The Tenacity of the Human Spirit in Levi's "If This Is a Man"
The Holocaust is remembered as one of the most horrific events in human history, and a large reason why it stands in infamy is due to the firsthand accounts of individuals who survived this atrocity. One notable survivor was Italian-Jewish chemist Primo Levi, who—after the conclusion of World War II—began writing about his tragic experiences as a prisoner. In 1947 he published his most distinguished piece, a memoir titled If This Is a Man. The book touched upon his tribulations in the highly notorious Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, and his eventual liberation by Russian forces. In America the name of Levi’s memoir was changed to Survival in Auschwitz, and while this appellation is certainly related to subject matter in the book, the title If This Is a Man is more suited to the overall content of the piece, which thematically questions the significance of the loss of humanity in the camp on both a collective and individual level.
"A man is normally not alone, and in his rise of fall is tied to the destinies of his neighbours;" (Levi 88)
The reckless dehumanization that was experienced by prisoners is described throughout the book, and serves as one of the most evident themes in the piece as a whole. From the very first chapter it is clear that Levi and his comrades are no longer seen as human beings. When loaded onto trains to be taken to Auschwitz, German officers refer to the prisoners as “six hundred and fifty ‘pieces’” and Levi recalls feeling “like cheap merchandise”. This brief passage however only lightly foreshadows the inhumanity to come. Upon arrival, Levi is immediately struck by the physical appearance of the veteran prisoners he interacts with, who he describes as zombie-like, with “odd embarrassed step[s], head[s] dangling in front, arms rigid”. In a quasi-prophetic moment, Levi speculates that “This was the metamorphosis that awaited us. Tomorrow we would be like them”, and right he was. Several pages later, after being shaved and stripped naked he declares, “We are transformed into the phantoms glimpsed yesterday evening”. Levi no longer sees himself as a man, but rather a desolate creature that is more dead than alive.
Time and time again Levi also asserts that the sole purpose of the camps was to transform human beings into animals, saying that it was all “a great machine to reduce us to beasts”. Numerous times throughout the book he compares himself and other prisoners to “tired beasts” and other animals. While partaking in back-breaking labor, Levi describes being beaten like “cart-drivers do with willing horses”. Later on he compares some Hungarian prisoners to “terrified cattle”, and refers to those in his unit as “cringing dogs”. Indeed, when it is meal time the Kapo overseeing Levi’s group uses the term “fressen” to call the prisoners to eat, which is a German term typically reserved for animals. Life in Nazi concentration camps was truly an all-encompassing process of dehumanization that Levi does not hesitate to address in his memoir.
"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, according to a definite law of perspective. It is providential and our means of surviving in the camp." (Levi 73)
Along with this brutal dehumanization also came an overwhelming loss of self, which brought about a metaphorical death of sorts. Prisoners were stripped of all possessions immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz, unable to retain anything from their former lives. Levi describes being “naked, alone, and unknown”, feeling as though he had been transformed into only a shell of his former self. Almost every aspect of their identity was stolen from prisoners, even down to their very names. Levi and his fellow inmates were branded with a mere number, which would become their new title indefinitely.
After this point in the book Levi experiences a change of heart, and begins to feel dead on the inside by detaching himself from reality. He “learns quickly enough to wipe out the past and future”, stating that “It was better not to think”. Countless times throughout the book he asserts that true “wisdom lay in ‘not trying to understand’, not imagining the future,” indicating the extent of his newfound hopelessness. This loss of self plays most strongly into Levi’s emotions—or lack thereof—as he describes himself as incapable of feeling, even as he watches the executions and deaths of other prisoners. “Oh, if one could only cry!” he exclaims, without avail. Levi asserts that this is the greatest “success” of the Germans: the internal destruction of a man, which he indicates has left them completely “conquered”. Towards the end of the novel Levi claims that “Part of our existence lies in the feelings of those near to us”. In being surrounded by physical death and destruction, even those who “survived” became dead and destroyed in their own way, experiencing a loss of self that resulted in attitudes of indifference and inexpressible feelings of emptiness.
"But Lorenzo was a man; his humanity was pure and un-contaminated, he was outside this world of negation. Thanks to Lorenzo, I managed not to forget that I myself was a man." (Levi 122)
Throughout the book Levi describes cruel instances of dehumanization and internal loss, which begs readers to consider if these individuals can really still be considered “men”, as is asked by the original title of the memoir. In the end of the piece, one finds that the answer to this question is, in fact, still yes. As a prisoner Levi suppressed his memories and feelings, but in the last chapter of the book (after the destruction of the camp) he slowly begins to regain these remnants of his former self. Slowly but surely, he shows he is still capable of compassion and emotion, as he begins forming new friendships and taking care of survivors who are in need. In demonstrating this resurrection of humanity that was assumed to be dead throughout the book, Levi calls audiences to reflect on the resiliency of human beings, while also testifying to the redemptive power of collective memory and shared experience. Needless to say, this book is about far more than just survival in Auschwitz, as it attests to the broader, universal fortitude of the human spirit.
"Sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable." (Levi 17)
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