Primo Levi Timeline and Summary

•  Back
• More 

• Primo is captured by the Fascist Militia, and given over to the SS. He and many other Jewish prisoners are taken to Auschwitz.
• When he arrives, he sees the women and children separated out. He has no idea what's happened to them.
• Being processed into the camp involves being stripped, shaven, de-loused, and getting a tattoo on one's forearm. Primo is now Prisoner 174517.
• Along with all the other prisoners, Primo is assigned to a Kommando (a work detail) and is made to do hard labor.
• He's also starved and forced to live in crowded, filthy conditions.
• During one of these work assignments, he severely cuts his foot and is placed for a time in Ka-Be, the infirmary unit.
• While there, he learns about the gas chambers and the Chimney (which is the camp name for the crematoria where the Nazis burn the bodies of the prisoners who were gassed or died of starvation and exposure).
• He recovers and goes back to hard labor in the freezing weather. He's afraid that he won't survive the winter in his weakened condition.
• A lifeline is thrown to him: If he can pass the Chemistry Examination, maybe he'll be put to work in the Laboratory. He'll have a better chance for survival as a Specialist, since the work will be easier, and there are some perks (like a jacket and better shoes).
• The Russians are approaching, and Auschwitz is frequently under air attack.
• Eventually, he's put into the Chemical Kommando, but it's business as usual. In fact, it's even harder, because he has to haul around super-heavy bags of a caustic chemical that eats away his skin.
• Finally, three men are selected for the Laboratory, and Primo's one of them. The work's easier, and he's able to steal valuable items to trade for more food.
• Primo bands together with his best friend Alberto, and between the two of them they're successful at getting extra soup and bread.
• One night, Primo sees a Jewish prisoner hanged. This guy was defiant to the end, and Primo realizes just how much the other prisoners, himself included, have lost their humanity. They aren't men anymore, and this makes him ashamed.
• With the Russian forces approaching, the Nazis evacuate all healthy prisoners out of the camp.
• Primo, who has contracted scarlet fever, is left in Ka-Be again. Sick people are dying all around him (or freezing to death in the cold).
• He makes friends with two French prisoners, Charles and Arthur, and they help each other out—and help out lots of the other remaining prisoners by sharing their food. This helps Primo begin to regain a sense of being a human being.
• The Russians finally arrive, and liberate the camp. Primo stays in touch with Arthur and Charles, who helped him during their final days in Auschwitz.