“If this is a Man” represents Primo Levi’s vivid and moving memoir as a Holocaust survivor. The memoir is also known under the title “Survival in Auschwitz”, while the original title in Italian is “Se questo è un uomo”. In his memoir, Levi delineates the events that lead to his capture in December 1943, his deportation from Italy, the course of the events taking place at Auschwitz, and the liberation of the camp by the Red Army troops in January 1945. Given the atrocity of the events that occurred during this time period, the memoir provides the reader with a historical account, an opportunity to remember those who perished at the hands of the Nazis, and to acknowledge the hardships and struggles of those who survived.
As such, Levi begins his memoir by noting he was captured by the Fascist Militia on December 13, 1943, when he was 24 years old. He had lived up to this point a life of segregation as a result of the racial laws dating from the past previous four years, which stirred in him a sense of rebellion against injustice. He hid in the mountains, joining a partisan band that was to be affiliated with the resistance movement called “Justice and Liberty”.
When Levi was captured by the Fascist Militia, he declared himself as an “Italian citizen of Jewish race” as he considered it to be a preferable alternative to declaring his political activity since that would’ve certainly meant torture and death. He did not know at that time that acknowledging being Jewish was actually worse, and so he was sent to Fossoli, near Modena (p. 4), which was a “vast detention camp, originally meant for English and American prisoners-of-war, [and which] collected all the numerous categories of people not approved of by the new-born Fascist Republic.”
He arrived here in January 1944, where he encountered entire Jewish families captured by the Nazis here to be deported to labor camps. They knew this was a death sentence from the Polish and Croat refugees (p.11). Such a condemnation seemed anachronistic since they had not committed any crimes, and they were not even allowed to prepare for this departure like people who are condemned to death and who are given the chance to make certain preparations. In this tragic atmosphere before deportation, the mothers prepare their children, washing their clothes, and providing them with nourishment. The tone of the memoir is tragic as people are mourning their own deaths. Levi notes that this is an ancient grief, reminiscent of the national tragedy of the Jews as a people living in exile. Once they arrived at the trains that were to taken them to Poland, the SS men packed 650 in 12 wagons. Levi notes that these are the “trains of no return”—a term that is reminiscent of the Israeli singer Ofra Haza’s song “Trains of No Return” . Levi remarks that they were packed like “cheap merchandise…for a journey towards nothingness” (p.14). While in the trains, they learn they will leave Italy as to be deported to Auschwitz, but they were not aware of the significance of the name at this point. He remarks that only four out of the 45 people in his wagon survived.
Furthermore, they were subjected to extreme conditions, there was no water or food, and the trains were guarded so that people would not approach the trains to give them anything At times during the journey, people would light candles in the train.
Before reaching the final destination in Poland, the trains passed through Austria and Czech Republic. The families said farewell to one another because they knew that the outcome of this journey was dismal and fatal. When they arrived in Auschwitz, they were immediately selected, by age, health, and gender. For the newly arrived, the Germans who were making the decision of who will live and who will die seemed like “simple police agents”. Mothers who wanted to stay with the children were sent with the children to the gas chambers. The SS Men were selecting the men from the group as they were interested in using them for forced labor. Soon after the groups were separated, the group of women, children, and the elderly disappeared. Out of this transport, there were only 96 men and 26 women who were sent to work, while more than 500 were sent to the gas chambers upon arrival. The name of the camp was Monovitz-Buna and Birkenau. The newly arrived prisoners saw the almost surreal appearance of two groups who walked in rows of trees—these were the prisoners who were already in the camp. Furthermore, Levi remarks that they realized that they themselves were to undergo such metamorphosis (p.18).
In Chapter 2—On the Bottom, Levi arrives at the entrance of Auschwitz where he sees the sign “Arbeit Macht Frei”. The prisoners were still not given water to drink even though it had been four days already. The atmosphere is described as “hell”, “it is like being already dead” (p.20). An SS man orders them to disrobe, and while they take off their shoes and clothes, all their possessions are taken away. They are surprised when they are told to pay attention so that no one else would steal their shoes. With this remark, they are faced with an introduction to the conditions of the camp. Levi sees all the other people naked, and he soon learns in the camp, they have to obey every command without deliberation. The SS Man overseeing this process asks for someone to translate his orders from German to Italian. As subsequently depicted in the memoir, the prisoners came from diverse places all over Europe where German is not the language they spoke. Then, the “metamorphosis” continues and they get “shaved and sheared” (p.23). Levi believes that they will all eventually be killed.
