Gli studenti approfondiscono il tema della discriminazione con

la lettura e l‟analisi critica di due testi: "Appunti per un

naufragio" dello scrittore siciliano Davide Enia e “Se questo è un

uomo” di Primo Levi.

I lavori sono stati presentati in videoconferenza con i partner

croati, un‟esperienza altamente formativa nella quale si è aperto

un dibattito sulle varie forme di discriminazione, in particolare

su quella razziale.

L‟incontro e l‟argomento trattato hanno suscitato una profonda

emozione negli alunni e nei docenti coinvolti.

https://www.facebook.com/natalia.caracci/videos/1667641573274153/

Progetto Erasmus “WE,THE KIDS OF THE EU, BELIEVE…”

III E

2017/2018

WHAT DISCRIMINATION CAN DO...

PRIMO LEVI

Primo Levi was born in Turin in July 31st 1919 from Ester Luzzati and

Cesare Levi, belonging to Jewish families.In 1934 he was inscribed at

the classical High school Massimo d‟Azeglio in Turin.In November

1938 racial laws came into force after that in Germany anti-semitism

was manifested through actions of violence. These laws have introduced

serious discriminations against Italian citizens “of Hebrew race”.

Despite this, he graduated in 1941 with a thesis in chemistry.

In 1942 he moved to Milan where he came in contact with anti-fascist

environments and entered in the secret action party. In December 1943

he was arrested by the nazi-fascists. In February of the following year

he was deported in the concentration camp of Auschwitz because he

was Jew.After his release from the Auschwitz camp he wrote lots of works,

but the most famous is named «SE QUESTO E‟ UN UOMO»

(IF THIS IS A MAN).

He died in Turin on 1987.

"SE QUESTO E' UN UOMO" is a book written by Primo Levi, where he

describes the life full of sufferings of the Jews during the II World War in

concentration camps. In December 1943, Primo Levi was arrested by the

Nazi-fascists; in February of the following year he was deported to the

Auschwitz concentration camp. The book is the testament of a man who

tried to survive in a nightmare without light. He was a human being

considered worse than a beast, without dignity, defrauded even of his

name and the desire to exist. Everyday suffering is "composed of

hunger, beatings, cold, fatigue, fear and promiscuity". However, in spite

of this, Levi fights to the end to have the strength to survive physically

and mentally and to have the courage after witnessing what happened.

The behavior of the Nazis is the proof of how mankind can become

cruel and ruthless towards other men, considered " different" and " not

human".

The train on which Primo Levi was travelling , was going through the last Italian

cities. They were 45 and he wondered who among the Italians would survive

and who would not. The things for which they suffered the most were thirst and

cold. They desperately asked for some water, but it was useless, because the

guards did not allow anyone to approach. The train crossed some Austrian cities

where the snow was high. Now nobody tried to ask for help or water outside,

they felt (as Primo Levi says) on “the other side”. Next to Primo Levi there was a

woman he knew, but he knew a little about her and they found themselves

companions and said things that would never have been said under normal

circumstances.

In my opinion the worst thing they could do for the captured people was not to

kill them, but treat them as inanimate beings without feelings and get to reduce

them like this, without emotions and without any strength. Primo Levi had to

keep his dignity, even if Germans tried to make him a “not human being”.

Primo Levi describes the arrival to the camp of Auschwitz.The name

“SUL FONDO” refers to the condition of the prisoners that were on the

Bottom of the human condition. Primo Levi describes the end of their long

travel in a train and the beginning of their new life inside the lager.

The SS agents let out the prisoners from the train and they lined up the

prisoners. He describes that they divided them: the women and the children

on one side, the men on the other side and the elders on another side.

That will be the last time that the men will see their women and their children

As the night swallowed them. they saw a group of men with the head

inclined and they wore one striped uniform.

Levi realized that this would be his future and no one would have been saved.

Another thing that Levi learned and lived was that the prisoners didn‟t have

a name, their name was a number.

In this chapter we learned the <misery> of the prisoners “without a name”

Primo Levi tells his days inside the lager. The author tells us that the prisoners

in those places were treated as if they were sheeps. The sensitive soul of Levi

surrenders to the idea that, sooner or later, death would come for him and

therefore

he begins not to wash himself anymore.

