Fragmented Solidarity in Primo Levi and Frantz Fanon

Abstract

This essay brings into dialogue two experiences of extreme dehumanization through the works of Primo Levi and Frantz Fanon, examining the conditions under which solidarity becomes possible in each context. On the one hand, it considers the Nazi concentration camp system (Lager), whose ultimate purpose was extermination and the complete destruction of human bonds. Levi bears witness to how this system, grounded in “useless violence” and torment, reduced prisoners to “sealed monads,” turning survival into a fiercely individual struggle and fragmenting every vestige of solidarity, which persisted only in extreme acts of passive self-sacrifice. On the other hand, the essay examines Fanon's “zone of nonbeing,” produced by colonialism and systemic racism. Although this zone likewise fragments solidarity through assimilation and the desire for “whiteness,” Fanon identifies within it a potential for liberation. The path out of oppression is collective rather than individual, and solidarity emerges as an indispensable ethical and political horizon for disalienation and the creation of a new humanity. Finally, the essay considers the form of solidarity found in contemporary societies, described here as fragmented solidarity.