Se questo è un uomo, Primo Levi

Genre: Memoir/exposition.

Plot: A compilation of 2 chronicles and 1 exposition which narrate the experience and deepest reflection of Primo Levi on the Nazi concentration camps, of which final objectives were to deprive its prisoners of their humanity, robing them of their identity, hope and dignity. The first book ‘Se questo è un uomo’ narrates his horrifying experience of being imprisoned for 11 months in an Auschwitz concentration camp (Monowitz). The second one ‘la tregua’ describes his journey through Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to finally reach his home in Turin after having been freed from the concentration camp. The third book ‘I sommersi e i salvati’ is an exposition in which he analyzes the world of the concentration camps from a sociological and psychological perspective. Levi concludes that, in terms of its effectiveness, this was the most refined and brutal way of all times to destroy people physically and psychologically.