Primo Levi’s masterpiece in Paris theatre

From European Jewish Press, By Rebecca Assoun in Paris, Updated: 8/Nov/2005 13:19...

An adaptation of a classic Holocaust-era autobiography by Italian Jewish author Primo Levi is impressing audiences at a Paris theatre.

Although “Se questo e un uomo” (If this is a man) was roundly ignored when it was first published in 1947, the work was later seen by literary experts as one of the major works of the 20th century. The story has now been adapted for theatre by Patrick Olivier, a French Jewish actor and director....

Warning for the future
‘If this is a Man,’ tells of Levi’s experiences as a victim of the Holocaust, from his arrest by the fascists in 1943 to the liberation of Auschwitz by the Russians.

Olivier said he chose to transmit the testimony both out of duty not to forget Holocaust and as an appeal for vigilance amongst the younger generation.

A chemist of learning, Levi was born in Turin in 1919. He committed suicide in the Italian city in 1987. “Primo explained that Holocaust represented absolute evil and a breaking point of our civilisation,” Olivier told EJP.

“We must realise that when Hitler and Mussolini spoke in public, people believed them and admired them as Gods,” he added. Levi, a Jewish intellectual and Auschwitz survivor, describes the dehumanization, depersonalization and extermination process led by the Nazis.

“The sole fact that Auschwitz existed should prohibit anyone today from pronouncing the word providence,” Levi wrote.

Critical acclaim
“Levi’s text speaks for itself and we leave the play shaken and outraged and the loud voice of Olivier still resonates in me,” said one audience member....(his) son added: “There are not many books like ‘If this is a man’ .... I only wish this work will be used as a perpetual warning for everyone.”

“In these troubled times, this play adapted by Olivier must be hailed because it acts as an alarm for youths. Conscientiousness can be derailed and darken again. Ours too. The danger is still present because what happened may happen again.”