Chapter 17

“Part of our existence lies in the feelings of those near to us. This is why the experience of someone who has lived for days during which man was merely a thing in the eyes of man is non-human. We three were for the most part immune from it, and we owe each other mutual gratitude. That is why my friendship with Charles will prove lasting.(172)”

The camp did devastating things to people. It deprived them of their life, their joy, their family. To get what I’m about to say into focus, think of dorm students. We live away from our parents, and we get so used to it that its sometimes hard to go back home. We’re not used to having close family around us. In the camp people got used to having no joys, to living without basic needs. A lot of people had the experience of living as a non-human. What makes Levi special and his three friends is that they didn’t get affected by being a non-human. That proved to be very useful. Because they could function as normal humans, they were able to get more done. They could think creatively, and could give resources to others, instead of taking it all for their own. If they had taken it all for themselves, they wouldn’t have been able to get back to their real homes. They wouldn’t have gotten back to the life that they used to have. This refers back to the golden rule, “do unto other as you would have them do unto you.” Its hard to get our minds around the fact that before this rule was applied, but now it is. I’m almost not sure what to think either. But, somehow, we need to obey God’s standards in all of it, even if we go to concentration camp. We need to hold on to God’s standards, and release our own. I think that is how we will survive.