Journal 17 :The Story of Ten Days

“It really meant that the Lager was dead. It was the first human gesture that occurred among us. I believe that that moment can be dated as the beginning of the change by which we who had not died slowly changed from Haflinge to men again (pg 160).”

Finally, the Lager, the German controls, was dead. This quote was significant, because it indicated the closure of the Auschwitz Camps, as well as the prisoners being beasts. Before, a rule ‘eat your own bread, and if you can, that of your neighbor,’ was applied to the prisoners. No one cared about their neighbors and began to become self-centered and tried to satisfy only themselves. Eventually, depending on Exchange Markets and theft was the only way to survive. Prisoners had become “beasts,” no longer having any sympathy towards people, but relying on their ways of survival.

However, as the end of the Auschwitz Camp was approaching, people began to change. Primo stated “I had no longer felt any pain, joy or fear, except in that detached and distant manner characteristic of the Lager, which might be described as conditional (pg 152),” which showed how the prisoners did neither express emotions nor feel emotions. As being “beasts,” they weren’t able to feel emotions anymore and did not bother to express it either. But later one, “He also was cheerful and confident, as were all those who were leaving (pg 155).” Only the evacuation was the solution to make people become human.

As I read Primo Levi’s diary for ten days, I realized how the prisoners were desperate to get out from the Germans sights. As the Russians were approaching towards the German troops, the SS soldiers had to run away from the camps, leaving the unsecured Jews behind the bare, cold winter. All the Jews had to believe in their fate and were not brave enough to get out of the camps, because they were the ill ones. As the healthy prisoners were leaving one by one, the sick people had to cooperate together and find ways to survive in the Ka-Be. However, to me, the people seemed not very anxious, while Primo was staying with eleven people inside the Ka-Be, because the Germans were no longer controlling the camps. Although the winter made some people to rest eternally, Primo, and his fellow friends, Charles and Arthur did not gave up. Despite their illness, they were the ones to search for food, water, stove, and other necessary supplies to survive for the ten days. And when they achieved some food, such as potatoes and breads, it was surprising to notice that the people began to share the meals in equal rations. When Primo, Charles, and Arthur fixed a stove for their room, the other eight people agreed to give them some more slice of bread for appreciation. As Primo said, it was starting point of the prisoners becoming human, who are willing to share their food by feeling thankful to the workers.

In this chapter, I really like the character, Charles, who was courageous and caring. One night, inside their room, a sick Dutch Jew, Lakmaker, was suffering and wanted to go to the latrine. However, because of his illness, his body was way too weak to walk to the latrine, that eventually he fell to the ground and couldn’t help himself to stand up. He groaned of pain. If this occurred during the harsh days of Auschwitz, no one would bother to help him either. Lakmaker would have stayed under the ground until the next day, waiting for the death to approach, still groaning with pain. However, Charles lit the lamp and began to help Lakmaker. Even though Lakmaker’s bed was filthy and smelly, Charles silently “lifted Lakmaker from the ground with the tenderness of a mother, cleaned him as best as possible with straw taken from the mattress and lifted him into the remade bed in the only position in which the unfortunate fellow could lie He scraped the floor with a scrap of tinplate, diluted a little chloramines and finally spread disinfectant over everything, including himself (pg 167).” Maybe Charles helped him because he never knew the hardships that occurred in Auschwitz and never been a beast before. He was French, who was a teacher, and just came to the camp several days before. He was not a Jew, but was surrendered by the Germans, as well as Arthur did. But I was truly impressed by his humanity, who silently helped the ill, despite the fact that the illness could also transfer to him and considering about the contagious illness, he also spread the disinfectant over everywhere. I think he wanted to survive with most of the people inside the Ka-Be, that time.

On the last day, January 27, finally the freedom was granted to the Jewish prisoners, as well as the two French, Arthur and Charles. The Russians had arrived to the camp and transferred the ill ones to a local Russian hospital of Auschwitz. Some of the people inside Primo’s Ka-Be room were not able to survive and ended their lives in the hospital, but Primo, Charles, and Arthur managed to survive. At the end, Primo said “Arthur has reached his family happily and Charles has take up his teacher’s profession again; we have exchanged long letters and I hope to see him again one day (pg 173).” After writing his book, I was curious about some facts; did Primo meet Arthur and Charles again? How about Alberto, who left several days before him? How did Primo live for the rest of his life? I heard his committed a suicide, is it true?

