Ethics After Auschwitz? Primo Levi’s and Elie Wiesel’s Response

196 Pages·2011·3.6 MB·English

by  Carole J. Lambert

Ethics
after
Auschwitz?
Primo Levi’s
&
Elie Wiesel’s
Response
Carole J. Lambert
EthicsafterAuschwitz?PrimoLevi’sandElieWiesel’sResponsedemonstrateshow,aftertheirhorrific
experiencesinAuschwitz,bothPrimoLeviandElieWieselcouldhavedeservedlyexpressedrageand
bitternessfortherestoftheirlives.Housedinthesamebarracksinthedepthsofhell,adarkreal-
itysurpassingDante’svividimagesportrayedinTheInferno,theychosetospeak,write,andwork
forabetterworld,neverallowingthememoryofthosewhodidnotsurvivetofade.Whyandhow
didtheymakethischoice?WhatinfluencedtheirvaluesbeforeAuschwitzandtheirmoraldecision
makingafterit?Whatcanotherswhohavesufferedlessdevastatingtraumaslearnfromthem?“The
questisinthequestion,”Wieseloftentellshisstudents.Thisbookisaquestforhopeandgoodness
emergingfromtheShoah’sdeepest“night.”
“CaroleJ.Lamberthaswrittenapowerfulbook,fullofliteraryinsightandphilosophicaltruth.A
mustforscholarandlaypersonalike,thisbookdemonstratestheinescapableconnectionbetween
intellectandsoul.”
MiraMorgenstern,AssociateProfessorofPoliticalScience,TheCityCollegeofNewYork/CUNY
“EmergingfromthedestructionoftheHolocaust,whichinflictedimmenseharmonthecredibility
ofethics,thesurvivor-testimonyofPrimoLeviandElieWieselresistscynicism,despair,andmoral
relativism.UsingthebiblicalTenCommandmentstofocusherperspectiveontheethicaloutlooks
ofLeviandWiesel,CaroleJ.Lambertprovidesaclearlywritten,carefullyresearched,sensitivelyar-
gued,andtimelystudythatadvancesthemoralaimsofbothmenbyshowingwhatethicscan,should,
andmustbeafterAuschwitz.”
JohnK.Roth,EdwardJ.SextonProfessorEmeritusofPhilosophyandFoundingDirector,
CenterfortheStudyoftheHolocaust,Genocide,andHumanRights,ClaremontMcKennaCollege
CaroleJ.Lambert
isProfessorofEnglishandDirectorofResearchatAzusaPacificUniversityin
California.InadditiontofourNationalEndowmentfortheHumanitiesgrants,shewasawardeda
FulbrightFellowshiptoconductresearchinBrussels,Belgium.SheistheauthorofTheEmptyCross:
MedievalHopes,ModernFutilityintheTheaterofMauriceMaeterlinck,PaulClaudel,AugustStrind-
berg,andGeorgKaiserandIsGodMan’sFriend?TheodicyandFriendshipinElieWiesel’sNovels,as
wellasco-editorwithWilliamD.BrewerofEssaysontheModernIdentityandeditorofDoingGood,
DepartingfromEvil:ResearchFindingsintheTwenty-FirstCentury. SheearnedherPh.D.incomparative
literature from the University of California,Berkeley,and has been published widely in several
journals.
A M E R I C A N
U N I V E R S I T Y
S T U D I E S
www.peterlang.com
Ethics

AFTER
Auschwitz?
SERIES VII
THEOLOGY AND RELIGION

VOL. 305

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Carole J. Lambert

Ethics
AFTER
Auschwitz?

PRIMO LEVI’S &
ELIE WIESEL’S RESPONSE

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lambert, Carole J.
Ethics after Auschwitz?: Primo Levi’s and
Elie Wiesel’s response / Carole J. Lambert.
p. cm. — (American university studies. VII, Theology and religion; v. 305)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Humanistic ethics. 2. Jewish ethics. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Influence.
4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Moral and ethical aspects. 5. Auschwitz
(Concentration camp). 6. Levi, Primo. 7. Wiesel, Elie, 1928–. I. Title.
BJ1360.L28 296.3’6—dc22 2010035825
ISBN 978-1-4539-0077-2
ISSN 0740-0446

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover illustration: Marc Chagall, “The Ladder”
© 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

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of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
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All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
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Printed in Germany
In memory of my most beloved and courageous brother:
Paul Braden Wilson, Jr.
(November 15, 1942–June 13, 1967)
Son of
Paul Braden Wilson, M.D. and Esther Elizabeth (‚Betty‛) Roberts Wilson

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................... ix
Introduction .................................................................................................. 1
PRACTICAL ETHICS
Chapter 1: ‚Thou shalt not kill‛ ............................................................... 23
Chapter 2: ‚Thou shalt not commit adultery‛ ....................................... 37
Chapter 3: ‚Thou shalt not steal‛ ............................................................. 49
Chapter 4: ‚Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbour‛ ...................................................................... 63
Chapter 5: ‚Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house‛ ................... 77
ESSENTIAL SPIRITUALITY
Chapter 6: ‚I am the LORD thy God. . . . Thou shalt have
no other gods before me‛ .................................................... 93
Chapter 7: ‚Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image‛ ....... 107
Chapter 8: ‚Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD
thy God in vain‛ ................................................................. 119
Chapter 9: ‚Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy‛ .................. 131
Chapter 10: ‚Honour thy father and thy mother‛ ............................... 143
Conclusion ................................................................................................. 155
Index ........................................................................................................... 173