The atrocities of the Holocaust are endless. I have read many memoirs by Holocaust survivors and their stories fascinate me. How does one live through such an unimaginable nightmare, and how does it change who they are?
One man who pens incredible narratives regarding his time in Auschwitz, is Primo Levi. I read “If This is a Man” and “If Not Now, When?” Both of these books touched me in many ways.
“If This is a Man” tells of his incarceration in a concentration camp for nearly a year. Levi was a chemist and became a writer following his ordeal. The views he expresses on the substance of man and of religion are complex. The way he tells his story is heart-wrenching. It is unbelievable that humans are capable of treating other humans in such a manner. As a survivor, Levi took on an enormous responsibility in bearing witness to the horrors of the Nazi regime's attempt to exterminate the Jewish people.
His story kept me awake, reflecting on the horror that people went through during this time in history. I put myself in the place of the mothers, waiting to go into the gas chambers, holding their crying, hungry children. I dreamed of feeling that powerless and persecuted. I also reflected on my own religious beliefs and they only grew stronger.
Ignoring the atrocities committed is wrong, and allows history to repeat itself. Levi was not afraid to tell his story and to be graphic in its telling. Everyone should be aware of just what happened to millions of people due to the beliefs of a few people in power. This is something that could very well happen again. Something that happens in parts of the world on varying scales.
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