Overall, this book was truly a masterpiece as the appraisements stated on the cover of the book. It was a written video of Auschwitz, which makes you to visualize the scenes specifically as you read each sentence. Congratulations to Primo Levi, who managed to survive through all the deadly moments, although the memories will still haunt him down.

Journal 16 : The Last One

“Who answered ‘Jawohl’? Everybody and nobody: it was as if our cursed resignation took body by itself, as if it turned into a collective voice above our heads (pg 149).”

A man was being killed in front of the Jews. When the Germans asked the Jews (Primo Levi and Alberto) whether they understand why the man was being killed, no one had a choice to be against it. After the short answer of the Jews, the cry of the doomed man pierced into their hearts, as if he was yelling “Comrades, I am the last one!” Then after the man’s death, the Jews were able to be dismissed. When the trapdoor opened, the body wriggled horribly and the Jews had to pass by the quivering body of the dying man. How creepy.

After being dismissed, Alberto and Primo Levi couldn’t say anything but feel shameful. “To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded. Here we are, docile under your gaze; from our side you have nothing more to fear; no acts of violence, no words of defiance, not even a look of judgement (pg 150).” To the Germans, Jewish people did not worth any value. It was easy for the Germans to kill the Jews without any sympathy. They can just kill a Jew without any resistance from anyone. That’s why Primo and Alberto weren’t able to do anything for the dying man. They couldn’t act violently, couldn’t speak out for the dying man, and couldn’t even look as if they were caring for the man. Primo and Alberto needed to show their indifferent eyes in order to pass by the SS officers.

Obviously, they would feel shameful about themselves. But what can they do about? If they care about the dying man, they would also end up as him. To the Germans, Jews were worthless and powerless at the same time.

Journal 15 : Die drei Leute vom Labor

“When will it be our turn? (pg 137)”

It was surprising to notice from 174,000 Jews, only twenty-one of them were able to survive within a year. Primo also became curious of “How many of us will be alive at the new year? How many when spring begins?”Although Primo himself is one of the specialized Kommando, it does not guarantee that he will never die in Auschwitz. The title “Specialist” might help him to be excused from hard labor, but still, Primo cannot predict his future. But luckily, regardless of his worries, he was chosen as one of the three workers of the new Laboratory.

As Primo Levi works in the Laboratory, the girls of the laboratory make him miserable. “It is different here. Faced with the girls of the laboratory, we three feel ourselves sink into the ground from shame and embarrassment. We know what we look like; we see each other and sometimes we happen to see our reflection in a clean window. We are ridiculous and repugnant (pg 142).” By reading the quote, I was outraged by the fact that the Jews were feeling shameful of their appearance by facing the German girls. What makes the German girls special? They are just loquacious annoying speakers who don’t know about how the Jewish prisoners are suffering because of their country. Actually, they have to keep the laboratory clean, but why are they chatting with each other? While Primo was working by himself, he had to feel deeply unhappy by hearing the girls speaking about their holidays.

“Are you going home on Sunday? I am not, travelling is so uncomfortable! (pg 143)”

How dare does she say like that in a building with Jewish prisoners? I would just like to spank her and command her to clean the laboratory. During that period, the Jews would have done anything if they could travel to go back home. Once again, only my hatred towards the Germans was getting bigger and bigger. The German officers were killing the Jews physically and the German girls were killing the Jews mentally.

Journal 14 : Kraus

As well as Lorenzo from Chapter 12, once again I noticed another interesting character through this chapter. In Chapter 14, Primo Levi introduces a character Kraus, who works with him during the windy days. It has been November and the days kept on pouring rain upon the prisoners. Obviously, who wants to work when it’s raining?

“Poor Kraus, his is not reasoning, it is only the stupid honesty of a small employee, he brought it along with him, and he seems to think that his present situation is like outside, where it is honest and logical to work, as well as being of advantage, because according to what everyone says, the more one works the more one earns and eats (pg 132).”

