How Survival Can Make You Indifferent-Rachael Gregson

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What I discover in Levi's writings of his life in a Nazi camp to be actually truly scary is not the descriptions of the sadism and humiliation themselves, but how easily he and other observers conform to these circumstances in order to live. Looking back on history and the time it took place in, it is hard to understand how large-scale, multi-country cruelty could be possible. How could a couple thousand Nazis destroy millions of Jews and other minorities without any intervention? In Levi's account about Auschwitz, he at least tries to help us see how. The usual Nazi captive was completely ripped from familiarity: family, home, friends, work, and position, and degraded to something less than an animal. The truth of these events is enough to make anyone question the why and how and powerless to take a more active stance against the matter. The relentless shadow of death or torture that makes dying seem like a luxury pressures victims into moment-to-moment survival choices they would not dare think of choosing otherwise. All I can think of is Jack London's famous quote, "Kill or be killed." What I respect about Levi's technique is that it is very straight to the point and honest. He does not overexaggerate his case to invoke pity, nor does he accuse the Germans of what's happened to him. Rather, he is very journalistic when writing on his experience, and I greatly admire that.

Commented on blogs by Eliza and Osten.

Comments

lwhite said…
I agree with you about how he writes. It feels more real and tangible than if it was in third person.
February 1, 2020 at 4:33 PM
Osten said…
I found that the best way to understand the thought process of Hitler and the germans is to lookup "The Third Wave". It's a true story about how Highschoolers did the exact same thing but on a much smaller level. It ended up with similar results until the plug was pulled. While "Kill or be killed" was the mindset of some of the jews it was not the case for all of them. In fact, you see a fair bit of jews caring for each other. They lent each other knives for cutting bread and gave each other advice on how to stay sane and survive the camp.
February 2, 2020 at 6:41 PM
Logan Turner said…
I think the indifference each of the Jews felt while in the camp was just a result of their fight or flight instincts. For the most part, they closed themselves off from others' suffering and instead, focused on their own. By doing this, they can adapt to the horrible situation they were in without getting too close to other prisoners, because they never knew who was going to live to the next day.
February 2, 2020 at 7:55 PM
AnnaKate Burleson said…
This really stood out to me, as well. They had to adapt to survive, which meant losing everything that made them an individual. I think it's really telling of human nature to see how quickly they would adapt instead of simply hanging on to what they wished they still had. Despite everything, the instinct to survive is the strongest of all.
February 3, 2020 at 2:32 PM
Clabo said…
I agree with your point on the way he writes. It is very straightforward and unbiased. He is just putting the facts out there. You are also so right in the fact that Jack London's quote fits very well with these passages. So far it is a very brutal and cut-throat setting.
February 3, 2020 at 6:17 PM
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