Survival in Auschwitz

Concepts/Key Quotes:

• The stories of the lager are ... "But are they not themselves stories of a new Bible" (66).
• Dehumanization
• Choiceless Choices ... one's behavior is the Lager MAY NOT be the same as their behavior in the outside world
• "To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded. Here we are docile under your gaze; from our side you have nothing more to fear; no acts of violence, no words of defiance, not even a look of judgment" (150).
• Date of Capture and Liberation...liberated by whom?
• Each character had a life BEFORE the lager...how does that impact who he is IN the lager?
• Theft in the lager.

Discussion Ideas:

• How was compassion shown to Primo Levi while in the lager? Who showed him compassion? Why?
• How/Why did Primo Levi show compassion while in the lager?
• How did the people Primo Levi encountered in the lager help him survive? What did they teach him?