Survival in Auschwitz

Survival, it is a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment. Survival is the prime instinct in every living organism. Therefore, when put in a situation where someone is forced to acquiescence to the coercive forces in their environment it is instinctual self preservation that mandates this. Primo Levi understood the importance of survival and was willing to endure great lengths, so that he could remain alive. This observation will delve into how Primo Levi survived his captivity, and why he was able to live, when others perished.

Before Primo was captured his thoughts were simple; he had cultivated a moderate and abstract sense of rebellion. After his detention began, he became more subservient. This is illustrated by his statement on death: “I had not yet been taught the doctrine I was later to learn so hurriedly in the Lager: that man is bound to pursue his own ends by all possible means, while he who errs but once pays dearly.” In order to survive this epic predicament, he had to bend his rebellious spirit to the will of his Nazi captures.

For him to overpower all the obstacles that lay in front of him he had to survive several factors, like: the presence of hostile Nazi soldiers, the rules of his internment, his own basic physiological needs, how to economize his work energy as to not become physically exhausted, and maintaining his mental stability. Primo was fortunate in that other intelligent men at the camp such as Henri, Alberto and Lorenzo, imbued him with knowledge to aid in these obstacles.

The dissolution of fear was his first step towards starting to live in a disconnected mental state. “Here I am, then, on the bottom. One learns quickly enough to wipe out the past and the future when one is forced to.” During his first two weeks, he gradually adapted to the constant hunger and agony that would follow him every day. He quickly realized that he needed to adapt to his physical hunger pains and the psychological lose of his all of his prior aspirations, or he would submit able to his torturous environment and perish.

Other mental survival thoughts and ideals became a necessity. The uselessness of washing became a hindrance to him and made Primo that this sort of hygiene was a waste of his sparse energy: “I would probably live a shorter time, because to wash is an effort, a waste of energy and warmth”. This was one of his first realistic views of energy conservation. He also developed ploys for saving his energy. This was illustrated by his use the latrine for a long time or run errands to avoid vigorous work on heavy labor days.
Another survival tool was his acclimation to his new environment (i.e.: the physical gruel he had to endure while performing physical labor and the corporal punishment he received from the officers. While he struggled to be one of the weakest and shorter ones he had to often think of his energy and how long he could go before recuperating again. His survival was obviously difficult to maneuver and his need for a disconnected mental state became an absolute must to maintain his sanity. This is evidenced when Primo states: “For human nature is such that grief and pain -even simultaneously suffered- do not add up as a whole in our consciousness, but hide, the lesser behind the greater” .

His ability to adapt to his environment bolstered as he spent more time in captivity. He was eventually able to sleep wherever and with who ever, and to eat anything as long as it satisfied his hunger. He learned to sate his needs by adapting to his new environment. He also quickly learned how important it was to keep your possessions from being stolen.
The rules also became important to know and follow. “The prohibitions are innumerable: to approach nearer to the barbed wire than two yards; to sleep with one’s jacket...” , the list of things goes on about how many things he must keep on his mind to survive. Soon these thoughts are the only things that ran through his mind every waking and sleeping hour. The survival instinct soon set in. In many instances he felt as though he should have been the responsible one, and make sure his fellow inmates could survive. For example in the last winter he thought about gathering fuel and food for the others. His initiation to get the stove showed that he had a willingness to survive and a heart to help the others.

The influences from Lorenzo, Alberto, and Henri gave Primo helpful insight and helped him to develop survival tactics. “According to Henri’s theory, there are three methods open to man to escape extermination which still allow him to retain the name of man: organization, pity and theft.” Primo takes Henri’s advice with a grain of salt and realizes that his extreme practices may be “cultivating” and seducing, but his heart is harder than stone and after all is said and done his theory will be of no use for daily living. Lorenzo’s influence on Primo was very strong as stated: “I believe that it was really due to Lorenzo that I am alive today”. Primo enjoyed Lorenzo’s presence and morality more than anything, because it reminded him that there was still a greater existence outside of their own microcosm. The glimpse of hope that he got from Lorenzo inspired him to keep struggling, especially in the end when he went through the excruciating winter without the proper necessities. At one point he remembered his previous knowledge that he obtained from Turin from his degree and he suddenly realizes he has a brain full of information, this shocked him for a moment then released a feeling of excitement (“And even more, this sense of lucid elation, this excitement which I feel warn in my veins…” ). This sense quickly vanished; nevertheless he was eventually placed in a laboratory when winter came around.

The instincts of survival come natural to some, but unfortunately were foreign to most captives. Sometimes luck played a hand or two, and at other times, your efforts played a more important role. Survival seemed to come so naturally to Primo that he did it instinctually. He was fortunate in that he had not been so inundated by societal constraints, as to render him a worthless fop.

Primo Levi, the Italian Jew, was a survivor of the death camp Auschwitz. He embarked on many hard experiences that are more than any United States Citizen, will ever undergo. After spending 10 months moving from death camp to death camp, Primo Levi related to us, one man’s struggle that made anyone who read this biography happen to not live in the 1940s. Surviving was his only option. It made it possible that he could live and share his story with the world.