The Truce

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the source text’s depiction of the Holocaust and trauma, and it also contains brief references to abuse and domestic violence.

The Truce is set during the final days of World War II and the months beyond. During this time, uncertainty about everything reigns. For people like Primo Levi— people who have been confined to the extermination camps and left to die by the Nazis—the nature of their predicament is inherently unclear. The survivors have their lives changed, once again, without their knowledge or consent. The future is different, but still uncertain.

This sense of uncertainty pervades across Europe. The Russian soldiers and the Polish locals who arrive at the camp provide some information about what is happening: The Nazis are on the cusp of losing the war and the people of Auschwitz will be freed. Amid the jubilation in the weeks that follow, however, the survivors find themselves plunged into a broader zone of perpetual uncertainty. Tens of millions of people are dead, entire countries have been defeated, and no one is able to say with clarity what happens next. For Levi and his fellow Italians, this is particularly pronounced.