Primo+Levi

“Primo Levi was born in Turin, Italy in 1919 and was trained as a chemist .”(Primo Levi, inch.com) Primo Levi wrote many books like The Wrench and The Periodic Table. Primo Levi first gained fame with his autobiographical story Se questo è un uomo,which means if this is a man. Primo Levi was a middle-class Jew, who was arrested during WW II as an anti-Fascist and was deported to Auschwitz in 1944. An interviewer asked Mr. Levi “40 years ago, what was your first impact with Auschwitz?” and he replied “Different; It was night time, after a disastrous journey during which some of the people in the car had died, and arriving in a place where we didn't understand the language, the purpose... there were some senseless writings, showers, the 'clean side', the 'dirty side'; Nobody explained anything, and they spoke to us in Yiddish or Polish, and we didn't understand. It was really an alienating experience. It seemed we had abandoned the ability to reason, we didn't reason. ” (Primo Levi, inch.com) Primo Levi worked at one of three I.G. Farben laboratories and was spared from the gas chambers. One of the non-Jewish guest worker secretly gave Primo Levi extra servings of food.(Primo Levi, kirjasto.sci.fi) Primo’s Grandmother, Bimo, was a baroness and so was her entire family.(Primo Levi, kirjasto.sci.fi) Primo got liberated by the Soviets in January 1945 and then returned to Turin in October of that year. In 1961 Primo became the general manager of a factory that produces paints. He soon retired to become a full-time writer. Primo corresponded with Hety Schmitt-Maas for 20 years. Hety also helped Primo track down Dr. Meyer and sent him German articles on the nazis. Primo suffered from a severe episode of depression. David Mendel, a retired British cardiologist, received a letter from the writer dated February 7, 1987: "I have fallen into a rather serious depression; I have lost all interest in writing and even in reading. I am extremely low and I do not want to see anyone. I ask you as a 'Proper Doctor' what should I do? I feel the need for help but I do not know what sort." (Primo Levi’s last moments, bostonreview.net) Primo’s depression may have been from one of his other memories other than Auschwitz. Primo died in Turin April 1987 because of suicide by jumping down and breaking his skull and died instantly.

Works Cited

"Levi Primo." Levi Primo. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

"Primo Levi." Primo Levi. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

"Primo Levi's Last Moments." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

"Primo Levi." - Mémoire De La Shoah. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014. "Primo Levi." Amazon.co.uk: : Books, Biogs, Audiobooks, Discussions. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

Back to the Heroes of the Holocaust
//This page has been revised {$pagerevisions} times. // //The last revision was {$revisiondate} by {$revisioneditor}. //