I remember in 9th grade I read Night. I finished reading it and just sat. It's impossible to form a reaction other than shock and disgust at humanity. Though, also an awe for the survival of humanity, despite it all. People outlasted the execution of the extermination of a race. It is our duty as humans to listen to the stories people have to tell. Eye witness accounts. Victims of unimaginable cruelty. Cogs in the machine meticulously designed and programmed for sparing nobody.
In most every book we have read so far the word "truth" is somewhere in the description or reviews. In the last line of Levi's introduction he states, "It seems to me unnecessary to add that none of the facts are invented." The inherent desire to deny these attrocities is almost understandable--not in the ability to turn a cheek to the deaths of millions or the torture of countless others, but to not wanting to believe that people were capable of all of this. That is why these memoirs are so important. They are first hand accounts of what happened--it is undeniable and the information and perspective they give is as important as it is, in every sense of the word, disheartening.
I feel I am underplaying just how moving and important Survival In Auschwitz (and similar books) are. It is imperative that we know our past. That we are informed. That a generation is not silenced. A few years ago I spent my spring break traveling around western Europe (I traveled exclusively by train and yes, I did call my trip spring training). One day I was in Munich and I intended to do a free tour of the city. There were also several candy shops I had been eying and wanted to check out. When I got to Marienplatz I learned that the only tour of Dachau taking place during my time in Germany was leaving in twenty minutes. I had not planned to do this today. I hadn't eaten, I didn't have my good camera, and I just overall didn't expect to spend my day at Dachau. I'm not sure if I thought there was going to be a good time, mentally, to do this...but whatever the case may have been, I decided that I didn't want to miss seeing Dachau and would subsequently be leaving in twenty minutes. I grabbed a quick apple strudel and boarded the train. Walking through Dachau was the most eery thing I have ever done. The sky was the most pure blue. I learned that in the summer, the camp is 4 degrees warmer than the surrounding area and during the winter, the camp is 4 degrees colder than the surrounding area. The conditions of these concentration camps was unbelievable to see. I don't think I spoke for any of the hours of the tour.
While reading Survival in Auschwitz I had the same reaction. This sort of awe at the fact of not only what people survived, but the calculated pain that humans inflicted upon other humans. The discrimination of an entire people, and furthermore the lack of discrimination in mechanical murder--everybody was the same and deserved death for simply being.
The inner strength of humanity to prevail through these mass, extended atrocities is something everybody should be exposed to. We need to learn.
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