Boris Braun (20 August 1920 – 7 October 2018) was a Croatian University professor,
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
survivor and member of the Jewish community in Zagreb.
Early life
Braun was born to Šandor and Elizabeta (
née Mautner) Braun, members of a notable and wealthy
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish family of
Đurđevac
Đurđevac is a town in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are a total of 8,264 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following settlements:
* Budrovac, population 373
* Čepelovac, population ...
. He had a sister called Štefica. The Braun family were reputable and respected in Đurđevac, where they owned the sawmill, vineyard, mill and ice factory. His father brought electricity to the Đurđevac region and maintained the local substation. Braun's father was a close friend of
Ivan Šubašić
Ivan Šubašić (; 7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Yugoslav Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and prime minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War.
Early life
He was born in Vuk ...
and Mate Starčević, mayor of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
, both of whom participated in the hunting events organized every year at the Braun estate.
Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he studied agriculture at the
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...
. In 1941, with the establishment of the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
, Braun was banned from the University of Zagreb for being Jewish. He returned to Đurđevac where he helped his father run the family business. Braun also helped maintain the substation and learned from his father's employees about electricity, knowledge that would later save his life. In the autumn of 1942, although his father was an acquaintance of the Independent State of Croatia military commander
Slavko Kvaternik
Slavko Kvaternik (25 August 1878 – 7 June 1947) was a Croatian Ustaše military general and politician who was one of the founders of the Ustaše movement. Kvaternik was military commander and Minister of '' Domobranstvo'' (''Armed Forces''). O ...
, Braun and his parents were arrested and transported to Zagreb, to the prison at Savska Cesta. Only Braun's sister managed to avoid the arrest because she was married to a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
from Zagreb. Eight months later in 1943, with a large group of Jews from Zagreb, Braun and his parents were deported in the
cattle wagons to
Auschwitz.
Life in the camps
His parents were killed in the
gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
History
...
s upon arrival, but Braun saved himself when he lied that he was an electrician. In Auschwitz, with others, Braun repaired and maintained the gas chambers. Some time later Braun volunteered to be transferred to the
Central Labour Camp Jaworzno The Jaworzno concentration camp was a concentration camp in WW2 German-occupied Poland and later in Communist Poland. It was first established by the Nazis in 1943 during the Second World War and was later used from 1945 to 1956 by the Soviet NKVD a ...
, as the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
looked for volunteers to establish the new camp. At Jaworzno, Braun maintained the
SS and prisoner barracks. On 17 January 1945 Braun was marched away westward with other prisoners. Hundreds died on the way to the
Gross-Rosen concentration camp in
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...
, including about 300 shot dead in a massacre which occurred on the second night of this
death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...
. From Gross-Rosen concentration camp, Braun was transported to Buchenwald concentration camp. There he welcomed liberation and the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Post War
In the summer of 1945, Braun returned to the University of Zagreb, where he finished his studies at the Faculty of Agriculture. He worked as a professor at the university until 1971. That year he rebelled against the decision of the other university professors to expel a colleague who had participated in the
Croatian Spring. Later he worked as a poultry inspector. Braun was very active in bearing witness to the horrors of
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
to elementary and primary school children across Zagreb.
In 2005, Braun was named an Honorary Citizen of Đurđevac. He died on 7 October 2018 at the age of 98 years.
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Boris
1920 births
2018 deaths
Auschwitz concentration camp survivors
Buchenwald concentration camp survivors
Croatian Jews
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb alumni
Jewish concentration camp survivors
People from Đurđevac
World War II civilian prisoners
Yugoslav academics