of their hair is “shaved and sheared” (23). These men are deprived of any sense of identity which in turn makes it difficult to see themselves as humans. The prisoners are at their lowest when the guards “have taken away [their] clothes, [their] shoes, even [their] hair” (27). As Levi says, “nothing belongs to [them] anymore,” not even their own bodies (27). Finally, all the “Häftlinge,” or prisoners, must get “a number tattooed in bluish characters under the skin” (28). The prisoners are completely transformed into “phantoms” that rely on basic instincts in order to survive (26). Levi philosophizes that, “he who loses all often easily loses himself,” which comes back to the point that his humanity is compromised because he is made to believe that is inhuman (27). This initial dehumanization of the Jews transforms into a consistent part of their lives at the camp.
Throughout the rest of Levi’s time in Auschwitz, he faces the same grueling conditions that he faced upon his arrival.

However, his constant suffering makes him lose his sense of humanity. When Levi injures his foot, he is brought to the infirmary where a nurse and Polish prisoner humiliate him; the nurse shows Levi off as if he is “a corpse in an anatomy class” (49). After being reduced to the same status as the dead, Levi feels as if he “had never…undergone an affront worse than this” (49). Levi, like other prisoners, experiences the cruelest conditions imaginable which force him to disregard his own emotions and feelings. Another instance where Levi illustrates the absolute dehumanization of the prisoners is when he describes their routine of “marching like automatons” to the band music. This “monstrous rite” makes the prisoners into robots driven by the music that “takes the place of their wills” (51). They do not have any self-control which is “concrete proof of [the Germans’] victory” in making the prisoners just empty bodies (51). Because of the extent of the suffering placed on the prisoners, they learn to see themselves in the same light that the Germans see them. Levi talks about how usually “the oppressed…unite, if not in resistance, at least in suffering” (91). However, unification is only possible “when oppression does not pass a certain limit” (91). Due to incessant oppression, the prisoners are unable to unify which causes them to lose their

compassion and thoughtfulness for others.
Throughout the narrative, Levi refers to being “at the bottom” of despair where he has no hope of better days however, he also shows that remaining even the slightest bit hopeful helps one survive.

When talking to a fellow prisoner, Steinlauf, Levi learns an extremely valuable lesson. Steinlauf tells him that they need to keep a sense of hope “because the Lager was a great machine to reduce us to beasts, [so] we must not become beasts” (41). Levi also recollects that “one must want to survive, to tell the story” of the awful things that happened in the concentration camps (41). In essence, Steinlauf encourages Levi to not allow the Germans to dehumanize him. One can only be completely dehumanized if one remains complacent with being seen as subhuman. Steinlauf is able to maintain his humanity because he believes in his philosophy that “we must certainly wash our faces without soap in dirty water” (41). This instance really shows how beneficial it can be for the mind of the oppressed when they fight their oppressors. By maintaining some sort of civility, the Germans cannot completely disregard the prisoners’

humanity.
Another instance where Levi is exposed to hopefulness is when he meets Lorenzo, a civilian who aids him and other prisoners alike. Levi is reminded through Lorenzo’s innate, “plain manner of being good” that there is “a just world” outside the camp (121). Lorenzo is not “corrupt” or “savage” like most prisoners and the SS guards, but is “pure and whole” (121). Simply because Lorenzo is a compassionate person, he provides Levi with “a remote possibility of good” in the world that makes it “worth surviving” (121). Lorenzo is influential in helping Levi manage “not to forget that [he himself] was a man” because his “humanity was pure and uncontaminated” (122). Finally, when winter comes the prisoners reminisce about the previous winter. They think about they “would have gone and touched the electric wire-fence” last winter if they thought they would have to suffer through another winter. However, with the new weather comes “this last senseless crazy residue of unavoidable hope” (124). By acknowledging that the world is not entirely cruel and evil, Levi is able to find the will to survive.
Overall, the prisoners in Auschwitz are forced to become automatons in order to survive the awful conditions in the camp. They are dehumanized constantly until they have no sense of identity or humanity. Because of this oppression, it is understandable that they would lose hope in the goodness of the world. However, Levi shows that the prisoners who survive are the people who find the smallest shred of hope to hold onto despite their circumstance.