Journal 4: Ka-Be

The picture alongside shows the Krankenbau, the infirmary at Aushwitz. To an ordinary person, the Ka-be, as it was called, may appear to be an ordinary building of bricks and mortar used to house patients. However, to the inmates at Auschwitz, the Ka-Be had many dimensions. Chapter 5, Ka-be, delves into these dimensions and how the Ka-be was perceived among the inmates at Auschwitz. Primo Levi describes the Ka-be as the Lager without its physical discomforts. This implies that the Ka-be was in fact, in many aspects, similar to the Lager. The suppression of human dignity occurred in the Ka-be as well, when the patients were asked to undress before going for their inspection. In the Ka-be too, humans are segregated and divided, where only the ones who are healthy and can be of use to the Germans were treated, while the ones who suffered from chronic illnesses were put to death in the crematoriums or the concentration camps. Levi uses the symbol of sleep to connote a sense of peace. When Levi talks about the crematoriums, Schmulek, a Polish Jew, in an irritated mood enquires whether a person could at least sleep in peace. This was a premonition for the future, when Schmulek is sent to the crematorium, and put to death. Thus, the peace he wanted through physical sleep was attained after his death in the form of ethereal rest that liberated him from all the pain and torture of Auschwitz. Even though the Ka-be was a break from the dreadfulness of Auschwitz, it did not mark the end. The patients had to return to the routine life of disgust at Auschwitz, where they were treated in the most inhuman way.Such degradation of respect for human brethren is not only ridiculous, but horrifying as well. Today, we lead lives in our protective cocoons sheltered from the harsh realities of the world. This is an element of Levi’s style of writing that appeals to me the most. Throughout the story, numerous personal connections can be made that shake the foundation of our beliefs. Not even in the worst of my nightmares could I have imagines the treatment of human beings in such a mortifying manner.