Tadeusz Borowski adopted a casual but chilling tone in “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen”. The book haunts the reader with every day stories and description of menial tasks in the camps of Poland without delving into any emotional representations of the experiences. Man’s will to survive can overtake any feelings of compassion.

One morning our labour Kommando was waiting to leave for work, and right next to us stood the Sonder. Immediately I saw Moise, a former bookkeeper. He’s from Mlawa, I’m from Mlawa, you know how it is. We had palled around together and done business together–mutual confidence and trust. “What’s the trouble, Moise?” I said. “You seem out of sort.” “I’ve got some new pictures of my family.” “That’s good! Why should it upset you?” “Good? Hell! I’ve sent my father to the oven!” “Impossible!” “Possible, because I have. He came with a transport, and saw me in the front of the gas chamber. I was lining up the people. He threw his arms around me, and began kissing me and asking, what’s going to happen. He told me he was hungry because they’d been riding for two days without any food. But right away the KommandofUhrer yells at me not to stand around, to get back to work. What was I to do? “Go on, Father,” I said, “wash yourself in the bath-house and then we’ll talk. Can’t you see I’m busy now?” So my father went on to the gas chamber. And later I found the pictures in his coat pocket. Now tell me, what’s so good about my having the pictures?”