Primo Levi and Hunger

Abstract

When Primo Levi was deported to Auschwitz in 1944, he suffered from physical hunger. But the association of this real hunger—the lack of food—with his other desperate hunger—his desire to tell his story—created the energy to make a connection with the world after the Lager experience. This study shows how Levi’s eagerness to write about his other hunger animated and supported his appetite for life. By doing so, Levi obtained the knowledge he needed to understand it, and be able to live after the Lager.