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The Cosmic Salon:
At the outset Primo tells us that he writes these memoirs for two basic reasons:
Read out loud the poem he has written "If This Is A Man..." What is Levi's point? The Nazi Psychological Assault: 1. “The Journey”
p. 13 What was the nature of Levi's brief
experience as a partisan? p. 13 Why did he
identify himself during his interrogation as a Jew and not as member of the political
resistance? p. 15 What
made the day before
departure from the
detention camp surreal? p. 16 What does Levi find absurd about the Germans'
thinking and methods? p. 18 Describe the impact of the conditions of the
boxcar on the character
of the prisoners. p.
19 What did Levi say to the woman who
sat with him throughout the journey on the night before they arrived at
Auschwitz? p. 19 What made the selections on the platform ‘dreamlike’? How
many of the Italian Jews survive their first night in Auschwitz? p. 20 Describe the ‘Canada’
detachment of prisoners
who welcomed the prisoners. p.
23 List the orders given to the prisoners upon arrival at the
disinfection center. What rules must theu follow? What happens to
their shoes? What happens to their clothes? What happens to their hair? p. 27 What does Levi find at ‘the bottom’? What psychological challenge will survival require to
be overcome? p. 27 Explain the double sense of the term “extermination
camp”. What are the
key ingredients of
the Nazi psychological assault on the prisoners? p. 28 What is Levi’s number? Why are the prisoners numbered? How can the history of
the camp be explained in numbers? Why are those with high
numbers regarded with ridicule? p.
29 When Primo reaches for an icicle, it is knocked from his
hand by a kapo. When he asks, “Why?”, he
is told, “There is no why here.” What does that mean? p. 30 What is the purpose of the prison band
and the Parade? Why
are the prisoners forced to march in this manner? What is its purpose? (The
Tune ‘Rosamunda') YET p. 31 How does Primo describe Schlome's face, a face he never saw again?
Paragraph: Explain the double sense of the term “extermination camp”. What are the key ingredients of the Nazi psychological assault on the prisoners?
p.
32 Describe the topography of the Auschwitz real estate
market. p.
33. Describe the hierarchy of Auschwitz’s class system. p.
33 What is the basic rule about all possessions at
Auschwitz? p.
34 What are the rules at Auschwitz designed to do? p.
35 How do you find the right job at the Buna Works?
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