Rotem Taitler
The Instinct of Life in Nazi Death Camps: The Case of Auschwitz
2018 | Full access
The death camps established by the Nazi regime were a unique phenomenon that challenged the human spirit in every possible manner. In the decades that passed since World War II ended, scholars have been focused on understanding every aspect of life and death in these distinctive facilities. Still, one of the most interesting questions that remain unanswered regards human behavior during catastrophe. As existing research mostly focuses on understanding the methods prisoners of the Nazi regime practiced in order to survive, the question of what motivated these prisoners to strive and want to survive is mostly overlooked.
Auschwitz was chosen to be the case study of this research as it has been widely examined across various scholarly fields, constituting a stable foundation for further scholarship in the field of social history.
The population of prisoners at Auschwitz was diverse and included an inner hierarchy. Some prisoners managed to obtain positions that allowed them extraordinary privileges such as extra food or better hygiene, while the vast majority of prisoners, who were usually employed in one of the slave labor work details, struggled to receive the minimum provided by the camp’s authority.
This study focuses on those who were at the bottom of the scale. Prisoners who were employed in one of the slave labor work details and were not entitled to any sort of privileges. By understanding the delicate dynamics and interactions of the various groups of population throughout the camp, an observation of what motivated prisoners to struggle in order to survive may be presented.
The main premise of this research is that prisoners survived the death camp simply because they managed to form personal and reliable social connections. In that sense, the reason behind the motivation to survive is directly tied with the technical methods of survival. However, while not everyone who had meaningful human connections managed to survive, those who did, necessarily obtained human connections.
By understanding the motivation to survive in a place such as Auschwitz, we can learn a great deal about human nature and the individual’s ability to withstand catastrophe. Moreover, we will be able to uncover and understand a significant part of the Holocaust.
Supervisor:
Prof. Hagit Lavsky