Primo Levi tried to explain the term (he also uses Musselman), in a footnote of If This Is a Man, his autobiographical account of his time in Auschwitz: This word ‘Muselmann’, I do not know why, was used by the old ones of the camp to describe the weak, the inept, those doomed to selection. — Primo Levi, If This Is a Man, chapter "The Drowned and the Saved".
Primo Levi mencoba menjelaskan istilah ini (ia juga menulis Musselman) di catatan kaki If This Is a Man, otobiografi tentang pengalamannya di Auschwitz: Entah mengapa, kata 'Muselmann' digunakan oleh orang-orang tua di kamp untuk menyebut orang-orang lemah, tidak mampu, yang sudah pasti menjalani proses seleksi . — Primo Levi, If This Is a Man, bab "The Drowned and the Saved".