Survival in Auschwitz Quizzes

Survival in Auschwitz Quiz on "Author's Preface" and Chapters 1-3

By Isabella Ribeiro · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed October 27, 2023

1 When was Primo Levi deported to Auschwitz?

1945

1943

1944

1941
2 Why does Levi call it his "good fortune" to be deported to Auschwitz when he was?

Levi never said this.

The German government had decided to extend the average lifespan of prisoners.

The Nazis gaslit the prisoners into thinking they were fortunate to be in the camps.

Levi is simply being sarcastic.
3 Why did Primo Levi write the book?

To furnish documentation for a "quiet study of certain aspects of the human mind."

To relieve his mother's suffering.

To reveal the Nazis' horrific actions to the world.

To formulate new accusations.
4 What does the poem at the beginning of the book ask the reader to do?

Consider the dehumanized men and women imprisoned in the concentration camps.

Join the Allied forces.

Be kind to neighbors.

Ignore the atrocities being committed.
5 Where is Primo Levi from?

Germany

Poland

Italy

Spain
6 What do the imprisoned mothers do as they prepare for the journey to the concentration camps?

Play with their children in a carefree manner.

Prepare food, wash their children, and pack the luggage.

Cry and lament.

Sit despondently.
7 Describe the train journey from Italy to Auschwitz.

Wonderful, delicious food, comfortable accommodations.

Uncomfortable, cold, extreme thirst, blows given by SS men.

Extreme abuse and starvation.

Unremarkable except for the beautiful landscape.
8 What happens at the platform when the train arrives?

Everyone departs freely with their luggage.

The Italian Jews are separated into different lines according to age, gender, and health.

Families are allowed to stay together.

Everyone is immediately executed.
9 Who is Emilia, and why did she die?

A three-year-old child who dies because the Germans believed in the necessity of killing the children of Jews.

A woman engaged to marry Renzo who dies because they refuse to be separated.

Levi's mother who dies because everyone in the line she was sent to went straight to the gas chambers.

A woman who Levi had hoped to marry who dies because she resists the Nazi operation.
10 What happens to the men upon arrival at the camp?

They are stripped naked and shaved.

They take a shower.

They immediately begin slave labor.

They are sent to the gas chambers.
11 Where are Levi and his fellow prisoners located?

Warsaw concentration camp

Breitenau concentration camp

Monowitz, near Auschwitz, at a work-camp known as Buna

Birkenau, beside the gas chambers
12 What phrase does Levi use to describe the offence being committed?

The desert of our lives

A hellish test

Dante's Inferno

The demolition of a man
13 What word is used to describe the prisoners?

Worm

Häftling

Degenerate

Blockältester
14 Describe an important operation that initiates prisoners into Auschwitz.

Each prisoner is publicly beaten upon arrival.

An identification number is tattooed onto each prisoner's arms.

The prisoners have to fight one another to the death.

Nothing occurs to initiate the prisoners.
15 Finish this quote: "Death begins with the___"

work

food

clothes

shoes
16 Who commands each Kommando?

The Kapo

A Jew who has betrayed his people

Important Nazi generals

An English or Polish POW
17 Do the prisoners ever have rest days?

Yes, every Saturday

No

Yes, every Sunday

Yes, every other Sunday
18 What does Levi define as the logical way to deal with what is before the prisoners?

To be aware that the end is certainly near.

To be certain that salvation will come.

To resign themselves to the evidence that their fate is beyond knowledge.

To understand that they will never see their homes and families again.
19 Why do the Italians stop meeting every other Sunday?

They have to work instead.

They don't want to be seen together.

It is too depressing to witness their dwindling numbers.

There is no time to meet.
20 What does Levi mention concerning communication in the camp?

The confusion of languages is a normal part of life.

People only talk to those who speak their respective language.

Everyone uses sign language.

Everyone speaks German.
21 What does Levi equate with money?

Buttons

Bread

Thread

Shoes
22 What do the messages in the washroom encourage?

Lack of personal care

Hygiene

Loyalty to the SS

Hatred of Jews
23 What does Levi state about the practice of washing oneself?

It takes a lot of energy to wash oneself.

It is both pointless and important to wash oneself.

Washing oneself is a reminder of despair because of how pointless it is.

Washing oneself is a way to remind oneself that they are human.
24 What point does Steinlauf make to Levi about washing?

Steinlauf says nothing.

Because the Lager was a great machine to reduce the prisoners to beasts, they must not become beasts.

They must try to maintain a clean appearance so as to heighten their stature.

Cleaning oneself is done in homage to Prussian discipline.
25 What power does Steinlauf state that the prisoners still have?

The power to fight back physically.

The power to speak with God.

The power to refuse their consent.

The power of morality.