Shema_Primo Levi

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If This Is a Man

Shema

Levi, a 23-year old chemist, was arrested in December 1943 and transported to Auschwitz in February 1944. There he remained until the camp was liberated on 27 January 1945. He arrived back home in Turin in October, unrecognisable to the concierge who had seen him only a couple of years earlier.

The extract from The Secret Life of Primo Levi

... Primo Levi is a special case. He is not simply a great 20th-century writer. Levi was an Italian Jew, born in Turin in 1919, and deported to Auschwitz in 1943, at the age of 23. When he emerged, he wrote one of the greatest documents we have about that horror, If This Is A Man. In it he showed us that there is something even worse than physical murder: the destruction of the victims' humanity and dignity which preceded it. At the same time, he showed us that it was possible to retain that humanity, even in Auschwitz.

What does Shema mean? 

The Shema is a prayer declaring God’s singularity: 'Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one.' The Shema is repeated twice daily: in the morning and at night. It is often the first prayer taught to a child.

Shema is also the title of the poem which introduces Levi's Holocaust memoir: If This Is a Man. 

Shema by P. Levi

1. From whose point of view is Shema written? Does the point of view change? 
2. What is the most powerful textual feature in this poem?
3. How is the poem Shema structured?

Why Shema? Why did Levi write Shema?
What message is conveyed in Shema?

Why Shema? Why did Levi write Shema? 

What message is conveyed in Shema? 

Primo Levi wrote this poem in the shadow of the Holocaust, but his vision is especially relevant in the context of contemporary global inequity. It challenges all who live in comfort while others subsist in privation. 

contemporary - belonging or occuring at the same time

inequity - lack of fairness or justice; injustice, discrimination

subsist - maintain or support oneself; especially at a minimal level

privation - deprivation, poverty, hardship, impoverishment

 If we do not awaken, if we do not hear, if we do not use our blessings of privilege to improve the situation of those who suffer privation, we deny our own power to create change. There are serious consequences to this failure of action. There are many ways to respond to the voices of those who suffer: to educate ourselves on issues of global justice, to volunteer, to advocate, to share our resources. 

Primo Levi’s If This is a Man at 70

In the face of horror and oppression, Levi offers the possibility that humans will not easily – or completely – be demolished. That such a sentiment might not endure was brought into focus by the manner of his death, in 1987, apparently at his own hand – falling into the stairwell of his apartment building. Have his books been read by a British prime minister who castigates those who feel a connection to the idea of global humanity as “citizens of nowhere”? Or by a US president who wants to prevent human beings from entering his country simply because they are nationals of Somalia or Yemen or other countries deemed to be undesirable?

Levi knew where such sentiments lead. “I do not comprehend,” he wrote in the preface to the first German edition of If This Is a Man, “I cannot tolerate – that a man be judged not for what he is, but for the group into which he happens to belong.” His warnings are clear. “Many people – many nations – can find themselves holding, more or less wittingly, that every stranger is an enemy,” he continued in the preface to the English edition. It is a privilege to speak Primo Levi’s words, and to read them, and to hear them. For their experience, their hope and humanity. 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/22/primo-levi-auschwitz-if-this-is-a-man-memoir-70-years

castigate: reprimand (someone) severely.

Poem assignment - creating a monument

You have read Primo Levi's book.

Write a poem sharing your thoughts and feelings about the book. Think carefully about the message you want to share.

Use the questions below as inspiration:

• What is at the heart of Primo Levi's message?
• What part of the book impressed you?
• What do you want people to learn from Primo Levi's life lessons?
• What is the difference between good and evil?
• Under what circumstances can terrible things happen?
• Can history repeat itself?

castigate: reprimand (someone) severely.

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