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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The Third Reich did all of the following to stay in power except:

2. According to Levi, which statement best describes the Lagers?

3. How did prisoners who speak Yiddish look upon Italian Jews who did not speak it?

4. According to Levi, why did prisoners not commit suicide?

5. In what year did the tide of World War II change?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the nature of human memory.

2. Why did Alberto change his mind about consoling oneself with illusions?

3. What did the Nazis hope as the tide of war turned in 1942?

4. While clearing rubble, Levi finds a spigot with fresh water. Why was this such a big deal?

5. What happeneds to people who become sonderkommandos?

6. How do people react to having limited communication?

7. What was the classic militiamen defense that Eichmann and Hoss used?

8. Why do historians need to study the stories of survivors?

9. What is Primo Levi's theory about judging any people associated with the lagers?

10. Why do survivors simplify the past by using stark good vs. evil distinctions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

1) Discuss this quote in reference to life during the Nazi era for Jews in the ghettos and lagers.

2) Discuss this quote in reference to Nazi officials and SS guards.

Essay Topic 2

Many survivors, Levi included, tell their stories so that the world can learn from their experience. We know that genocide has happened since World War II in different parts of the world. Analyze the extent to which you think hearing survivors' stories helps prevent another atrocity.

Essay Topic 3

Levi states that victims and oppressors are both tormented by memories.

Part 1: Explain the kinds of memories that the victims might have and why these memories are difficult, even forty years after the fact.

Part 2: Explain why and how oppressors tend to hide from memories of their past actions.

(see the answer keys)

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