This ability to detach himself from his own humanity, to become completely indifferent to the suffering around him, and the suffering within him, is the defense mechanism that saves him from dying in the camps. The necessity of having this trait is shown when Georg, after having his head shaved with his fellow inmates, says, “We all just looked at one another, not knowing whether to laugh or be dumbstruck. There was no time for either” (98). There is no time for any of them to react to their new appearances, no time for any emotion. Emotion is something one must give up to survive in the camp.