The Suicide of a Camp Survivor: The Case of Primo Levi

The life and death of Primo Levi is told using testimonies and readings from his books. Levi, an Italian Jew who survived Auschwitz, was the son of a well-established Piedmont family. He finished his studies and attained a Doctorate in chemistry in 1943 in spite of the difficulties for Jews. With the fall of Mussolini, the Germans took over most of Italy and Levi, who planned to go to the mountains in the north to join the partisans again fascism, was caught by the militia. He admitted that he was a Jew and was sent to Auschwitz in 1944. Levi was imprisoned there for 10 months, until the liberation of the camp. After his return home to Torin, Levi returned to work, raised a family and lived in his family's old house. He wrote his first book, 'If This is a man' in 1947 where he described his life in Auschwitz. Levi went on to write many books and is recognized as a unique writer. His books have been translated into many languages.