Levi, Primo -- The Drowned and the Saved, ch. 2 “The Grey Zone” (1986) [tr. Rosenthal (1888)]

Dave — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:28:32 +0000

The ascent of the privileged, not only in the Lager [prison camp] but in all human coexistence, is an anguishing but unfailing phenomenon: only in utopias is it absent. It is the duty of righteous men to make war on all undeserved privilege, but one must not forget that this is a war without end. Where there exists power exercised by the few or by only one against the many, privilege is born and proliferates, even against the will of the power itself; but on the other hand it is normal for power to tolerate and encourage it.

Primo Levi (1919-1987) Italian Jewish chemist and writer
The Drowned and the Saved, ch. 2 “The Grey Zone” (1986) [tr. Rosenthal (1888)]
(Source)

Writing of the grey zone, the protekcja [privilege], of those who existed between being prisoners and the military running the camps. It was granted to those who collaborated / compromised with the prison structure (such as the Kapos), and included marginally better treatment and chances of survival.

WIST Quotations

Levi, Primo -- The Drowned and the Saved, ch. 2 “The Grey Zone” (1986) [tr. Rosenthal (1888)]