This article explores the ways in which timelessness affected prisoners in Nazi concentration camps and how some prisoners attempted to track time. By depriving prisoners of timekeeping methods, the Schutzstaffel (SS) sought to deprive them of a sense of future and therefore hope. Going against the idea that the SS achieved absolute power, however, is the evidence that some prisoners managed to keep track of time, albeit in unconventional ways. This research looks at the material records of timekeeping from the camps, from graffiti writing to recovered personal possessions, in conjunction with survivor testimony to understand exactly how prisoners were able to track time. The ability to keep time was of material and emotional benefit to many prisoners, allowing them to intercept food parcels, avoid beatings, mentally sustain themselves during difficult hours and days, connect through religion, and plan for the future. By opening a window into how prisoners were able to track time, this research contributes to the literature on daily life in the camps and demonstrates the value of integrated studies of prisoner life, showing how prisoner groups communicated and how their communication affected prisoner hierarchies, power, and survival.

中文翻译：

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与永恒的斗争：纳粹集中营中囚犯的时间体验

本文探讨永恒性如何影响纳粹集中营中的囚犯，以及一些囚犯如何尝试追踪时间。通过剥夺囚犯的计时方法，Schutzstaffel (SS) 试图剥夺他们的未来感，从而剥夺他们的希望。然而，与党卫军获得绝对权力的想法相反的是，有证据表明，一些囚犯设法掌握了时间，尽管是以非常规的方式。这项研究着眼于营地计时的物质记录，从涂鸦到找回的个人财产，结合幸存者的证词，以准确了解囚犯如何能够追踪时间。守时的能力对许多囚犯来说具有物质和情感上的好处，使他们能够拦截食物包裹，避免殴打，在困难的时间和日子里精神上维持自己，通过宗教联系，并为未来做计划。通过打开一扇窗，让我们了解囚犯是如何记录时间的，这项研究为集中营日常生活的文献做出了贡献，并展示了对囚犯生活进行综合研究的价值，展示了囚犯群体如何交流以及他们的交流如何影响囚犯的等级制度、权力, 和生存。