Survival in Aushwitz
Joshua Davis
Survival in Auschwitz Review
March 26, 2013
Holocaust and Genocide
Survival in Auschwitz was written by the Italian author Primo Levi. It is an interesting story of a one Italian man, who spent ten months of his life in Auschwitz. The average life expectancy for a new arrival to the Death Camp was about three months. Levi was twenty four years old when he was captured by the Fascist Republic. He had a long and tragic journey during these cruel days; this truly is a remarkable story. One cold January night Levi’s refuge was broken into by three Fascist Militia Men, he was dragged down to the valley as a “suspect person”. After some questioning Levi established his legal status to them as a “Italian citizen of Jewish race”, and it only go worse from there… It was nearly the end of January when Levi arrives at Fossoli, where an old American POW camp was being used to house captive Jews during 1944. Upon his arrival there were around one-hundred fifty Italian Jewish captives and some non-jews. A few weeks or so into his stay the numbers of captives rose to nearly 600 Jewish people! After a short time he the camp became aware that their departure to an unknown destination was coming and they should pack for a distance. They arrived from the bus load at a train station in Carpi where a train was waiting for them. Auschwitz: a place of no importance to the Jews at the time was for most, their final destination. Among the forty-five in his cart, only four of the captives ever lived to see their freedom ever again. The train doors opened and it was dead silent, the hunger and exhaustion had gotten to the captives, but weak and half-heartedly the exited the train with fear and relief at the same time. Immediately the lineup was interrogated, “Age, healthy, or ill” was ultimately the determining factor if they lived or died. Those who were unfit for work were executed. Levi was loaded onto a trolley with about thirty others, the trolley was fixed
Survival in Auschwitz Review
March 26, 2013
Holocaust and Genocide
Survival in Auschwitz was written by the Italian author Primo Levi. It is an interesting story of a one Italian man, who spent ten months of his life in Auschwitz. The average life expectancy for a new arrival to the Death Camp was about three months. Levi was twenty four years old when he was captured by the Fascist Republic. He had a long and tragic journey during these cruel days; this truly is a remarkable story. One cold January night Levi’s refuge was broken into by three Fascist Militia Men, he was dragged down to the valley as a “suspect person”. After some questioning Levi established his legal status to them as a “Italian citizen of Jewish race”, and it only go worse from there… It was nearly the end of January when Levi arrives at Fossoli, where an old American POW camp was being used to house captive Jews during 1944. Upon his arrival there were around one-hundred fifty Italian Jewish captives and some non-jews. A few weeks or so into his stay the numbers of captives rose to nearly 600 Jewish people! After a short time he the camp became aware that their departure to an unknown destination was coming and they should pack for a distance. They arrived from the bus load at a train station in Carpi where a train was waiting for them. Auschwitz: a place of no importance to the Jews at the time was for most, their final destination. Among the forty-five in his cart, only four of the captives ever lived to see their freedom ever again. The train doors opened and it was dead silent, the hunger and exhaustion had gotten to the captives, but weak and half-heartedly the exited the train with fear and relief at the same time. Immediately the lineup was interrogated, “Age, healthy, or ill” was ultimately the determining factor if they lived or died. Those who were unfit for work were executed. Levi was loaded onto a trolley with about thirty others, the trolley was fixed