Well, Kraus does. He is not willing to work during rainy days, but he is willing to work assiduously. As the quote said, his honesty made him to be honest and logical to work, and he is probably motivated by a phrase “one works the more one earns and eats.” However, does Kraus really have to be diligent of what he is doing? Although I tend to try my best on everything I do, somehow, I understand Primo Levi’s point of view towards Kraus, thinking Kraus is being silly and foolish. By working hard, no one can earn more or eat more inside the Auschwitz. In Chapter 2, it stated “Arbeit Macht Frei, work gives freedom (pg 22),” but the more you work hard, the more energy you get to waste. Tomorrow does not mean anything to the Jews anymore. Every day is just the same to the Jews, working, working, and working. And as a result, all they get is a poor amount of soup and bread. Maybe that’s why Primo wanted to teach Kraus a lesson, that being a honest hard-working man does not mean anything inside the Auschwitz.

“But who can seriously think about tomorrow? Until one day there will be no more sense in saying: tomorrow (pg 133).”

Journal 13 : October 1944

“Just as our hunger is not that feeling of missing a meal, so our way of being cold has need of a new word. We say ‘hunger’, we say ‘tiredness,’ ‘fear,’ ‘pain,’ we say ‘winter’ and they are different things. They are free words, created and used by free men who lived in comfort and suffering in their homes. If the Lagers had lasted longer a new, harsh language would have been born; and only this language could express what it means to toil the whole day in the wind, with the temperature below freezing, wearing only a shirt, underpants, cloth jacket and trousers, and in one’s body nothing but weakness, hunger and knowledge of the end drawing nearer (pg 123).”

To the prisoners, the words, “hunger, tiredness, fear, pain, and winter,” do not satisfy the deep meanings. As Primo stated, they are just free words, which claims to represent ‘the feeling,’ which the prisoners feel at the camps. Winter, does not only represent another kind of season. Prisoners fear the launch of winter, because it also means “death” to them. “Seven out of ten of us will die. Whoever does not die will suffer minute by minute, all day, everyday (pg 123).” It is the time when the selection starts and sends the majority of prisoners to the gas chambers and also the coldness starts to pierce the prisoners’ body. Only with a shirt, underpants, cloth jacket, and trousers, they have to endure the cold winter and wait for their death to be announced. Winter equals no hope.

During the selection, it is mostly randomly picked. In three or four minutes, a hut of two hundred men is done (there are about sixty huts), as well as the twelve thousand men inside the concentration camps. After the selection, the chosen ones receive a privilege, gaining a double ration during their meals, which made me feel awkward about it. This made me remember of a book called When My Name was Keoko, which talked about the period during the World War II. This book was written by a Korean woman, who had to suffer through the Korea invasion by the Japanese. During the World War II, the Japan was preparing for a surprise attack with the Kamikaze Soldiers, also known as the suicide soldiers, to threaten US. Keoko’s brother was one of the suicide soldiers. And, the day before their flight, Japan provided them food and expected the soldiers to feel honored of receiving such care. Well, some of the soldiers might have been willing to die for their country and enjoy the meal, but somehow, the situation was related to the Auschwitz Camps. Both countries were just making individuals die because to fulfill the countries' expectations.

Up to yesterday, they just treated the prisoners severely and squashed their hopes. Then, after the selection, they are giving just “double” rations during their meal as a privilege. What are the Germans trying to do? Do they want to make the prisoners feel relief before their dreadful gas chamber experience? Due to the Germans hatred, the Jewish prisoners had to suffer harshly inside the camps without any reasons, and before the day of their death, they were able to eat double rations of their meal. However, surprisingly, the prisoners were not surprised, but it seemed they were simply enjoying their “privilege.” By showing their cards to the Blockaltester, they received double ration of their meal and eat inside their bunk.

First, I could not understand their attitude, but by the end, I realized maybe the prisoners are not really “enjoying” the privilege, but they are truly accepting their fate. Anyways, every prisoner inside the camp expects that he will die one day. Whatever they do, they know that freedom of their life is particularly impossible within the camp. So, if they are going to die anyways, it seems that they might rather fill their stomachs full than dying painfully because of hunger. It sounds horrible, but it was the prisoners’ life during winter.