One day inside of the wash house he was approached by a friend, Steinlauf, who

asked him why he was not washing himself.

He continued on saying that washing was not imposed from the Prussians, but

was a way to feel alive and safeguarding their own dignity.

He adds that if had not washed himself, he would have let the German have power

on him. The words of Steinlauf throw the seed from which it will sprout

“SE QUESTO E‟ UN UOMO”. In fact to resist to the temptation of surrending to

death,men must keep their humanity and store memory of those terrible facts.

In this chapter, Primo Levi says that inside the lager the days seemed all the

same. To them all seemed enemy. Levi tells of his companion, called Zero

Eighteen, as the last three digits of his serial number. He is a young boy, who

endures fatigue and fasting. He is a dangerous companion and no one wants to

work with him because everyone tries to evade the fatigue. Levi speaks of Null

Achtzenh, describing him as one who has already lost his humanity. One day the

two men saw a locomotive with two Russian wagons and Levi dreams with open

eyes: He took refuge on one of them and, one of them once descended from the

wagon, met an Italian woman who would help him. Unfortunately, as he thought,

the locomotive had already gone, reminding Levi that, ahe is dreaming. The last

part of this chapter is the one that gives the title to the entire chapter: it speaks

about the visit of Levi to the infirmary, called Krankenbau (with abbreviation Kà-

Be). Here he is forced to stay bare, to wait 10 hours, and then he is transferred to

Block 23, destined to the sick and the less serious wounded. The visit of Primo

Levi is a famous part of the novel, with the famous phrase dictated by a German:

"DU JUDE KAPUTT. DU SCHNELL KREMATORIUMFERTIG "(You Jew are peddled,

soon you will go to crematorium,). From the keywords that Primo Levi writes, it

can be deduced that: he had ceased to consider in that man an "human "attitude.

In the concentration camps Levi identifies two categories of people: the

saved and the submerged. They are two very different kinds of people and

they are „easy‟ to identify.

The submerged are those who haven‟t way out, who can‟t rebel, nor they will

succeed to rise up and who die alone and disappear as if they never existed.

Levi tells that these Muslims populate his memory and if he could hold in an

image all the evil of his time, he would the image of a man with curved

shoulders, where on the face and on the eyes you can‟ t read trace of thought.

The saved are those who try in every way with unethical attitudes or with

treachery to earn a small trust from the leaders and so avoid to do the hardest

work or even just to have an extra food ration.

But there was also a lot of prisoners who struggled every day. They resisted

their enemies and with patience and strength they succeed to survive to the

adversities of life.

Prisoners found many ways to survive; many of these required struggles and

compromises.

One day the announcement was made by the establishment

of the chemical commando. The kapò of the commando,

Alex, was not a true chemist. The kapò said that there would

be a chemistry exam in front of three experts. The certain

thing was that if someone became a specialist there would

be more chances to live. Finally the kapò went to take the

seven chemists who will have to face the exam.Arrived his

moment Levi enters with Alex in Dr. Pannwitz's study and

notices a strange look in him. He realizes that in that look he

finds what all the Germans feel about him: something that

belongs to a genre that must be suppressed, Levi during

the exam proves the same feeling felt during all his

university exams. But all this ends shortly after, Alex and

Pannwitz are just like all the other Germans.

GROUP 1

-ACQUAVIVA GIORGIA

-CARLI CRISTIAN

-TERRASI SIMONA

GROUP 2

-BITETTO MATTIA

-GELARDI

GIUSEPPE

-GRADO SIMONE

GROUP 3

-LONGO GIULIA

-CASTELLESE GABRIELE

-GIGLIO SALVO

GROUP 4

-BRISCUSO

VINCENZO

-ROMAGNOLO

ADRIANA

-CORSALE

CLAUDIA

GROUP 5

-MORTILLARO AURORA

-DE LUCA MARTA

-LIPARI DAVIDE

GROUP 6

-SALA ALIDA

-TUTTOILMONDO

EMANUELE

-TREVISO LORENZO

GROUP 7

-DAVI‟ ISABELLA

-MANCUSO MARTA

-RIZZO FRANCESCO

GROUP 8

-AMATO

MARIACHIARA

-VASSALLO GIUSEPPE

-VASSALLO ALESSIA