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Kommando
German for “prisoner,” Häftling and the plural Häftlinge refer primarily to Jewish prisoners, though occasionally refer to non-Jewish prisoners as well. The name Häftling not only declares one’s imprisonment in the Lager, however, but signifies how their former identity as an individual has been overridden by their status as a prisoner. As Levi gradually regains his humanity, he describes transitioning from Häftling back to a human being again.
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Häftling Term Timeline in Survival in Auschwitz
The timeline below shows where the term Häftling appears in Survival in Auschwitz. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2. On the Bottom
...Levi is tattooed with the number 174517 on his wrist, and he officially becomes a Häftling, a prisoner of the camp. The tattooed number becomes his identity and his way of...
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...electric barbed wire. There are 60 blocks (huts) which each house roughly 200 prisoners. The Häftling population is composed of criminals, political prisoners, and Jewish people, although everyone else has authority...
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Chapter 7. A Good Day
...recognizes that human beings are bound to seek meaning and purpose in life. For the Häftlinge of Auschwitz in the midst of winter, that purpose is merely to survive until the...
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Chapter 8. This Side of Good and Evil
Although contact between Häftlinge and civilians is expressly forbidden and harshly punished, the possibility for financial gain makes it...
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Chapter 10. Chemical Examination
Three months into Levi’s internment, the Chemical Kommando is formed. Fifteen Häftlinge, including Levi and Alberto, are assigned to it. Although it was assumed that the Kommando...
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Chapter 12. The Events of Summer
...an attempted assassination of Hitler, resulting in powerful but brief bursts of hope among the Häftlinge.
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...threatened by the onset of the Russian army. Life becomes more difficult for the Jewish Häftlinge as they are denied entry into the air raid shelters and wait out each attack...
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Chapter 13. October 1944
The Häftlinge try to will the coming winter away, but it is unavoidable. The onset of winter...
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Chapter 15. Die drei Leute vom Labor
...and Polish women work in the laboratory as well, and their visible repulsion to the Häftlinge is painful, not the least because it is deserved—the prisoners smell, their faces are riddled...
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Chapter 16. The Last One
...make for them. The possession of such an item raises their social standing amongst the Häftlinge as keen organizers, and Elias, Alfred L., and even Henri constantly interact with them. On...
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Chapter 17. The Story of Ten Days
...symbol that the “Lager was dead,” and that the survivors are beginning to transition from “Häftlinge to men again.” Even so, when the light and warmth of the stove draws other...
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