Journal 12 : The Events of the Summer

Lorenzo was an interesting character to notice, although Primo introduced him slightly in this chapter. In the start, Primo stated “’When things change, they change for the worse’ was one of the proverbs of the camp. More generally, experience had shown us many times the vanity of every conjecture… (pg 116)” I think this quote was significant of affirming that EVERYBODY changes in a worst way. As mentioned in the previous chapters, no morality exists inside the barbed wire world, thus everybody does not recognize that they are changing in an evil way. They were all being destroyed over time. However, Lorenzo was different. “In concrete terms it amounts to little: an Italian civilian worker brought me a piece of bread and the remainder of his ration every day for six months; he gave me a vest of his, full of patches; he wrote a postcard on my behalf to Italy and brought me the reply. For all this he neither asked nor accepted any reward, because he was good and simple and did not think that one did good for a reward (pg 119).”

By reading the quote, I could feel that Lorenzo was the only one who could still maintain of being a “human” among the beasts inside the prison. As a “human,” he felt he had done the right thing when he was helping Primo and did not expect any rewards from him. Honestly, I could not understand Lorenzo’s behavior at the first time. Why bother to help others when he himself is also struggling to survive? Rather than sharing a piece of bread to another person or sending a postcard for someone else, I would gladly eat the whole piece of bread by myself and send only my postcard to my behalf. However, I also realized my humanity was becoming contaminated as well as the other “beasts” existing inside the camps. Even I, as a reader, feel it is RIGHT to be selfish if I get to live inside the society of concentration camps, since it is the only way to survive among the severe conditions and prisoners. But Lorenzo was different. As Primo stated at the end, “Lorenzo was a man; his humanity was pure and uncontaminated, he was outside this world of negation. Thanks to Lorenzo, I managed not to forget that I myself was a man. (pg 122)”

Journal 11 : The Canto of Ulysses

The canto of Ulysses. ...Who is Dante? What is the Comedy?...

Jean pays great attention, and I begin slowly and accurately:

'Then of that age-old fire the loftier horn

Began to mutter and move, as a wavering flame

Wrestles against the wind and is over-worn;

And, like a speaking tongue vibrant to frame

Language, the tip of it flickering to and fro

Threw out a voice and answered: "When I came.." (pg 112)'

To be honest, I couldn’t understand the joke or the comedy, which Primo Levi tried to portray for Jean. First, it was a unique chapter to me because it seemed it was the only chapter when Primo was able to “breath with relief” by chatting with the Pikolo, Jean. When Primo stated “He (Jean) spent a month in Liguria, he likes Italy, he would like to learn Italian. I would be pleased to teach him Italian: why not try? We can do it. Why not immediately, one thing is as good as another, the important thing is not to lose time, not to waste this hour (pg 112),” I noticed Primo is actually enjoying being with Jean. Before, he was intimated by the Germans and the daunting prisoners, and did not have any “true friend,” who he could actually fool around with. But as we could notice from the quote, Primo said not wasting time is the important thing. It was interesting of recognizing that Primo was interested in poems and he was intelligent enough to remember each stanzas of it. This was the chapter made Primo able to be "Primo" again, not being a "prisoner Primo."

Journal 10 : Chemical Examination

In this chapter, I realized how important education is to an individual. Not only it helps you to be intelligent, education can also save your life. In chapter 10, Primo Levi introduced a new job, chemist, inside the camps. If an individual becomes a chemist, he could be excused from doing the harsh labor. Finally, it was the point when Primo Levi realized his intelligence can actually save his life. Before, he examined the severe ways of surviving inside the camp and had to accept it. However, he realized there is actually another way of surviving, by becoming a Specialist. “And now I also know that I can save myself if I become a Specialist, and that I will become a Specialist if I pass a chemistry examination (pg 103).” By reading this quote, I was able to feel how desperate Levi was to become a Specialist. Becoming a Specialist was the only privilege that could actually “save” him, rather than being an opportunity for Levi to use his knowledge and study.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized I could connect this lesson to my life. No matter how dreadful the situation is, hope exists. By noticing how Primo Levi was able to be in a higher status than the other prisoners by being smart, I realized education is surely important for us. Right now, I might feel education is my worst enemy but I should understand how it could help me in the future. It might be one of the factors that could lift me up to a higher status than now.