Their translator is a German Jew, by the name of Flesch. Flesch is reluctant to translate their questions into German, as he is already acquainted with the conditions in the camp. This emphasizes how in the camp it would be useless to ask questions. Flesch’s appearance denotes to have been in the camp for a longer time, and his suffering earns the respect of those around him since he was able to withstand the harsh conditions of the camp. The overall atmosphere is dismal and surreal. They are now “at Monovitz, near Auschwitz, in Upper Silesia” (p.24). The concentration camp holds 10,000 prisoners which work at a factory to make rubber. They are obligated to stand naked waiting for a shower and the disinfection. They are told they will not be returned their own clothes, and so they receive instead “unrecognizable rangs…and a pair of broken-down booths with wooden soles” (p.25). The clothes are the same for everyone, and soon they are all shaved. From now on, they will be known as “Haftling”, carrying a number tattooed on the left arm. This procedure takes the identity and individuality away, as Levi remarks that “There is nowhere to look in a mirror, but our appearance stands in front of us, reflected in a hundred livid faces, in a hundred miserable and sordid puppets”(p.25). This also constitutes the process of “metamorphosis”, “the demolition of a man” (p.26) as they now look like the prisoners they had seen before, like “phantoms” (p.25).
Levi meditates on the process that is taking place providing a comparison between the life in the camp and the life of free men. The little common possessions and basic necessities that ordinary men, even beggars have, may be undermined or disregarded in value, yet here, in the camp, their acquisition and ownership calls for great efforts, such as having to abstain from eating own daily ration of bread so as to be able to exchange it for other basic necessities. Thus, Levi notes that life in the camp is a process that is targeted at dehumanizing, where the right to live is judged at best upon “utility”. This resonates with the inscription on the gate at Auschwitz, “Work will set you free”. Yet, even this subhuman principle does not represent a rule that is always respected, as many prisoners fall victim to the whims and caprices of the SS Men.
Moreover, the number the prisoner carry on the arm is significant for calculating life expectancies. A higher number indicates the prisoners newly arrived, while a lower number indicates prisoners who have been in the camp for a while, which are not as many, as people are not able to withstand the hunger, forced labor, and dejected conditions of the camp for a longer time—on average only for about three months. As a rule, they learn that everything they have can be stolen, so they have to guard what they have at all times, and everything can be put to some kind of use. Moreover, there are countless meaningless prohibitions in the camp, such as they are mandated to behave in a ritualistic and senseless way—they must get up early to go to work, make their bed and clean their shoes in a certain way, march to and from work with the band playing, in sum “go out and come in, work, sleep and eat; fall ill, get better or die” (p.37).
In Chapter 3-Initiation, Levi describes his encounter with another prisoner, Diena, upon being sent to Block 30. He will sleep in the same bunk with Diena. As opposed to the chapters that follow where Levi gains more experience in the camp, this encounter shows how Levi is still at the beginning, unaware of what to expect, as here he still preserves the social framework one would apply when orienting himself in the real world, such as asking questions to receive directions and information. He would like to know when food is distributed, and what utensils he can make use of to eat. Yet, as he will soon find out, in the lager, a prisoner cannot ask questions and will not be given answers, he will not receive proper nourishment or proper accommodations for resting, and instead he will be subjugated to forced labor and restrictions upon restrictions. The doctrine of the lager is that “man is bound to pursue his own ends by all possible means, while he who errs but once pays dearly” (p.4).
