My Number Is 174517; We Have Been

To Destroy A Man Is Difficult, Almost As Difficult As To Create One: It Has Not Been Easy, Nor Quick, But You Germans Have Succeeded. Here We Are, Docile Under Your Gaze; From Our Side You Have Nothing More To Fear; No Acts Of Violence, No Words Of Defiance, Not Even A Look Of Judgment.

To Accuse Another Of Having Weak Kidneys, Lungs, Or Heart, Is Not A Crime; On The Contrary, Saying He Has A Weak Brain Is A Crime.

In History And In Life One Sometimes Seems To Glimpse A Ferocious Law Which States: To He That Has, Will Be Given; From He That Has Not, Will Be Taken Away.

The Bond Between A Man And His Profession Is Similar To That Which Ties Him To His Country; It Is Just As Complex, Often Ambivalent, And In General It Is Understood Completely Only When It Is Broken: By Exile Or Emigration In The Case Of One's Country, By Retirement In The Case Of A Trade Or Profession.

I Too Entered The Lager As A Nonbeliever, And As A Nonbeliever I Was Liberated And Have Lived To This Day.