Journal 9 : The Drowned and the Saved

“One has to fight against the current; to battle every day and every hour against exhaustion, hunger, cold and the resulting inertia; to resist enemies and have no pity for rivals; to sharpen one’s wits, build up one’s patience, strengthen one’s will-power. Survival without renunciation of any part of one’s own moral world-apart from powerful and direct interventions by fortune- was conceded only to very few superior individuals, made of the stuff of martyrs and saints (pg 92).”

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the good and evil based on humans’ moral beliefs could not exist. In order to survive, you have to be altruistic to the others and reject your own moral world. However, now I have to agree with their actions. Although everybody will view negatively of the prisoners’ actions while they are “reading” the book, I am sure everyone will act as the prisoners inside the barbed wire, if being greedy is the only way to survive. If I were one of the prisoners, can I be nice enough to share my last piece of bread with the others who are starving? I would probably not. God says we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but it seems God’s words are not the right solution to the way of survival. We only tend to love ourselves and be self-centered. However, can we really consider as being greedy if we are inside the prison, where no morality exists? Nothing seems right or wrong, due to the ways of surviving.

Journal 8 : This Side of Good and Evil

How do I view the existence of the Exchange Market inside the concentration camp?

The Exchange Market is a place where it sells supplies with high prices, which is actually forbidden in our society. In other words, people don't sell supplies with higher prices publicly, since it is restricted by the society. Thus, definitely I would never view the place positively, if I did not know the purpose of the black market. However, Primo Levi introduced the market as a place for survival. Whether the exchanging supplies require extreme prices, the prisoners had no choice. The prisoners were suffering through lack of food and supplies, which eventually led them to exchange their last piece of clothing to obtain a minimum amount of food. However, the worst thing is, when a prisoner gets caught of not wearing his shirt, he immediately gets beaten by the Germans. The SS officers knew that the prisoners were suffering of hunger and exchanging their shirt was the only way of earning food through the hidden markets. They knew they were not providing enough foods for the prisoners to survive each day. However, they punished the ones who got caught of getting supplies illegally, and this situation was continuing every day. In the end, Primo Levi told “We now invite the reader to contemplate the possible meaning in the Lager of the words ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ ‘just’ and ‘unjust’; let everybody judge, on the basis of the picture we have outlined and of the examples given above, how much of our ordinary moral world could survive on this side of the barbed wire (pg 86).” Truly, the Exchange Market would not be viewed as “good” with my moral beliefs. However, if I were one of the prisoners, would my moral beliefs really matter? In order to survive, there were no choices but to accept the illegal ways of survival. To survive, we tend to rely on our instincts rather on out morality. In other words, we don't care whether something is "legal" or "illegal;" only surviving matters.

Journal 7 : A Good Day

“Today is a good day. We look around like blind people who have recovered their sight, and we look at each other. We have never seen each other in sunlight: someone smiles. If it was not for the hunger! (pg 73)”

Finally, a bright sun rose upon the prisoners as if it was shining “hope” for the prisoners. From the book, it says, “Today the sun rose bright and clear for the first time from the horizon of mud. It is a Polish sun, cold, white, and distant, and only warms the skin, but when it dissolved the last mists a murmur ran through our colorless numbers, and when even I felt its lukewarmth through my clothes I understood how men can worship the sun. (pg 71)” Before a shiny sunlight has covered them, the Jews were living a colorless life. Everything seemed gray, the sky, the morning, the dark, the people, and even their life. Gray is a color that symbolizes dullness, colorless, and paleness. I bet no other color could represent the lives of the Jews in the concentration camp better than the color gray. Since excitements hardly exist in the harsh conditions, no one was able to express a significant color to the prison. However, as spring has come, the sunlight also began to bless the Jews. As the quote above, people smiled at each other below the sunlight. By just imagining the tired Jews smiling makes me realize how the small things, such as the sunlight which shines to us every day, was very valuable and appreciable to them.

