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Also known as books 1-2 of the Auschwitz Trilogy OR Survival in Auschwitz, If This Is a Man / The Truce by Primo Levi (original title - Se questo è un uomo ; La tregua) is a memoir of the Holocaust by a Jewish Italian chemist who survived about a year in the infamous WWII concentration camp.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27, 2025.

To read a little more about the man:

To read a bit about his book:

For a related documentary from Yale Alumni Academy:

PLEASE NOTE: This may be a tough read and/or discussion for any Jewish members or members who have Jewish ties.

I've read the first half of Se questo è un uomo/If This Is a Man and the first half is a matter-of-fact description of life in the camp. It's an impressive read so far.
The second half has more of the author's thoughts and feelings, written in a simple and powerful style.

I'll be starting this in a few days time.

I finished it last night and rated it five stars-and I am stingy with stars!

I read the first three chapters of If This Is a Man. Levi's writing is impassive, yet I still find the reading difficult.

I've just finished the second book, which relates his experience after the Germans leave and his long journey through Russia- and his eventual return home.
If This Is a Man was written quickly while the experiences were still fresh in his mind.
La tregua/The Reawakening was written years later. The author wrote a chapter at a time while he was also working on other projects, in other words, in his free time.

It doesn't have the intensity of the first book, but scenes in Auschwitz after the Germans have left are harrowing. Once he's on the way to Russia, the mood is a lot lighter.

Just finished If This Is a Man. It's quite a powerful account. Will get to The Truce in a couple of days.

Finished The Truce . That after surviving the horrors at Auschwitz, they had yet to pass more hurdles to get home was really saddening.

And some people never made it home, sadly.