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Chapter 12, The Events of the Summer
Summary
In the spring of 1944, convoys arrive from Hungary. Hungarian becomes the second language of the camp after Yiddish. Levi’s membership in the Chemical Kommando had not produced the benefits in upgraded status for which he had hoped. In June and July, the inmates feel fleeting hope hearing news of developments in the war, which includes information about the Allies’ landing in Normandy, the Russian offensive, and a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. In August, the Allies begin bombing the area of Poland where Auschwitz is situated and continue throughout the fall. The bombardments effectually stop work on the Buna rubber plant, and the day that production of synthetic rubber is due to start in August comes and goes.
Levi’s Kommando busied themselves repairing the damage and constructing useless shelters against the air raids. The Buna plant begins to fall apart around them. Returning to the camp from the disintegrating Buna work site, the men find no water, light, or soup. They are prohibited from entering the air raid shelters. When the air-raid alarms sound, they are reduced to lying in open areas of the Buna property. Levi watches all their work on the plant come to ruin. Both the civilian Germans and the Nazi SS rage against the inmates, whom they suspected of enjoying the tide turning against their captors.
At this time, Lorenzo, an Italian civilian worker, emerges as a bright spot in Levi’s world. Lorenzo feeds and clothes Levi over the course of the summer into the fall. Levi alludes to other inmates having shady relationships with civilians, and he makes a distinction that his relationship with Lorenzo was not based on any quid pro quo, only on Lorenzo’s altruism. Levi credits his survival to Lorenzo, not just because of his material aid but his presence as a force for good.
Analysis
Levi notes the newly dominant Hungarian language in the camp, yet another challenge to overcome. The Chemical Kommando was to be Levi’s stepping stone to privileged upgrades in his daily life. He had thought it to be his ticket to survival. When the benefits do not materialize, he embraces the status quo and reassures himself that at least he is not worse off and change is overrated. He notes the camp’s waves of exuberance over the tide turning against the Germans in the war. He lists the events in the news in one brief sentence, belying their significance as turning points in the war. With the Allies’ invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, combined British, Canadian, and United States pilots and troops successfully breach the German bunker line on the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the liberation of France from Nazi control. Coordinated with this offensive, two weeks later the Soviet Union mount a counterattack against the German front line in Russia, push them back, and continue into Poland. On July 20, 1944, German military leaders attempt to briefcase bomb Hitler, who survives the blast with minor injuries. The Buna plant is bombed by Allied planes in August of 1944.
The signs that the Germans were being defeated do not inspire Levi to hope. As a survival technique, he has trained himself to avoid imagining the future. Nevertheless, the trauma of seeing his Buna work destroyed makes him feel cursed. The senseless efforts to protect and rebuild it after each air raid contribute to his sense of unreality. The bombardments were endured by the inmates in the open, away from falling debris. The camp suspends basic amenities of food and shelter. Hostility erupts among the Germans against the inmates with the dawning realization of their own vulnerability. In the midst of the camp breakdown, Levi is saved by an Italian civilian, Lorenzo. Lorenzo brings him food and clothing for six months. Levi credits him for his survival not just by meeting his dire physical needs but also his spiritual needs. Lorenzo’s pure altruism reminds Levi that there is good in the world worth surviving for.