Journal 6 : The Work

It was hilarious to notice that the term “work” in concentration camp is preventing the work they are assigned. However I agree since who would want to do work all day long which requires harsh labor? But the fun part was when Levi stated “The latrine is an oasis of peace. (pg 68)” It seems both prisoners and students may agree that bathroom is an oasis of peace while they are working or studying. To connect with my experience, sometimes I tend to go to the bathroom with small excuses, such as when my hand gets dirty by using a pencil for a long time. Even though my purpose is to clean my hands, sometimes I go to the bathroom to feel a “temporary peace” and to escape from getting bored by my teacher’s lectures. Also, Levi understood that in order to finish work smoothly, he should have a helpful partner who could help him out thoroughly. He said “I will try and place myself with Resnyk; he seems a good worker and being taller will support the greater part of the weight (pg 67)” which is also similar to us, students. Sometimes, when we receive huge projects which are important for our class, we tend to choose one of the smartest students in class to receive more help and to work out the project more easily. I realized somehow people have similarities when they encounter a hard task, whether they are in prison, school, or home. Rather than accepting the hard work and managing it, it is common that we tend to escape from it.

Journal 5 : The Nights

“But the man who leaves the Ka-Be, naked and almost always insufficiently cure, feels himself ejected into the dark and cold of sidereal space. His trousers fall down, his shoes hurt him, his shirt has not buttons. He searches for a human contact and only finds backs turned on him. He is as helpless and vulnerable as a new-born baby, but the following morning he will still have to march to work. (pg 57) ”

No wonder why Primo Levi’s book has been praised by people with admiration. He certainly has a remarkable gift of writing which absorbs the reader inside to his book. From Chapter 5, as soon as I was ending the first page, a significant quote captured me once again. By four sentences, Levi made me to realize how thankful I should feel towards my safety and caring environment. To re-mention about the Ka-Be, Ka-Be was not a paradise where the Jews could rest, but was a place where they could reminiscence the old memories and realize how crucial the reality is. After suffering and having a little rest at the same time, the Jews definitely had to leave the Ka-Be. However, without any appropriate clothing, a man had to head towards to the place where he used to be, feeling insecure and lonely. Yet, it was obvious that no one would care for another man but only care about one self. Although a man had returned from a Ka-Be, no one would greet him since the reality in Auschwitz is different. If I return home after being in a hospital even for two days, I am sure my family would welcome me with comfort and try to help me sincerely. However, it was an impossible scene in Auschwitz. Since the man has now healed, the next day he must head to work.
How painful would it be, to work without knowing the purpose of working and even not knowing why they have to suffer under the German controls? Moreover, there is no one to share his or her pains.
However, it made me wonder, is friendship actually reliable in Auschwitz? Since people have lost everything, small things such as spoons and shoes are appreciable in that situation. It is common for people to steal other possessions for their own satisfactory aspects, but eventually this might make Jews lose trust among the other people. Yet, the Jews might also be desperate of having a close person who could share his or her stories.
Immediately, Levi answered my concerns by stating, “Alberto is my best friend. He fights for his life but still remains everybody’s friend. He ‘knows’ whom to corrupt, whom to avoid, whose compassion to arouse, whom to resist. Yet he himself did not become corrupt. (pg 57)” However, it made me think once again. Is it possible to act as Alberto, being a friend to everyone? Sometimes when I think about Auschwitz, it would be great to have a friend who I could rely on throughout the hardships I have to manage. However, sometimes I feel not having a friend would be better in the prison. In a place where deaths commonly exist, you do not know when your precious friend would leave, or when you would leave. In my opinion, spoon stealers could also hurt me, but a death of a friend would truly damage me.

Journal 4 : Ka-Be

My discussion group analyzed a lot about the purpose of Ka-Be last week, which was very exciting. The Ka-Be, which is an abbreviation of Krankenbau, is known as the infirmary inside the concentration camp. However, we had different points of view towards the Ka-Be. What is the true purpose of Ka-Be? Is it truly made to aid the ill people? The Germans kill hundreds of Jews with no sympathy, but how could they think of forming an infirmary inside the camp to cure the illnesses? However, maybe their purpose was to energize the weakened workers who are not able to work thoroughly. However, it was so ironic. The Germans are going to kill the Jews anyways if they get sick, but why dare to save them?

