Primo Levi

1918–1987 · lived 68 years

Primo Levi was an Italian writer, chemist, and Holocaust survivor. He is best known for his detailed account of his experience in Auschwitz, "Is This a Man".

n. 1918-07-31, Turim · m. 1987-04-11, Turim

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Bio

Primo Levi (July 31, 1919 – April 11, 1987) was an Italian writer, chemist, and partisan, as well as a Holocaust survivor. Born in Turin, Levi graduated in chemistry in 1941. In 1943, he joined the anti-fascist resistance but was arrested and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. His experience there led him to write the seminal book "Is This a Man" (Se questo è un uomo), a poignant and objective account of his time in the camp. Other important works include "The Truce" (the continuation of "Is This a Man"), "The Periodic Table", and "If Not Now, When?". Levi's writing is marked by its clarity, precision, and deep humanity, exploring themes of memory, identity, and the nature of evil.

Poems

No poems found

Quotes

Today I think that if for no other reason than that an Auschwitz existed, no one in our age should speak of Providence.

Sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable.

We collected in a group in front of their door, and we experienced within ourselves a grief that was new for us, the ancient grief of the people that has no land, the grief without hope of the exodus which is renewed in every century.

It is this refrain that we hear repeated by everyone: you are not at home, this is not a sanatorium, the only exit is by way of the Chimney. (What did it mean? Soon we were all to learn what it meant.)

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