Felix Kolmer (3 May 1922 – 5 August 2022) was a Czech physicist of Jewish origin, specialising in the field of acoustics. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he was active in the Czech Resistance.

Early life

Kolmer was born in Prague in 1922 to an assimilated Jewish family. His father died in 1932, and he subsequently spent holidays in Austria with his uncle. As a result, he was in Austria during the 1938–1945 Nazi invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia.

In Terezín

Kolmer was selected to be part of the ''Aufbaukommando'', the first transportation to

Terezín Terezín (; german: Theresienstadt) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town ...

. The transport contained young able-bodied Jewish men, with the intention that the men would assist in building the ghetto. In Terezín, he was specifically forced to build bunk beds, since he had carpentry experience. At one point, he was interned in the Small Fortress, and the treatment of prisoners by the SS that he witnessed there prompted him to join the underground resistance. He found an escape route out of Terezín, but never used it; the route was used by a few prisoners later. He was able to use his ''Aufbaukommando'' status to temporarily protect some of his family members, including his grandmother, mother, and fiancée. His mother died in Terezín in 1941.

Deportation to Auschwitz and escape

In October 1944, Kolmer was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. According to his later recollections, he arrived on a transport with 1,500 people, 1,250 of whom were immediately sent to the gas chambers by

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-'' Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , ...

. Kolmer only survived this initial selection because a prisoner he did not know told the Nazis he was a metal worker. He managed to escape Auschwitz by jumping on a transport with a friend, which headed to the

Gross-Rosen , known for = , location = , built by = , operated by = , commandant = , original use = , construction = , in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945 , gas cham ...

camp, specifically the subcamp Friedland.

Later life

After the war, Kolmer worked as an electrical engineer, and became an expert on acoustics. Kolmer began lecturing not only in his field of expertise, but also on World War II. He received several awards for his resistance, scientific research, and bravery. He also assisted victims of the Nazis who are seeking compensation. He was interviewed by

Post Bellum Post Bellum is a Czech educational nonprofit organization based in Prague. The organization was formed in 2001 by a group of historians and journalists with the aim of increasing public knowledge of the 20th century history of the Czech Republ ...

, an oral history organisation, as part of their project ''Stories of the 20th Century''. Kolmer turned 100 in May 2022, and died on 5 August.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolmer, Felix 1922 births 2022 deaths Czech Jews Czech engineers Czech physicists Czech centenarians Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony Escapees from Auschwitz Scientists from Prague Jewish escapees from Nazi concentration camps Czechoslovak engineers Men centenarians