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

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. He was one of the prisoners in the '' Sonderkommando KL Auschwitz-Birkenau'' in the Auschwitz-Birkenau

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

who had to work in the

crematory A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also b ...

. Only 110 out of 2,000 prisoners survived the Sonderkommandos in Auschwitz-Birkenau, as of the death of

Dario Gabbai David Dario Gabbai (September 2, 1922 – March 25, 2020) was a Greek Sephardi Jew and Holocaust survivor, notable for his role as a member of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz. He was deported to the camp in March 1944 and put to work in one of the ...

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

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 ...

at the age of 21 years. He fled from the Sosnowiec Ghetto and was reimprisoned on April 22, 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 consisted 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 October 7, 1944, which was put down quickly by the SS. One Oberkapo and 3 members of the SS were killed in the revolt. Afterwards, 451 of the inmates were shot or hanged. This was the third rebellion in a camp after

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...

(August 2, 1943) and

Sobibor Sobibor (, Polish: ) 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 German-occupied Poland. As an ...

(October 14, 1943). On a

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 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 of Auschwitz and to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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 June 17, 2008, in the Polish city of Bytom, 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 The Dreikönigskirche (Three Kings' Church) is a Lutheran church located in the Innere Neustadt of Dresden, Germany. It is the centre of a parish, and a community venue called Haus der Kirche. The church is a . A church has been documented as st ...

, 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