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A Kapo is a prisoner who has been placed in a position of authority over other prisoners, most often as the leader of a Kommando. Kapos may be Jewish or non-Jewish prisoners, but in either case receive special benefits and favorable treatment from the guards.
Kapo Quotes in Survival in Auschwitz
The Survival in Auschwitz quotes below are all either spoken by Kapo or refer to Kapo. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 7. A Good Day Quotes
At least for a few hours, no quarrels arise, we feel good, the Kapo feels no urge to hit us, and we are able to think of our mothers and wives, which usually does not happen. For a few hours we can be unhappy in the manner of free men.
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Levi describes what constitutes a good day in the camp: that they are able to see the sun shine, given a bit of extra soup, and assigned work that is not particularly arduous. However, what is most striking is that on such a good day, when Levi and his fellows are not feeling so dehumanized or beaten down that they have the chance to actually reflect on their state, they have a brief and coveted moment to actually feel pain for all those they have lost. In reading about the day to day misery of the Jewish prisoners, it is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Vo
Chapter 9. The Drowned and the Saved Quotes
That they were stolid and bestial is natural, when one thinks that the majority were ordinary criminals, chosen from among the German prisons for the very purpose of their employment as superintendents of the camps for Jews; and we maintain it was a very apt choice, because we refuse to believe that the squalid human specimens whom we saw at work were an average example, not of Germans in general, but even of German prisoners in particular.
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Levi describes their German supervisors and Kapos—though not the camp administrators—many of whom were German prisoners relocated to the Polish camps to inflict their cruelty on the Jewish underlings. The placement of German prisoners over Jewish civilians once again demonstrates Germany’s belief in a racial hierarchy, that the lowest German person is naturally superior to the greatest Jewish person. However, the squalid nature of their overseers seems to naturally disprove this theory. It is admirable, then, that although the Germans take such a low, grotesquely-stereotyped view of Jewish people, the Jewish prisoners in turn refuse to commit the same injustice Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus cor
Chapter 10. Chemical Examination Quotes
Without hatred and without sneering, Alex wipes his hand on my shoulder, both the palm and the back of the hand, to clean it; he would be amazed, the poor brute Alex, If someone told him that today, on the basis of this action, I judge him and Pannwitz and innumerable others like him, big and small, in Auschwitz and everywhere.
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After his chemistry examination with Doktor Pannwitz, Levi and his German Kapo, Alex, cross the camp back towards the worksite, and Alex wipes his greasy hand on Levi’s shirt. Once again, Alex’s casual, indifferent treatment of Levi as if he were a washrag highlights the degree to which the Germans have dehumanized the Jews in their own minds, which they then try to make a reality in the life of the camp. Although it is likely that Alex was not even entirely conscious of the action, it sticks in Levi’s mind as a unique instance among all the horrors he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a.
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Kapo Term Timeline in Survival in Auschwitz
The timeline below shows where the term Kapo appears in Survival in Auschwitz. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2. On the Bottom
...work in a Kommando, usually comprised of 50 to 150 laborers, each governed by a Kapo. Unskilled Kommandos are usually led by prisoners, while skilled labor Kommandos most often have Polish...
(full context)
Chapter 4. Ka-Be
The Kapo arrives and strikes the workers for the disruption, though the blows do not hurt compared...
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Chapter 5. Our Nights
...and new Kommando where they are unaware of the rules, customs, the inclinations of the Kapo. Every unknown element is a threat to his survival.
(full context)
Chapter 6. The Work
...courteous, and Levi appreciates his company when they are assigned to the same Kommando. The Kapo accompanies his Kommando to the worksite, hands them off to a civilian supervisor, and goes...
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...speaks so as not to disturb the brief reverie. After the period is up, the Kapo quietly, almost apologetically, tells his men to get back outside and work once more. “Oh...
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Chapter 7. A Good Day
...food, tools, and supplies) has managed to obtain a large amount of civilian soup. Their Kapo, a decent man, is happy to occasionally let their organizer sneak away from his work...
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Chapter 8. This Side of Good and Evil
...of existence. Anything that can be stolen and may be useful to other prisoners, to Kapos (who need supplies for their workers) or to civilians is pilfered and introduced to the...
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Chapter 9. The Drowned and the Saved
...most common strategy is to become a “prominent”: a Jewish camp official such as a Kapo, doctor, cook, or night-guard. Being a prominent is advantageous and hard-won, but the fear of...
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Chapter 10. Chemical Examination
...it was assumed that the Kommando would be a skilled trade unit, and that the Kapo should naturally be a chemist, it is instead a German “professional delinquent,” a small buffoon...
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