This is the story of an assimilated Italian Jew, a chemist of no particular renown whose efforts to survive in fascist Italy were finally thwarted when he was deported to Auschwitz, where he survived through no effort of his own while tens of thousands around him were slaughtered—people possibly nobler, more valuable than he. He emerged from the experience a superb writer and a scarred man, who in his works sought to remember, bear witness to, and above all understand the human qualities that emerge on the sharp edge of despair. He survived the camp, burning with the need to tell how it was; and when he had done so and said it all, he gave in to depression and ended his life. (72 minutes)