Through Different Lenses: Survival and Memory in Levi and Delbo’s Works

 

 

The Holocaust left survivors struggling with intense psychological and ethical questions, feelings and memories which shaped the way they were able to process and convey their experiences of the Holocaust and the concentration camps. Primo Levi and Charlotte Delbo each use distinctively individual styles, perspectives, and themes to illustrate survival during and after the Holocaust. Levi explores the ethical and psychological trials of survival and the lasting impact of the Holocaust, while Delbo studies the experiences of women in resistance movements and concentration camps, bringing their struggles and strengths to light. Together, their works bring to light the diverse experiences of survivors and how they cope with their memories.

Primo Levi’s The Drowned and the Saved provides a deeply analytical and philosophical account of survival, focusing on the moral ambiguity and psychological burdens faced by Holocaust survivors.  A chemist by profession, Levi approaches his testimony of the horrors in the concentration camps and his survival with a rational, methodical and unemotional lens, seeking to understand the mechanisms of dehumanization and endurance. While attempting to describe the horrors he experienced, Primo Levi stated “our language lacks words to express this offense, the demolition of a man.” (Levi, 1986)

Levi’s writing style is up-front, analytical and detail oriented, pointing toward his scientific background. He avoids overly emotional language, instead using precise, logical words and accounts to scrutinize the Holocaust’s moral and psychological aspects. His clear, unemotional, methodical approach allows readers to connect intellectually with the details of survival because it lacks the emotionality of other survivors’ accounts. One example of his attention to detail is “If a shoe hurts, one has to go in the evening to the ceremony of the changing of the shoes: This tests the skill of the individual who, in the middle of the incredible crowd, has to be able to choose at an eyes glance one, (not a pair, one) shoe which fits… Once the choice is made, there can be no second change… Death begins with the shoes. For most of us, they show themselves to be instruments of torture... After a few hours of marching. Cause painful sores which become fatally infected.” (Levi, 1986)This passage describes in detail the process of gaining shoes, and the consequences of having shoes that didn’t fit, but Primo did not elaborate on the adrenaline one must have felt trying to get a new shoe, or any emotions the prisoners must have felt while trying to procure shoes that fit and use them after.

One of the central themes in Levi’s work is how survivors must tell their story, even when words feel inadequate. The states. “It has not been written in order to formulate new accusations. It should be able rather to furnish documentation for a quiet study of certain aspects of the human mind…. The story of the death camps should be understood by everyone as a sinister alarm signal. ” (Levi, 1986) His clear, straightforward writing stresses the limits of language to fully explain the suffering of prisoners of concentration camps. He also showed how memory and testimony are shaped by this struggle to find the right words, stating “the book has been written to satisfy this need… as an interior liberation… the chapters have been written not in logical succession, but in order of urgency.” (Levi, 1986)

Levi’s perspective as scientist and a survivor affects his writing substantially. His scientific background promotes a rational approach to his perception of the workings of the concentration camp system, while his personal experiences offer direct awareness of the prisoners’ continual struggle for survival. His identity shapes his writing, making his work very personal to him while also making it universally informative and relevant.

Charlotte Delbo’s Auschwitz and After is a vastly different but similarly persuasive portrayal of survival. A member of the French Resistance along with her husband, Delbo was arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where she underwent immeasurable suffering along with other women prisoners. Her writing discusses themes of struggle, resilience, and the experiences of women in the Holocaust.

Delbo’s poetic and fragmented style sets her work apart from Levi’s. Rather than presenting a straightforward, analytical account, she uses this combination of prose, poetry and prose poems to portray fragmented memories that echo the disorientation of trauma. One memorable example of this style choice was “We are caught within a block of crystal through which we see the living, far back in our memories.” (Delbo, 1995) This literary choice plunges readers into the raw emotions of her experience, mirroring the way memory functions for survivors.

