--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn…" description: "\"“In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn the rules of survival. If you can steal a piece of bread from the guards, you are a hero, but if you steal from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/912/edith-eger-61119_quote_in-my-first-weeks-at-auschwitz-i-learn-t_1603946.jpg" --- # In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn the rules of… ![“In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn the rules of survival. If you can steal a piece of bread from the guards, you are a hero, but if you steal from an inmate, you are disgraced, you die; competition and domination get you nowhere, cooperation is the name of the game; to survive is to transcend…” quote by Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/912/edith-eger-61119_quote_in-my-first-weeks-at-auschwitz-i-learn-t_1603946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/912/edith-eger-61119_quote_in-my-first-weeks-at-auschwitz-i-learn-t_1603946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/912/edith-eger-61119_quote_in-my-first-weeks-at-auschwitz-i-learn-t_1603946.jpg) > ““In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn the rules of survival. If you can steal a piece of bread from the guards, you are a hero, but if you steal from an inmate, you are disgraced, you die; competition and domination get you nowhere, cooperation is the name of the game; to survive is to transcend your own needs and commit yourself to someone or something outside yourself.”” [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Survival at Auschwitz required transcending selfish needs, valuing cooperation over competition. **In simple terms:** Survival needs cooperation, not selfishness. Key Takeaway Prioritize collective well‑being. Themes survival cooperation selflessness transcendence Mood somber hopeful Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - team projects - community building - crisis response - personal recovery Key Concepts psychology ethics human resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster cooperation in competitive environments? - What personal needs must we transcend to help others? A Different Perspective Cooperation may be difficult under extreme scarcity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) ## Related quotes > [The rules of survival never change, whether you're in a desert or in an arena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/the-rules-of-survival-never-change-whether-you-re-in-a-desert-or-in/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) > [“I see it now. There are no rules. It's survival of the fittest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/i-see-it-now-there-are-no-rules-it-s-survival-of-the-fittest/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [“To be in a war, you must learn the rules of survival… to win a war, you must break every fucking one of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-vega/to-be-in-a-war-you-must-learn-the-rules-of-survival-to-win-a-war-you/) A.J. Vega > [MATTHEW'S RULES OF SURVIVAL 1. Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones who say they love you. 2. Fear is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-werlin/matthew-s-rules-of-survival-1-sometimes-the-people-who-mean-you-harm/) [Nancy Werlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-werlin/) > [“We, of all the beings that we know of, can think. We can eat, write, build, save. We can predict, estimate, and count. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarun-betala/we-of-all-the-beings-that-we-know-of-can-think-we-can-eat-write-build/) [Tarun Betala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarun-betala/) > [Survival is not important. What matters is how you survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/survival-is-not-important-what-matters-is-how-you-survive/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [People change in order to survive in this cruel world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin/people-change-in-order-to-survive-in-this-cruel-world/) [Alvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin/) > [If we are to survive the Atomic Age, we must have something to live by, to live on, and to live for. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-p-kretzmann/if-we-are-to-survive-the-atomic-age-we-must-have-something-to-live-by/) O. P. Kretzmann > [From the day you were born, people start taking pieces of you and your lucky to just survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-the-day-you-were-born-people-start-taking-pieces-of-you-and-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If Gone With the Wind has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/if-gone-with-the-wind-has-a-theme-it-is-that-of-survival-what-makes/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [A relationship built by two people, can only survive with two people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-relationship-built-by-two-people-can-only-survive-with-two-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me, basketball was always about survival because I was just trying to get out the hood, right? When I got to Chicago, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/for-me-basketball-was-always-about-survival-because-i-was-just-trying/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [Humor is the only thing that allows you to survive every pressure and crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinton-cerf/humor-is-the-only-thing-that-allows-you-to-survive-every-pressure-and/) [Vinton Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinton-cerf/) > [“If people feel lost and alone and helpless and broken and hopeless today, what will it be like if the world really begins to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-andress/if-people-feel-lost-and-alone-and-helpless-and-broken-and-hopeless/) Brandon Andress > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) ## More by Edith Eger > [“To heal, we embrace the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-eger/to-heal-we-embrace-the-dark/) [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) > [“Just remember,” she says, “no one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-eger/just-remember-she-says-no-one-can-take-away-from-you-what-you-ve-put/) [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) > [“Our painful experiences aren’t a liability—they’re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-eger/our-painful-experiences-aren-t-a-liability-they-re-a-gift-they-give/) [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) > [“We don’t know where we’re going, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but no one can take away from you what you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-eger/we-don-t-know-where-we-re-going-we-don-t-know-what-s-going-to-happen/) [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) [Explore all 5 Edith Eger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In my first weeks at Auschwitz I learn the rules of survival. 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