This Way to the GAs, Ladies and GEntlemen

Civilization in Borowski’s concentration camp is an embodiment of peoples’ values. Many value systems conflict and mix, yet only the inhumane, unnatural values of the Nazi system exists. The prisoners can either accept these values in resignation, or bravely face actuality and die with honor and pride. The Greeks, low-classed prisoners in the concentration camp, always “make the best of it.” (116) and manage to “stuff their bellies with anything they can find” (116) despite their …

…in the Nazi world is serving their civilization. Humans are devaluated to have animal-like qualities without respect or dignity. They are simply tools for the Nazis as they strip them of clothes, prized possessions, and most importantly, their own values. The narrator feels he is left in a world devoid of a reason to do so for this world is merely the sum of parts, and lacks the true values of beauty, dignity, and humanity.