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Franceska Manheimer-Rosenberg (4 February 1917 – 23 October 1943), better known as Franceska Mann, was a Polish Jewish
ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...
who, according to some accounts, killed a
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
guard, , while a prisoner at the
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
and wounded at least one other, . Her actions are said to have sparked an uprising among fellow female Jewish prisoners before she herself was killed. In the most popular but unverified version of the event, Mann is said to have performed a
striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...
for Nazis at the camp and, once down to naught but high heels took one of her shoes and stabbed Walter Quakernack in the face with the heel, causing him to drop his firearm. She then used it to shoot Schillinger and Emmerich. Schillinger died from his wounds several hours later while Emmerich was left with a permanent limp.


Life

Franceska Mann was a young dancer residing in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. She studied dance in the dance school of Irena Prusicka. Her friends at that time included Wiera Gran and
Stefania Grodzieńska Stefania Grodzieńska (2 September 1914 – 28 April 2010) was a Polish writer, stage and theatrical actress during Second Polish Republic, the Interbellum; dancer, radio announcer, and satirist known as the First Lady of Polish Humor. Biography ...
. In 1939 she was placed 4th during the international dance competition in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
among 125 other young ballet dancers.Terpsychora i lekkie muzy, Bożena Mamontowicz-Łojek, Polskie Wydawn. Muzyczne, 1972 She was considered one of the most beautiful and promising dancers of her generation in Poland both in the classical and modern repertoire. At the beginning of the Second World War she was a performer at the Melody Palace nightclub in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. She was a prisoner in the
Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...
. In several publications she is mentioned as a German collaborator.Agata Tuszyńska, Oskarżona – Wiera Gran, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2010. Her name is associated with the " Hotel Polski affair". She is mentioned in Filip Mueller's eyewitness account ''Eyewitness Auschwitz'' as well as in the account of Jerzey Tabau, a former
Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
prisoner. Tabau's report was filed for the
International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
as Document L-022. On October 23, 1943, a transport of around 1,700 Polish Jews arrived on passenger trains at the death camp at
Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
, although they had been told that they were being taken to a transfer camp called Bergau near Dresden, from where they would continue on to Switzerland to be exchanged for German
POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...
s. One of the passengers was Franceska Mann. She had probably obtained her foreign passport from the Hotel Polski on the Aryan side. In July 1943, the Germans arrested the 600 Jewish inhabitants of the hotel and some of them were sent to Bergen-Belsen as exchange Jews. Others were sent to Vittel in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to await transfer to South America. According to some versions, the new arrivals were not registered but were told that they had to be disinfected before crossing the border into Switzerland. They were taken into the undressing room next to the gas chamber and ordered to undress. Other versions of the story mention the events that follow taking place at either the selection ramp or a labor area of the camp. Regardless of location, what is confirmed is that she fatally wounded the roll call officer ''
Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...
'' Josef Schillinger, using a pistol (many accounts say his own) and fired two shots, wounding him in the stomach. Then she fired a third shot which wounded another SS Sergeant named Emmerich. According to Tabau, the shots served as a signal for the other women to attack the SS men; one SS man had his nose torn off, and another was scalped. However, accounts vary: in some Schillinger and Emmerich are the only casualties. Reinforcements were summoned and the camp commander,
Rudolf Höss Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss (also Höß, Hoeß, or Hoess; ; 25 November 1901 – 16 April 1947) was a German SS officer and the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II, he w ...
, came with other SS men carrying machine guns and grenades. According to Filip Mueller, all people not yet inside the gas chamber were mowed down by machine guns. Other mentioned outcomes are the Jewish women being herded into the gas chamber, taken outside and executed, or Franceska taking her own life with the stolen pistol. Due to various conflicting accounts, it is unclear what truly happened next; the only things that are certain are on that day Schillinger died, Emmerich was wounded, and all the Jewish women were killed. According to
Jan Grabowski Jan Zbigniew Grabowski (born June 24, 1962) is a Polish-Canadian professor of history at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Jewish–Polish relations in German-occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust in Poland.
, however, Mann was an infamous collaborator and szmalcownik, who turned in a Polish resistance member to the Germans and was shortly thereafter, in the autumn of 1942, executed by the Polish underground. GOOGLE TRANSLATION: "The Underground State noticed the threats related to the activities of the Jewish szmalcownicy (szmalcownicy) quite early. ... The most famous were the Warsaw dancer Franciszka Mann and the Gestapo agent Lolek Skosowski, both of whom were liquidated by an underground court sentence two days after handing over the Home Army liaison "Hipolit" to the Germans" The
Auschwitz Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and ex ...
confirms the account of a woman shooting the two SS guards on 23 October 1943. It's believed the woman was Franciszka Mann, but her identity is not 100% verified.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Franceska Jewish Polish artists Polish painters Jewish dancers Polish people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp 1943 deaths Polish Ashkenazi Jews Jewish women entertainers Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust 1917 births Polish ballerinas Warsaw Ghetto inmates Polish civilians killed in World War II Women in World War II Jewish resistance during the Holocaust 20th-century Polish women 20th-century Polish ballet dancers