My Encounter with Primo Levi

I really enjoyed researching Primo Levi and gathering information about his life to get a better understanding of the man through his literature. I feel as if I have formed a bond with him just through researching his life, his experiences and reading his poems and literature.

For my life personally I think it has been really important for me to observe and study someone who has survived a horrific event and come out okay on the other side of it. Some people may debate whether Primo Levi really was okay after the concentration camps. I do not doubt that he was a completely transformed man from when he entered the camps, but it was important for me to know that he SURVIVED. It was also important for me to learn that instead of blocking out what he has gone through, however painful it was, he brought his experiences to the surface and shared them with people like me. As humans, it is a natural thing to want to bottle up our emotions and experiences and not share thing that have caused us pain or a horrific event. I think Primo Levi serves as the ultimate example of revisiting a dark past to shed life on more important matters, like never forgetting those who suffered and died in the camps or moving on with your life after coming out on the other side of a trauma.
Primo Levi's life not only applied to me personally, but the world as a whole on a larger scale. I have already tried to express how important it is not to EVER forget those who suffered and died in the concentration camps, but I cannot reiterate it enough. I think history is one of the most powerful tools for a better future. Yes, this sounds clique but I think it hold truth.

I think Primo Levi's life, message and literature will always be relevant to the world. Even though we continue to move further and further in history from the Holocaust, it is important never to forget.