In terms of the languages spoken in the camp, Levi makes a Biblical allusion to the Tower of Babel. There are many languages spoken in the camp, and in order to survive, one must be able to understand the meaning of shouts and orders never heard before. The camp forces the prisoner to embrace a different mentality, there is the constant fight to survive in spite of the oppressing factors and meager resources of survival. There is a psychological struggle to preserve one’s identity and mores. For example, washing in the filthy basins does not represent anymore so much a method of preserving hygiene, but rather it becomes a psychological struggle to preserve one’s strength and optimism. Another prisoner Levi meets is Steinlauff, who was a Sergeant in the Austro-Hungarian Army, and was decorated with the Iron Cross (p.43). Steinlauff is a symbol of this struggle against the demoralizing nature of the camp through his desire to wash, and he also instructs Levi to do so. Washing helps preserves the instinct to be clean, and so it maintains the desire to survive the humiliating and hostile conditions in the camp.
In Chapter 4-Ka Be, Levi describes how the days start to lose meaning as it is hard to count them since there is the same dull routine everyday and exhausting labor. It is not only the days that are devoid of meaning, but the living conditions of the camp as well which impact the mentality of the prisoners. They are living in a surreal environment, and the nature of the social interactions changes, as seen through the description of the interactions with other prisoners in the camp. From Null Aschtzeh’s description, it is revealed that only the last three digits of his number, Zero Eighteen, and not his name are used to identify him. Others, including himself don’t use his name anymore because the idea of a name implies a certain human value, identity, and individuality, and they allude to the fact that once he had a different life outside the concentration camp. Yet, in the camp, there is an ongoing process through which these values are attacked. Null Aschtzeh is very young and he gives the impression that he is empty. Since he does not struggle to survive too hard but rather shows a “total indifference” (p.46), he is not considered to be a good companion.
While working with Levi, trying to carry a load, Null Aschtzeh trips and lets go of the load, and Levi wounds his foot. He goes to the infirmary, known as Krankenbau or Ka-Be for short. The rules at the infirmary are that those who are admitted are not obligated to do forced labor; however, those who do not get better are selected and sent to the gas chambers. Though referred only indirectly through allusions from the other prisoners in the camp, Levi learns about selections from what will happen to another patient at Ka Be. Here, Levi encounters Schmulek, an elderly Polish Jew, albino, who is a smith. The SS men come to inspect the patients and when they arrived at Schmulek, they draw a cross over his number—the mark for selection. The second day, Schmulek is taken away with another group that will be gassed. In the final scene before being murdered, Schmulek gives his spoon and knife to the narrator and then he leaves to the gas chambers in silence. After twenty days at Ka-Be, Levi is discharged (Chapter 5, Our Nights) and he is sent to a different block where he would not expect to have any acquaintances. However, he encounters Alberto, a younger friend of 22 years old, who is very intelligent and did not forget to be kind to others. One of his bed companions is Resnyk (Chapter 6, The Work), a thirty year old Polish Jew who was a courteous and kind companion, and who was skilled at quickly making the bed in the morning. Levi could speak to him in French.
Through the struggles in the camp (Chapter 7—A Good Day), Levi notes that men live with the conviction that life has a purpose. Moreover, one of the things that affects the life of the prisoners is the weather. The Jewish prisoners have to struggle to survive in spite of the inclement weather. Levi describes a day of forced labor, in which the appearance of the sun in the sky, even when not able to warm more, means so much for those who do not have clothes to warm themselves with.
With the appearance of the sun, the scenery is striking. Though green meadows provide some color to the surrounding background, in Buna the prevalent color is grey because of the prevalence of the mud and smoke, and the grey roads and buildings which give the impression that Buna is a large city. This camp holds 40,000 workers, who speak from 15 to 20 languages. This implies that the prisoners come from a diverse background, and since they also can speak more than one language, it shows that they are intellectuals. Levi refers to the current condition in which he finds himself to that of a slave. Because of the sun, Levi calls this day “good”, yet this remark carries with it certain ironical connotations given the harsh conditions of the lager they have to endure and the constant fight with hunger. The prisoners maintain their hope that the camp will be liberated. As such, as depicted in Chapter 8—This Side of Good and Evil, the prisoners await for the “ceremony of the change of underclothes” and since this process is delayed, many wonder if this is so because the liquidation of the camp is in the near future.
