Friday, July 23, 2010
Primo Levi
One of the most interesting parts of Levi's book I thought was the chapter where they were all lined up and watched the hanging of a fellow prisoner. With all the death in the camps, and all of the horrible things that happened in them, this death stood out to me because of the commentary Levi and his fellow prisoners made about it. He mentioned how they had managed to survive the camp, and that he thought they had done a good job. I have to agree with him, his continued existence shows that he has adapted to the strenuous life of the camp and has managed to survive. However, he mentions that the man who was hung must have been something spectacular. He felt that he was fighting the system by staying alive, but this man must have done something profound to deserve to be hung in front of the other prisoners to instill fear in them. I found this to be a meaningful death and I think it would have had a profound impact on the prisoners in the camp.
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The prisoner was hanged because of his involvement in the bombing of one of the crematoria in Birkenau. I kind of got the opposite emotion from Levi after this public hanging, however. Levi notes how no one really reacted to the hanging, and he said the Russians could come because they would find shells of men whose will had been completely broken by the Nazis' assault on their humanity. He did mention how they had managed to survive the camp, but it seemed to me not to be nearly as positive, that they had survived the camp, but at what expense? The Germans made sure everyone in the Lager knew why this man was hanged, indeed to instill fear, but also to show them that taking their will into their own hands, rather than unquestioningly following, leads to the hangman's noose.
ReplyDeleteYou know, that scene really stuck with me, too. Despite all the soul-crushing labor, and facing certain death for his actions, at least one man maintained the will to actively resist the Nazis. I like to think that if I were in a similar situation I would have acted in the same way. It's a level of self-respect and certain death vs meek acquiescence and certain death. I'll take the former.
ReplyDeleteThe motivation of the condemned bomber we cannot know. Was he attempting to commit suicide or rebelling against the Germans or were the motivations one in the same. The real question is did the public execution have the impact that the Nazis wanted or did it do the opposite? In this case the spirit of the men in the camp was dead. The execution only furthered the oppressive knowledge that even if they rebelled it would be a useless exercise. Hopelessness prevailed.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of the more haunting passages in the book partially because of Levi's commentary. The hanging seems to make the other prisoners feel a sense of shame and embarrassment rather than fear. They already knew to fear the camp guards who had the power of life and death over them. If anything, the hanging served to remind them of how far they had fallen that the execution stirred no anger or desire for vengeance but just acquiescence to their fate.
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