During World War II, concentration camps were the final solution in executing millions in the Jewish population. In the camps, Nazis inflicted horrendous crimes upon innocent men, women, and children. The survival rate once residing in the camps were slim, mainly centered around the threats to survive in the camps, through dehumanization, physical suffering, and mental abuse. Out of thousands of internment camps the most famous is Auschwitz, located in what is now Poland. It was there in Auschwitz, where an Italian Jewish chemist, Primo Levi, against all odds, survived a year at the camp, before it was liberated in 1945. As soon as Levi entered the camp any form of identity was immediately taken away from him. His was stripped of his belongings, and given a new form of identification. Levi recounted the painful experience by stating, “I have learnt that I am Haftling. My number is 174517; we have been baptized, we will carry the tattoo on our left arm until we die” (Levi, 27). Levi soon learned, if you did not respond to your said number, then beatings or cuffs would be served as punishment. “Undesirables” who entered the camp, …show more content…
An important lesson that Levi learned, was the value of shoes. In the beginning, as the men stripped, their shoes were torn off, and thrown into a mixed pile. After their were “baptized” they were given broken boots with wooden soles. Levi explained how “death begins with the shoes; for most of us, they show themselves to be instruments of torture…” (Levi, 34). The importance of footwear was great, and decided whether you lived or died. For example, if a prisoner’s shoe did not fit properly, then they are susceptible to getting painful sores or even worse, infections. Causing them to be deemed “unhealthy”. Unfortunately, since there was no cure for ‘dicke Fusse’ (swollen feet), most prisoners, who can not work, end up