Tadeusz Borowski's Existential Philosophy on the Holocaust

Writing by different authors about the Holocaust informs readers about the worst atrocities perpetrated against the deportees by Nazi Germany. The victims of Nazi Germany were demoted into something that was not close to human. Some different survivors have given varied philosophy about life in the Nazi concentration camps. This is evidenced in the case example of the works of two Holocaust survivors, Victor Frankl and Tadeusz Borowski. Frankl asserts that “in spite of the terrible circumstances, the prisoners still found life to be unconditionally meaningful, even in its suffering.” Borowski, on the other hand, takes the opposite philosophy where he claims that there was no real meaning to the atrocities suffered by prisoners in the concentration camps. 

The existential philosophy by Borowski is demonstrated based on his famous work “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen”. According to Boroski (1976), none of the prisoners understood the reason for the atrocities, and despite the fact that they were aware they were living in hell; they were hopeful of a better life but had no idea of how they would move out of the concentration camps. This problem associated with being hopeful is captured in page 121 where the author asserts that “it is hope that breaks down family ties, makes husbands kill, or makes wives sell their bodies for bread or renounce their children. As a result of hope, a man is compelled to hold on to another day of life, thinking that liberation may be on that day (Boroski, 1976).” This statement reveals that prisoners never rebelled or made attempts to escape even when they were being guided to the gas chambers to be killed, but only remained hopeful that they were going to a different place, something that was never a reality for the majority. What Borowski reveals about the atrocity in the concentration camp, in general, is that it was easily perpetrated because of the naivety of the prisoners. 

Reference 

Borowski, T. (1976).  This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen . London, England: Penguin.