Auschwitz Report

Auschwitz Report is a non-fiction report on the Auschwitz extermination camp by Primo Levi and Leonardo de Benedetti.

Whilst in a Soviet holding camp in Katowice in 1945, Levi and de Benedetti were asked by the Soviet authorities to document the living conditions in Auschwitz. De Benedetti was on Levi's transport from Fossoli, near Modena, Italy. Both were left behind when the camp was evacuated and so their time at Auschwitz coincided exactly. De Benedetti was a medical doctor, though he only acted as a doctor in the final weeks of his time at the camp. His survival was truly amazing given that he was in his 40's when he arrived, as normally those over the age of 30 were sent directly to the gas chambers on arrival.

Much of the report describes the facilities for treating the sick. Treatments were rudimentary, medicine was in short supply and the skill of the nurses was minimal. Normal practices of hygiene were ignored. Cross-contamination and infection were widespread. The hospital was only set up a few months prior to Levi's arrival; there had previously been no medical treatment at all. Sick inmates worked until they collapsed, at which point they were beaten; if they moved they were sent back to work and if not they were sent to the crematoria.

The book ends with two obituary notices written by Levi about de Benedetti.

References

• Angier, Carole (2006-10-19). "Auschwitz Report". The Spectator. http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/books/25883/finding-an-exceptional-voice.thtml. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
• Beckman, Jonathan (2006-10-08). "The other side of Auschwitz". The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/history/0,,1890037,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12.