Levi describes how in the camp, bread and soup represent the money through which one can acquire for himself a piece of clothing, maybe a shirt, mahorca, or other basic necessities. He also makes reference to the corruption in the camp as in Ka Be, the nurses profit by selling the clothes and shoes of the dead as well as the spoons of the dead and of those who are released from the infirmary. As such, the message of the author is that in the camp, theft, which would be considered illegal in the outside world, has acquired different meanings in the camp, and it has become a commonplace activity due to the degenerative conditions of the camp and the corruptions of those in charge of the camp.
In “The Drowned and the Saved”(Chapter 9), Levi reflects on the debilitating effects of the camp life on the human condition. He points out that the notion that in the face of extreme adverse conditions, the prisoner is reduced to being “brutal, egoistic, and stupid….a man without inhibition” (p.102) is actually a misconception. Rather what actually happens is that “many social habits and instincts are reduced to silence” (p.102-103). Furthermore, the term “muselman” emerges to describe “the weak, the inept, those doomed to selection” (p.104) who “drowned” in a short period of time being either selected to be killed or died from exhaustion, while the opposite term is described as “Organisator”, “Kombinator”, “Prominent” (p.105) who must struggle to “save” themselves. In the camp, each individual must struggle to survive on his own, and those who do not do so make bad company. He remarks that sadly the law of the lager is reminiscent of the process of natural selection. However, the Aryan prisoners receive preferential treatment, and they are able to secure for themselves easily a position in the professional hierarchy of the camp.
Subsequently, Levi portrays the stories of four prisoners in order to show how it is possible to survive in the camp. These are: Schepschel, Alfred L., Elias, and Henri. Levi recounts that Schepschel survived the Lager for 4 years. He is originally from the village of Galicia, and he witnessed the death of thousands of those like him. He steals brooms and sells them to the Brockaltester, and he hopes to gain his favor so as to be appointed “vat-washer”.
Alfred L. is an engineer, who managed to get an extra half-ladleful of soup everyday by cleaning the pots of the Polish workers. He cleaned himself to have a “respectable appearance” (p.111) and managed to impose himself to become the “technical head of the Kommando” (p.112). Elias was a dwarf yet he had big muscles and became famous as an exceptional worker. Levi remarks he is also an astute thief (p.115), and he has a strong will to survive letting himself be neither physically destructed from outside nor morally destructed inside. Yet, life in the lager makes it as such that there are neither criminals nor madmen, and as the free will of men has been taken away, one must adapt to the “primordial conditions of the camp life” (p.115). Henry, on the other hand, is a 22-year old prisoner, a polyglot who speaks French, German, English, and Russian. Henri has three methods of survival, which are organization, pity and theft. He had organized his strategy of gaining the pity of Polish prisoners, and so he engaged in exchanging products of English origin. Henri has numerous protectors in the camp, so he does not have to steal unless he has to.
Levi has a university decree from the University of Turin (1941-Summa cum laude) as described in Chapter 10 and Chapter 11, which enables him to pass the chemical Examination and obtain a “luxury job” in the Chemical Kommando, cleaning an underground petrol tank. He meets Doctor Pannwitz, an Aryan-looking German, who interviews Levi and is pleased with his knowledge of Organic Chemistry. By August 1944, when convoys were arriving from Hungary (Chaper 12-The Events of the Summer), Levi already refers himself as an “old Haftlinge”. There is some hope in the camp of liberation since the Allied Powers landed in Normandy at this time. At this point, they also bombard the Upper Silesia. The Buna concentration camp was falling into pieces as planes bombarded the area. At this point, he also meets Lorenzo, an Italian civilian worker who is kind to Levi and gives him food and some clothing, and he also helps him get in touch with relatives in Italy. Levi remarks that he believes Lorenzo helped him survive and not forget he is a human being.
