A Monograph on the Human. In conversation with journalist and author Andrea Pitzer. A book signing reception will follow the talk. Seats are limited. Registration is required.
The book is the first attempt – on a global scale – to delve so deeply into human emotions inside the camp. It is a must-read for those seeking to understand what Auschwitz was all about.
The gathering of materials and work on the publication took almost six years. Piotr Cywiński analyzed over 250 books with memoirs of survivors of the German Nazi Auschwitz camp and extensive hitherto unpublished archival material containing their accounts. On this basis, he presented an in-depth reflection on the condition of humans subjected to the concentration camp process.
The subject of his reflection became the emotions and inner dilemmas of the people incarcerated in the camp and the defense strategies that helped them survive. The diversity of issues he highlighted during conversations with survivors and the analysis of their memories and accounts is striking – said Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech, head of the Museum Publishing House.
The book is divided into more than thirty chapters, each devoted to a separate subject. They include, among others, “Initial Shock,” “Solitude,” “Death,” “Hunger,” “Companionship,” “Empathy,” “Decency,” “Struggle and Resistance,” “Culture and Science,” “Fear,” and “Hope.” One great asset of the book is the extremely aptly chosen quotations from nearly 450 Auschwitz survivors.