A primary theme in Delbo’s work is the meeting of struggle and resilience. She focuses on the psychological and physical endurance of women in Auschwitz, displaying their ability to resist dehumanization despite overwhelming suffering. One example of this was when she stated “to keep these barrows over our heads entails superhuman effort, and our comrade ahead sinks, disappears, is swallowed up by the mud. We must pull her out, set her on course in the slime, yet we cannot let go of the barrow, impossible to get rid of it, it is chained fast to our wrists.” Delbo centers her writing on the strength and solidarity of female prisoners.

Delbo’s perspective as a non-Jewish woman in the French Resistance adds another dimension to her work. Unlike Levi, who was deported as a Jewish prisoner from Italy, Delbo was arrested for her political writings and actions against Nazi Germany and occupation in France. Her testimony develops the overall narrative of Holocaust survival, including perspectives and experiences of those who resisted fascism and were subsequently punished.

Levi and Delbo contrast greatly in their writing styles. Levi’s clear, structured, detailed and unemotional prose encourages intellectual, rational reflection on the complex mechanics of survival and Delbo’s poetic, fragmented style throws the reader into the emotional and sensory viewpoints of survival and trauma. Levi’s style encourages intellectual engagement, while Delbo’s approach promotes a deep emotional connection to her writing.

While both Levi and Delbo write about survival, their approaches and styles differ significantly, influencing their descriptions of the Holocaust and their experiences in concentration camps in distinct ways. Levi and Delbo’s thematic approaches to survival are significantly different from one another. Levi examines survival through a moral and psychological lens, examining the problems faced by prisoners, while Delbo focuses on survival as a shared experience, pointing out the strength and solidarity of women in the camps.

Levi and Delbo’s personal perspectives also influenced their writing in different ways. Levi’s life experience as a man, a chemist and a Jewish survivor directs his analytical approach to writing about survival while Delbo’s experiences as a non-Jewish woman, who was a French citizen and a political prisoner because of her activity in the French resistance shape her emphasis on the gendered suffering of women and their collective, quiet strength.

Men and women experienced the concentration camps differently, with their suffering shaped by gendered forms of violence, labor, and social dynamics. All prisoners experienced brutal conditions however women faced unique hardships. While men were given physically demanding labor, such as construction or factory work, women were pushed into textile work, domestic service, and agricultural labor. Women’s work was underrated, but it was just as exhausting as the men’s work. The Nazi party also often subjected Jewish and Non-Jewish women to brutal torture.  Women in concentration camps were exposed to sexual abuse, including forced sterilization, rape, and other medical experimentation performed by Nazi doctors. Many women prisoners were also exposed to reproductive violence like forced abortions to control Jewish and other ostracized populations such as the Roma (Gypsy) people. An article titled, Women During the Holocaust states “German physicians and medical researchers used Jewish and Roma (Gypsy) women as subjects for sterilization experiments…women were particularly vulnerable to beatings and rape Pregnant Jewish women…were forced to submit to abortions” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2025) Pregnant women and mothers with small children were often the first to be picked for execution, as they were seen as unfit for hard labor. “During deportation operations, pregnant women and mothers of small children were consistently labeled “incapable of work.” They were sent to killing centers, where camp officials often included them in the first groups to be sent to the gas chambers.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2025)  Infants that were born in concentration camps were often killed immediately after being discovered or died due to starvation and disease.

Primo Levi and Charlotte Delbo have two very distinct and equally powerful portrayals of survival in Holocaust literature. Levi’s analytical, unemotional and intellectual account of survival contrasts with Delbo’s poetic, fragmented, and emotional testimony. While Levi scrutinizes the moral dilemmas and psychological burdens faced by survivors, Delbo focuses on the resilience and suffering of women in resistance movements and concentration camps. Together, their writing gives a broad viewpoint of survival, showing the difference in the ways individuals survive and then remembered the Holocaust after. The writing of Levi, Delbo and many others that documented their experienced in the concentration camps make certain that the horrors of the Holocaust are remembered, allowing future generations to learn from the mistakes of the past and become better.

References

Delbo, C. (1995). Auschwitz and After. Yale University Press.

Levi, P. (1986). Survival in Auschwitz. Touchstone.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2025, 3 1). Women During the Holocause. Retrieved 3 1, 2025, from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/women-during-the-holocaust