Using the text, “survival in Auschwitz" by Primo Levi and the text, Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land by Sara Nomberg-Przytyk. This are two text are tales of personal experience in the death camp. In the text “survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi the author narrates his experiences of his ten months’ incarceration in the infamous death camp. The text is harrowing sad story of systematic cruelty and the miraculous endurance of the various forms of torture. The text is lasting testament to the unbreakable human spirit (Levi p 3). The text Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land by Sara Nomberg-Przytyk on the other hand is painful and compelling story of her two years’ imprisonment in the death camp. It is a recording of unimaginable atrocities and human compassion that stubbornly survived in the wake of the camp depersonalization and the quite eminent extermination (Nomberg, p 6).
When you compare the two tests the notion of survival in the face of death is prevalent. The two author though of different gender undergo near death experiences in the infamous death camp, they are both worried if surviving is an option when faced with the worst ever kind of human degradation. When they survive Primo Levi and Sara Nomberg-Przytyk cannot understand how they remained hopeful and determined despite facing similar death wrecking, life threatening experiences. Primo Levi a twenty-five-year-old chemist of Italian descend and a Jew explores how the Nazi’s exterminated and at times stripped him of the very essence of humanity and life itself. He notes that in the midst Nazi’s inhumane practices he encounters moments of joy and hope and the optimism to face the next hurdle that come his way (Levi p 1). Sara Nomberg-Przytyk on her remarkable genius memoir, vividly describes Dr. Josef Mengele as “that monster in the body of Adonis” who as she says, “so handsome that he inspired trust”. Mengele, the Nazi war criminal would make new prisoners feel so comfortable and to a point that they would forget where they were and start describing their ailments to the handsome doctor. Although Sara Nomberg-Przytyk does not bring new facts about the tales of death horror and human degradation in Auschwitz, but her unusually detailed attention that brings out the human character that emerged from the cruelty and the extreme living conditions at the death camps (Nomberg, p 46).
The events of the holocaust are a watershed in the history of human culture. The two texts “survival in Auschwitz” and “Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land” are a true testament to what happened in the camps from a perspective of individuals who survived the mayhems and genocide of the century (Nomberg, p 23). The aftermath of the events still remembered even today as been the most inhuman for of human torture and extermination. The issues that were raised from the events described in vivid light and from a personal point of experience in the two texts still continue to impact the society and our lives. The two text are able to bring out well the events that can only be described as horrendous and lack human empathy in all aspects. The cataclysmic events of the Holocaust destroyed the fundamental ideological significance of societies and friendship from the text “Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land” Ms. Nomberg notes that when other prisoners are placed in charge of the fellow inmates the torture and treat them in the most inhumane manner imaginable. One would be forgiven to think because a fellow inmate has been promoted to manage fellow prisoners that would act more rational considering the fact that they too have suffered under the Nazi commanders and soldiers, but as Nomberg describes it was more disturbing to realize that some of the Jewish prisoners were more brutal than even the Nazis. They would threaten other fellow prisoners with death. She laments that some of them would became crazy with power that would aid in gathering of prisoners to be gassed (Nomberg, p 28). This captures the point on society disintegration. From the texts the genocide killed millions of people, other left in permanent mental and physical pain. The society was adversely affected in negative ways (Levi p 47). Those how got lucky to escape remained forever traumatized by the events they witnessed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The events at that camp not only affected the lucky survivor, both authors included and the harmless soles that were killed but the impact of Holocaust shock and the entire world. From the events of the Holocaust and especially what transpired in Auschwitz the world come together to form bodies that would prevent such events from ever happening in future. Treaties and peace accords were signed which in essence is a results mostly of the events described in the two texts.
The events of Auschwitz left a long range of psychological effects on the survivors of the Holocaust (Nomberg, p 31). The two authors are able to show how mentally they were disturbed by the events of their detention and ultimate imprisonment and living every day hoping you don’t die that day at least. The authors detail the profound shock and disbelief of new prisoners as they were brought to the concentration camp. Levi from the first pages of his book “Survival in the Auschwitz” demonstrates what he calls “the demolition of man”. Through large and small acts of deprivation we follow the systematic removal of hopefulness, of dignity, luxury, and necessity. He laments the reduction of man to a hoarder of grey slabs of bread and scraping of soup. The two authors are in agreement on the fact that it was illogical hating a fellow oppressed inmate so much than the oppressor. This events have helped create a social environment of tolerance and mutual understanding in many societies that detested the events of the Holocaust. Allied countries offered to offer refuge to victims of the Holocaust especially those of Jewish descend. This was a show of unity in the aftermath of the grievous atrocities.
In the analysis of the two texts, “survival in Auschwitz” and “Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land” we are tempted to define the history of the events of Auschwitz, this particular analysis raises fundamentally difficult questions about very issue human behavior and the context within which personally decisions are made and in the spirit of remaining objective on the issue of Auschwitz concentration camp it is important to state the possibility of a completely objective stance are narrow to none (Levi, p 87). As have been discussed both people are a product of their environment, education, traditions and prejudices and so on. The subject of environmental influence can be disastrous if the events of Auschwitz are anything to go by, the sway of a regime and its aftermath impact could be unacceptable and out rightly against every fiber of human nature and human emotions and character as evident from the two texts. Levi and Ms. Nomberg have demonstrated through their horrific tales how the sway of an inhumane regime can work to destroy humanity and threaten the very definition of human nature and character.
Works cited
Levi, Primo. Survival In Auschwitz. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013, 2013. Print.
Nomberg-Przytyk, Sara, Roslyn Hirsch, Eli Pfefferkorn, and David H. Hirsch. Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985. Internet resource.
