Henryk Mandelbaum (15 December 1922 – 17 June 2008) was a Polish

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor. He was one of the prisoners in the ''

Sonderkommando ''Sonderkommandos'' (, ) were Extermination through labor, work units made up of Nazi Germany, German Nazi death camp prisoners. They were composed of prisoners, usually Jews, who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the di ...

KL Auschwitz-Birkenau'' in the

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 ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

who worked in the crematory. Only 110 out of 2,000 Sonderkommandos in Auschwitz-Birkenau survived the war. As of the death of

Dario Gabbai David Dario Gabbai (September 2, 1922 – March 25, 2020) was a Greece, Greek Sephardi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Jew and List of Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor, notable for his role as a member of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz concentration ...

in 2020, no former Auschwitz-Birkenau Sonderkommandos are known to be alive. Mandelbaum was imprisoned as a Polish

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

at the age of 21 years. He fled from the Sosnowiec Ghetto and was reimprisoned on 22 April 1944, in Birkenau.

Auschwitz

After arriving to Auschwitz, Mandelbaum was designated to forced labour in the crematory. He had to carry the corpses of the people who were gassed with

Zyklon B Zyklon B (; translated Cyclone B) was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide invented in Germany in the early 1920s. It consists of hydrogen cyanide (prussic acid), as well as a cautionary eye irritant and one of several adsorbents such ...

, check body orifices for valuables and break out dental gold. In 1944 the capacity of the crematoriums was too small to burn all the corpses of prisoners killed. Mandelbaum and others had to dig two huge pits, then burn the dead bodies in them. To improve the process they had to pour back the body fat, which was collected in small holes in the pit, over the top of the pile. Mandelbaum participated in the rebellion of inmates on 7 October 1944, which was put down quickly by the SS. One Oberkapo and 3 members of the SS were killed in the revolt (about a dozen SS were injured). Afterwards, 451 of the inmates were shot or hanged. This was the third rebellion in a camp after

Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...

(2 August 1943) and

Sobibor Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...

(14 October 1943). On a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

from Auschwitz to Loslau in January 1945, he was able to flee. He escaped wearing civilian clothes and hid on a farm for three weeks. After the liberation of Auschwitz he identified himself to the ''Wahrheitsfindungskommission'' (fact-finding commission) as an eyewitness. Mandelbaum continued to live in Poland until his death and still carried the number 181970 on his left forearm. He often travelled to the former

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to speak about his experiences. He said that young people especially should learn what happened in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945: "''Man muss das doch alles wissen, man muss doch wissen, wie lange die Leute in den Gaskammern gewesen sind. Man muss wissen, wie lange sie gebrannt haben in den Öfen''" ("People need to know, they really need to know, just how long the people were in the gas chambers. People need to know how long they burned in the ovens"). He sat as chair of the Auschwitz Museum directors and was keenly involved in publicising Auschwitz. After the war, he was an officer of the Poviat Office for Public Security (UB) in Będzin in 1945-48. He died on 17 June 2008 in the Polish city of

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

, following heart surgery.

Films

*Eric Friedler:
Sklaven der Gaskammer - Das Jüdische Sonderkommando in Auschwitz
', 2000, 44 min *Stanislav Motl:
Živý mrtvý - Live dead
', 2008, 63 min

Books

* ''Sonder. An Interview with Sonderkommando Member Henryk Mandelbaum'', Jan Południak, Oświęcim, 2008, .

References

External links

*Hans G. Helms:

' Junge Welt, 18. Mai 2001 *Jürgen Schön:
Überleben nur von Tag zu Tag.
' taz, 20. Dezember 2004 *Ausstellung Bildungswerk Stanislav Hantz:
NUR DIE STERNE WAREN WIE GESTERN
' Dreikönigskirche, Dresden, 16. März – 20. April 2006 *
Sonderkommando.info.
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandelbaum, Henryk 1922 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Polish Jews Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Sosnowiec Ghetto inmates Sonderkommando People from Olkusz