Overview
- Interview Summary
- Primo Levi (1919-1987) describes the history of antisemitism in Italy; experiencing almost no antisemitism until 1943; the ghettos in Italy that existed until 1848; antisemitism in his childhood; the racial legislation introduced in Italy after Mussolini met with Hitler in 1938; studying chemistry at the University of Turin then working as a chemist for two years; going with his mother and sister to the mountains outside Turin; meeting with non-Jewish friends and trying to start a partisan group; being caught in December 1943; being interrogated and declaring himself a Jew; being sent to the internment camp at Fossoli and the conditions there; being sent after a month to Auschwitz and the journey there; entering the camp and the selection process; being sent to Monowitz labor camp; the conditions and his work there; his memories of hunger in the camp; the mental states of the inmates and the social dynamics in the camp; the disorientation caused by not comprehending the numerous languages in the camp and the importance of learning German; hearing the Russians approach in December 1944; going to the infirmary after contracting scarlet fever and avoiding the death march out of the camp; the bombing of the camp; staying alive during the 10 days after the Germans left and before the Russians arrived; receiving a meat ration after the arrival of the Russians; and the collaboration he experienced upon liberation and how human relations changed.
- Interviewee
- Primo Levi
- Date
-
interview:
1972
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, purchased from the Imperial War Museum Collection
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Extent
-
1 sound cassette : analog.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Antisemitism--Italy. Concentration camp inmates--Selection process. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Forced labor. Hiding places--Italy. Holocaust survivors. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Italy--Personal narratives. Jewish ghettos--Italy. Jews--Italy. Jews--Legal status, laws, etc.--Italy. Jews--Persecutions--Italy. Scarlatina. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Italy. World War, 1939-1945--Jewish resistance--Italy. Men--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Italy--History--1922-1945. Italy. Oświęcim (Poland) Turin (Italy)
- Personal Name
- Levi, Primo--Interviews.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Imperial War Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The interview was conducted by Thames Television for the "World at War" Television Series. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Primo Levi from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 08:17:12
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn510176
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