-
Essay / Victimization of Primo Levi in Survival at Auschwitz
The victimization of Primo Levi must be approached in two parts: the victimization of his body and the victimization of his humanity. This distinction, as menial as it may seem, is essential in assigning responsibility for the horrors of one's experiences in the concentration camp. Regarding his physical victimization, internment, and forced physical labor, it can be seen that Nazi efforts, in addition to the forced ineffectiveness of his activities prior to his incarceration, are responsible for his suffering. But at the same time, it is his personal choices and his attitude that allow him to sacrifice his humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Primo Levi was an Italian Jew from Turin. A chemist by training, he found himself in an anti-fascist movement that lacked “contacts, weapons, money and the experience necessary to acquire them” (Lévi 13). The nascent group further suffered from a lack of combat-capable men and a flood of refugees seeking "protection, a hiding place, a fire, a pair of shoes." When on December 13, 1943, the three fascist militia companies invaded the mountain camp, Levi was taken prisoner "as a suspect" and later deported to Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland (Lévi 13). The nature with which Levi was captured demonstrates what is responsible for his victimization. Caught trying to resist, trying to hide, Levi was not a victim of his own choosing. Others "surrendered spontaneously... because they lacked the means to survive, or to avoid the separation of a captured relationship, or even - absurdly - "to be in compliance with the law » » (Levi 14). So, unlike those who chose to be imprisoned, he cannot be blamed for his capture. His diction underlines this point. Levi becomes dismissive when referring to those who willingly indulged in following fascist legislation. The tone of the passage is semi-condescending through the use of quotation marks, implying that he cannot even take responsibility for the language of such an apology. Furthermore, the use of the adverb “absurdly” demonstrates that he does not believe it to be a right reason (Levi 14). It is these Jews who are perpetuated "a commonplace which still prevails in Italy: a Jew is a gentle man... not very warlike, humiliated, who has tolerated centuries of persecution without ever retaliating"; the same stereotype that Levi tries to overcome through his book (Lévi 186-187). It is the rebellious activities preceding his incarceration, the conditions of his arrest, and his disdainful attitude towards those who gave up their freedom that best demonstrate Levi's helplessness in the face of his imprisonment. His victimization further develops with his physical suffering at Auschwitz. Upon arriving at the camp, half of the group, made up of women, children and old men, were “swallowed up” by the night, “purely and simply”, while Levi’s group “had been judged capable... of work usefully for the camp.” Reich" (Lévi 20). Levi is taken to Monowitz-Buna where intense security measures, diminishing food and regimented work place him in an unbearable situation. The idea of escape is impossible: the camp is " surrounded by two barbed wire fences, the inner one carrying high voltage current... (and) the prohibitions (which) are innumerable” (Levi 31-33). further weakens them to “obscene torment and indelible shame” where the soup that is eaten “to satisfy (their) hunger… swells (their) ankles” (Levi Bien 61)..