ABSTRACT
The focus of this paper is on discussion of the ambiguous dimension of interpreting in the Nazi Lager. On the one hand, interpreting was crucial in helping many inmates to stay alive in the network of terror; on the other, it enabled translators and interpreters to tease out their power potential and to act as helping hands for the SS staff. Primo Levi’s concept of the grey zone will help to conceptually position the interpreting activity within the concentration camp society. When discussing the moments which activate and drive the ambiguous dimension of interpreting, an attempt is made to identify the features which intrinsically make up Levi’s grey zone, and it will be asked whether the grey zone can be seen as a locus of ‘the dark side of translation’. This discussion will contribute to enhancing our understanding of the ambiguous role of translation and interpreting in more general terms.
