Auschwitz Testimonies

In 1945, soon after the liberation of Auschwitz, Soviet authorities in control of the Kattowitz (Katowice) camp in Poland asked Primo Levi and his fellow captive, Leonardo De Benedetti, to compile a detailed report on the sanitary conditions they witnessed in Auschwitz. The result was an extraordinary testimony and one of the first accounts of the extermination camps ever written. Their report, published in a medical journal in 1946, marked the beginnings of Levi’s life-long work as a writer, analyst, and witness.

In the subsequent four decades, Levi never ceased to recount his experiences in Auschwitz in a wide variety of texts, many of which are assembled together here for the first time, alongside other testimonies from De Benedetti. From early research into the fate of their companions to the deposition written for Eichmann’s trial, Auschwitz Testimonies is a rich mosaic of documents, memories, and critical reflections of great historic and human value.

Underpinned by his characteristically clear language, rigorous method, and deep psychological insight, this collection of testimonies, reports, and analyses reaffirms Primo Levi’s position as one of the most important chroniclers of the Holocaust.