“…Steinlauf sees me and greets me, and without preamble asks me severely why I do not wash. Why should I wash? Would I be better off than I am? Would I please someone more? Would I live a day, an hour longer? I would probably live a shorter time, because to wash is an effort, a waste of energy and warmth. Does not Steinlauf know that after half an hour with the coal sacks every difference between him and me will have disappeared? (pg 40)”
Would being clean after using “effort and energy” would worth much better than resting for a while? It is clear that no one knows when the Jews are going to die. In Auschwitz, death is something that you would have to be afraid of every night, every day, and even every single breath you take. Future is always ambiguous in reality but it is much more obscure in the prison of Auschwitz. It is fearful because it is definitely unpredictable. No matter what, the prisoners had the possibility of encountering death anyways. However, they do not know when or how soon they would have to accept the situation. Thus, Levi’s point was miserable but it was the truth of reality. There was no existence of energy and time for the Jews to worry about their appearance, since only death was confronted with their lives.
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