As described in Chapter 13, October 1944 marks the arrival of winter. In this chapter, Levi describes how selections take place. He remarks that the prisoners are aware of the significance of winter since they were here a year ago, and the statistics are that seven out of 10 prisoners would die. Furthermore, there will be much suffering and hunger. Moreover, the Germans would also come to make selections as to make space in the camp by reducing the number of prisoners. Levi is aware of the criteria by which prisoners are selected, but he does not have the heart to tell it to those who appear to be candidates for selection what will happen to them and so he encourages them instead, giving them hope. During this time, at Birkenau there is smoke coming out from the chimney because the murders are in progress. When selection takes place, the prisoners are closed in the huts so they will not see those who are leaving for the gas chambers. They must wait naked in the hut, with their identification cards, until the commission arrives to the huts. The decision of who will live or die is not based just on who is fit for labor, but also on the whims of the SS men who do the selection, and who may as well wrongfully give the card to the wrong side and send people to the gas chambers without much thought. Later (Chapter 14— Kraus), Levi remarks that humans are prone to search for signs that may give hope so as to continue living. He also depicts the methods by which one could commit suicide in the camp—touch the electric wire-fence or throw oneself under the shunting trains. He describes another prisoner Kraus Pali, and he remarks that the camp makes it as such that other people don’t seem to matter anymore, but rather the hunger, cold, and rain seem to me the only things occupying one’s mind at these time.
In Chapter 15-Die drei Leute vom Labor, Levi calculates the time period he has spent in the camp and remarks that only 29 out of the 96 prisoners who were selected for labor were able to survive until October, eight were selected for the gas chambers, and so only 21 remained. Now, the air raids have stopped. In spite of the cold, the prisoners are still wearing their summer clothes. As a “chemist”, he works now at the phenyl-beta sacks, which painfully attacks the skin. In addition, the arrival of winter brings with it feelings of desperation. In a way, it is fortunate that Doctor Pannwitz chooses Levi to be one of the three who will work in the Laboratory, which improves his living condition, as he will receive a new shirt and underpants and will be shaved once a week. At this point, the majority of new prisoners who arrived in the camp are sent to the gas chambers while only a minority is sent to forced labor. In Chapter 16-The Last One, Levi witnesses a hanging, and he notes that there have been 13 hangings before. He remarks that the month before, the crematorium at Birkenau was blown up, and now the Germans are going to hang someone who took part in the revolt against this infamous crematorium. Levi notes that there are no strong men left as this was the last courageous man who was hanged.
In the last Chapter 17, The Story of Ten Days, Levi recounts the final days spent in the camp before the arrival of the Red Army. He was sent to Ka Be on January 11, 1945 suffering from scarlet fever. Others admitted to the hospital had also scarlet fever. Here, there were also patients with diphtheria, typhus, dysentery, facial erysipelas, or pneumonia. Since the Russian Army is near, the Germans began evacuating the camp in a 12-mile march. During the night of January 18, 1945, almost 20,000 prisoners left in the march and Levi notes that the majority disappeared without a trace. Outside, there was a bitter cold of –20 degrees Celsius. Soon, airplanes come and begin bombarding the nearby area, and then they struck the camp as well. At this point, the Germans had already left. On January 27th, 1944 the Russians arrive while the narrator and his companion Charles were carrying one of the patients who had died during the night on a stretcher outside of the infirmary. Levi ends “If This is a Man” noting how some of the fellow prisoners at Auschwitz started to rebuild their lives after Auschwitz was finally liberated.
Overall this memoir is noteworthy for the study of the Holocaust since it provides the reader with first hand testimony from a Holocaust survivor. Primo Levi’s style is clear and to the point, and it provides a vivid account of the atrocity of the events taking place. This account is reminiscent of Elie Wiesel’s own account as a Holocaust survivor as depicted in “Night” as well as in “All Rivers Run to The Sea”.
Though the memoir “If This is a Man” ends here, Levi continues to recount his journey back home from Auschwitz in “The Truce” where he describes in more detail the arrival of the Russian Army and the events that took place from this point on, and his long journey of returning home to Italy. Furthermore, the Holocaust memoirs provide the readers with an opportunity to remember those who perished at the hands of the Nazis, and whose lives were heartlessly curtailed abruptly and unnaturally, and yet, who in a way get to be here with us again through the account of those who have preserved their memories in their hearts and in their writing.
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