History 105 F2002 Prof. Jeremy Popkin

Essay Assignment for Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

Due date: Wed., Nov. 27. (In other words, if you are planning on cutting class the day before the Thanksgiving holiday, be sure to turn your paper in before you leave.)

Write a 750-word (3 pp double-spaced) essay on one of the following topics:

1. In what ways can the experiences Primo Levi was subjected to in Auschwitz be seen as deliberate rejections of the values of the French Revolution of 1789 and the liberal tradition that had come out of it? Does the creation of Auschwitz show that the liberal belief in reason was unfounded?

2. What accounts for Levi’s survival of Auschwitz? Are there any similarities between his experiences and Olaudah Equiano’s? Are there significant differences? What does this comparison suggest about developments in European civilization from the 18^th to the mid-20^th centuries?