Not only the Germans, but also the opinions of the Jews were interesting. Primo Levi stated "Chajim rejoices with me: I have a good wound, it does not seem dangerous, but it should be enough to guarantee me a discreet period of rest. I will spend the night in the hut with the others, but tomorrow morning, instead of going to work, I will have to show myself to the doctors for the definitive examination… (pg 47)" When I heard about the Ka-Be, I thought I would never want to go there and try to avoid any possible injuries. It would be painful, but I would rather work and not meet any more Germans in the infirmary. The infirmary is a place to rest when you are sick, but it is inside the “concentration camp” and that makes a different point. You do not know what the Germans could do to you while you are sleeping and rather than feeling peaceful, I am sure I would feel anxious all the time while I am inside there. However, Levi had a different point at the first time. He was glad to have the opportunity of staying inside the Ka-Be and have some rest. But later on, he realized “Ka-Be is the Lager without its physical discomforts. So that whoever still has some seed of conscience, feels his conscience re-awaken; and in the long empty ways, one speaks of other things than hunger and work and one begins to consider what they have made us become, how much they have taken away from us, what this life is. In this Ka-Be, an enclosure of relative peace, we have learnt that our personality is fragile, that it is much more in danger than our life… (pg 55)” It was heart breaking to notice that even a peaceful rest was painful as the term death in Auschwitz.

Journal 3 : Initiation

I tend to take a shower every morning before I go to school. It is now a natural habit to me so even though I wake up late in the morning, I skip breakfast and rather take a shower. However, I imagined myself as being one of the prisoners in Auschwitz. Would I even have energy to wash my face or my hands? In Chapter 3, Levi introduced Steinlauf who was washing himself with passion. Although the prisoners did not have any soaps or shampoos, Steinlauf was washing his body. However, Levi had a different opinion of washing. “…Steinlauf sees me and greets me, and without preamble asks me severely why I do not wash. Why should I wash? Would I be better off than I am? Would I please someone more? Would I live a day, an hour longer? I would probably live a shorter time, because to wash is an effort, a waste of energy and warmth. Does not Steinlauf know that after half an hour with the coal sacks every difference between him and me will have disappeared? (pg 40)” After thinking about this quote, I realized Levi was true. Would being clean after using “effort and energy” would worth much better than resting for a while? No one knows when the Jews are going to die. Death might be crawling behind and capture them to death after a minute or an hour passes. Future is always obscure in reality but it is much vaguer in the prison of Auschwitz. Actually, it is scarier since it is “seriously unpredictable.” If it were predictable of knowing when you are going to die, you would have little bit of relief in life than not knowing it. No matter what, the prisoners had the possibility of encountering death anyways. However, they do not know when or how soon they would have to accept the situation. Thus, Levi’s point was miserable but true. There was no existence of energy and time for the Jews to worry about their appearance, since only death was their worries.

Journal 2 : On the Bottom

They are showing their arms.

It is always interesting to notice the deeper meanings of a title. From Chapter 2, I tried to connect the title with the summary to understand the story with depth. First “On the Bottom” reminded me of the chambers located underground. As the Auschwitz Video showed us, the Germans located the gas chambers under the ground to avoid the painful screams of the Jews. To me, the underground chambers were “breath-taking” in a negative way. How painful would the Jews feel when they just enter to the underground chamber, which is large, empty, and chilly? I can feel my heart shivering whenever I imagine about it. It is creepy to notice that it is possible for the Germans to make the Jews end up their lives in that empty room. In overall, the Jews might leave the world behind, with daunting memories placed inside their hearts. How intimidating is that to imagine? However, only the underground chambers did not satisfy the deeper meaning of the title (which might be only my opinion).
From the Chapter 2, as the Jews entered the room, they had to be naked in order to shave their hairs and wash their bodies. They were dying of hunger and thirst but no one cared about it. Later, they also had to endure the pain of their new names, which are actually numbers, “carved” on their arms. “Nothing belongs to us any more; they have taken away our clothes, our shoes, even our hair; if we speak, they will not listen to us, and if they listen, they will not understand. They will even take away our name: and if we want to keep it, we will have to find ourselves the strength to do so, to manage somehow so that behind the name something of us, of us as we were, still remains (pg 27).” Now, they did not have any more precious possessions. They lost everything inside the concentration camp, including their clothes, shoes, hair, and even their names. Now the Jews were sank on the bottom of their lives. Not only they had traveled to the bottom of the chambers, their lives were also located on the bottom, with nothing to lose anymore. In my opinion, "On the Bottom" not only meant about the journey to the bottom chambers, but it was also the starting point of the Jews sinking to the bottom in their lives.