Summary
Levi describes how the expectations for Kommando 90 (the Chemical Kommando) did not match the reality. The Kapo, named Alex, was not even a chemist, and the Kommando itself was an ordinary transport Kommando dealing with the magnesium chloride warehouse. Alex threatens the members of the Kommando the same way that other Kapos do. Fortunately, Alberto is with Levi in this Kommando; they both dread the chemistry exam ahead of them. The test will be conducted in German, and all who have the chance to take it are desperate to pass. Levi knows that he is too weak to survive as a laborer in the camps, and so his only chance for survival is becoming a Specialist (by passing the chemistry examination). Levi will be the last to take the exam, and Alex expresses disgust and disbelief that Levi will ever pass. Because Levi is an Italian Jew and furthest from the German "ideal of virility," Alex dislikes Levi the most out of the group taking the exam.
The man who administers the exam is Doktor Pannwitz. His clean appearance and way of looking at Levi make Levi feel dirty and insignificant. But the test goes well, and Levi is grateful to his mind for remembering so much. Despite this, Levi is determined not to feel hopeful. Any outcome is possible in the Lager, and it is best not to feel optimistic about anything. On the way back to the Bude, Alex wipes his entire hand on Levi to clean it. On account of this, Levi states that he judges everyone who is like Alex and Pannwitz (all Germans and anyone whose efforts contributed to the Nazi regime).
Levi recounts a day working with the Kommando as they cleaned the inside of an underground petrol tank. Jean the Pikolo, or young messenger of the Kommando, arrives and tells Levi that he is to assist the 'Essenholen,' the distribution of the food ration. They walk half a mile to collect the hundred-pound pot. On the way, Levi begins to teach Jean Italian. They pass several familiar faces and either stop to chat or hurry along their way. The canto of Ulysses from Dante's Inferno comes into Levi's mind, and he struggles to translate parts of it. Filling the holes in his translation is important to Levi, as either he or Jean could be dead tomorrow.
New convoys arrive in the camps from Hungary, and Hungarian becomes the second-most spoken language after Yiddish. Other changes occur in the camps: construction work stops, the production of synthetic rubber is repeatedly postponed, and air raids occur. The slow destruction of the Buna causes the prisoners to suffer even more than they did during the long monotonous days before the air raids. Their work proves to be useless and senseless, and this causes them to hate it more than ever.
During the time after the air raids started, Levi meets an Italian civilian named Lorenzo. Lorenzo provides Levi with food, clothes, communication with the outside world, and kindness. Levi credits his survival to Lorenzo.
Analysis
A sense of surrealism dominates Levi's memory of the chemistry examination. He knew that his survival lay in becoming a Specialist, and he first had to pass a chemistry exam against all odds. The structure of this section reflects this sense of surrealism, with Levi interjecting that "today, at this very moment as I sit writing at a table, I myself am not convinced that these things really happened." This reminds readers of the "fragmented" and non-chronological structure of the book as introduced by Levi in the foreword.
Standing in front of Doktor Pannwitz, Levi feels reduced to a dirty number: "Häftling 174517," who would "leave a dirty stain" wherever he touched. This imagery reflects the way that the Nazis sought to control and destroy the inner sanctity of the prisoners' minds through physical maltreatment. Not only is Levi physically dirty due to his living and working conditions, but he is made to feel dirty on the inside. This is just one example of othering, or dehumanization, that occurs throughout the book. Another example occurs later in the chapter when Alex, the Kapo in charge of Levi's Kommando, wipes his hands on Levi as if to clean off the dirt.
Returning again to Levi's present day as he writes about his encounter with Doktor Pannwitz, Levi states that he wishes to meet the Doktor due to "a personal curiosity about the human soul." If Levi could explain the way that the Doktor looked at him, he feels he could capture "the essence of the great insanity of the third Germany." The entire ideology of Aryan superiority is shown to be baseless when Alex proves to be a coward. He brutally treats those under his command, but trembles before his superiors. This is an example of dramatic irony because the reader can see Alex's true character beneath the powerful persona he puts on.
While accompanying Jean to collect the heavy pot of soup, Levi becomes obsessed with remembering and translating parts of the Canto of Ulysses, a section of Dante's poem The Inferno, one of the great works of Italian literature. This is a matter of urgency for Levi, as he feels that understanding the canto will reveal larger truths concerning the fate of the prisoners. Here, Levi's intellectualism shines through despite his circumstances. Though he earlier states that his tendency to "think too much" will lead to his death, it seems that his intellectual drive instills in him a renewed (if brief) sense of vigor.
As time passes and new convoys enter the camp, Levi and those who entered when he did are counted among "the old ones." This transition occurred after just five months, demonstrating the rapid and brutal pace of the camp. Levi resolves again to not overthink things: he states, "our wisdom lay in 'not trying to understand,' not imagining the future, not tormenting ourselves as to how and when it would all be over; not asking others or ourselves any questions." There is an ongoing tension in the book between thinking and not thinking as a means of survival. Later in the chapter, Levi credits his survival in Auschwitz to Lorenzo. So while numbing himself to everything around him is at times essential, the core of Levi's survival lies in considering and being reminded of his own humanity.
