Die Drei Leute Vom Labor [The Three People from the Laboratory]
- There are only 21 men left of the 96 Italian Jews who arrived with Primo at Auschwitz.
- It's the middle of winter, and snowing regularly. Take a guess whether or not the Jewish prisoners get coats like the German or English prisoners? Hint: No.
- The Chemical Kommando has been working at moving sacks of the chemical phenylbeta. This is a nasty chemical that burns their skin and makes it come off in patches.
- What an irony that those who took the Chemical Examination thought they would have a cushier job. They're doing harder work than everyone else, and don't even get warmer clothes.
- It seems like nothing is going to come of the Chemical Examination, and Primo isn't sure he'll make it through the winter because of the backbreaking labor and freezing working conditions.
- Not only is the main rubber factory shut down because of all the air raids, but they can also hear the front lines of the war approaching.
- New prisoners have brought horrifying news: the Nazis have "liquidated" at least one Jewish ghetto, and no one will ever know about it. In case you're wondering, "liquidating" is a term that in this context means "killed everyone in the place." (The Nazis were experts at liquidation.)
- Suddenly, the Kapo of the Chemical Kommando announces some unexpected news: Three men have been chosen to work in the Laboratory.
- Primo is one of them.
- Right away, Primo starts to get treated slightly better: he gets a new shirt and new underwear, and gets a weekly shave.
- Dr. Stawinoga hooks Primo up with a workstation in the laboratory. It's clean and warm.
- Primo immediately sees opportunities for getting by SS by stealing items like soap and smuggling them out to exchange for food.
- He tries not to get his hopes up too high, because he knows that the first mistake he makes, he'll be sent back out into the cold, or even worse—to the Chimney.
- Plus, the Russians are on their way. But the Germans don't seem to care, because they're again making plans to fire up the rubber factory.
- For now, though, Primo has a much easier time. He's out of the cold, has access to books, and may even get a pair of leather shoes.
- As an added bonus, there are some women in the laboratory, and Primo hasn't seen women dressed like women in a long while. The prisoners have only been around a few women prisoners, who are dressed like men and doing hard labor.
- These women, though, aren't very nice, and try to blame their own accidents (breaking glassware) on the Jewish men. One of them even calls Primo a "Stinkjude."
- Primo hears them chattering on about how Christmas is coming up, and how the year has gone by so quickly.
- Obviously, he doesn't agree.