THE IMPACT OF BAL TASCHIT IN THE WRITINGS OF ANNE FRANK, PRIMO LEVI, AND ELIE WIESEL

Abstract

This thesis focuses on how the Jewish tradition of Bal Taschit influenced the behavior and thoughts of prisoners during the Holocaust. The interaction with nature in Holocaust works indicates an adherence to this tradition and that the writers were able to use this tradition to make a statement of how the destruction of the Holocaust was offset by preservation and admiration of nature. The interaction between prisoners and their natural environment and the effects of those interactions is explored through the works of Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, and Anne Frank. These are the most prominent and well known Holocaust survivor authors. Many scholars have studied the effects of imprisonment and the Holocaust, but little has been said about Jewish environmental thought.