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Mieczysław "Mietek" Pemper (24 March 1920 – 7 June 2011) was a Polish-born German
Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
. Pemper helped compile and type
Oskar Schindler Oskar Schindler (; 28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974) was a German industrialist, humanitarian and a member of the Nazi Party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ...
's now-famous list, which saved 1,200 people from being killed in
the 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; ...
during
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 ...
.


Early life

Pemper was born into a
Jewish 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""The ...
family in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
on 24 March 1920 to Jakub and Regina Pemper. He had one younger brother, Stefan Pemper. In Polish, "Mietek" is short for "Mieczysław", and his family and friends referred to him as such. From early childhood, Pemper was bilingual in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and German. He studied law at Jagiellonian University and business administration at the
Kraków University of Economics Krakow University of Economics (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Krakowie'', UEK) is one of the five Polish public economics universities. CUE came into existence in 1925. It is the biggest university of economic sciences in Poland. Kraków U ...
simultaneously.


Płaszów and Oskar Schindler

Pemper was 19 years old when
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
invaded Poland in 1939. All Jews in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, including Pemper and his family, were required to wear Star of David
yellow badge Yellow badges (or yellow patches), also referred to as Jewish badges (german: Judenstern, lit=Jew's star), are badges that Jews were ordered to wear at various times during the Middle Ages by some caliphates, at various times during the Medieva ...
s by the
Nazi 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 ...
s. Pemper stayed at home as much as possible in protest against the badges. While spending most of his time in his family's apartment, Pemper decided to teach himself German stenography, since he had already learned German shorthand. Shortly after, Pemper and his family were confined to the
Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, and ...
, and he was soon appointed by Nazi officials as a
clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
for the
Judenrat A ''Judenrat'' (, "Jewish council") was a World War II administrative agency imposed by Nazi Germany on Jewish communities across occupied Europe, principally within the Nazi ghettos. The Germans required Jews to form a ''Judenrat'' in every c ...
, the Kraków Ghetto's Jewish administration. Pemper also acted as a German-Polish interpreter for the Kraków Ghetto residents and typed up radio broadcasts from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The Kraków Ghetto had started deportations by the end of 1942; between 13 and 15 March 1943 it was fully liquidated. Pemper was deported from the ghetto to Płaszów concentration camp. He was assigned as the personal secretary and stenographer to
Amon Göth Amon Leopold Göth (; alternative spelling ''Goeth''; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in Germa ...
, Płaszów's notorious
commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
, due to his previous work at the Kraków Ghetto's Judenrat. Pemper's position as Göth's assistant gave him rare access to documents sent to Göth from Nazi authorities. By working in Göth's office, Pemper also became an acquaintance of
Oskar Schindler Oskar Schindler (; 28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974) was a German industrialist, humanitarian and a member of the Nazi Party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ...
, an ethnic German businessman and industrialist with ties to the black market. At first, Schindler wanted to profit from the German invasion of Poland and as the war ensued, Schindler decided to open an enamelware factory in Kraków using mostly Jewish labor. Later, he became sympathetic to his workers and used his position to protect them.
Itzhak Stern Itzhak Stern (25 January 1901 – 1969) was a Polish-Israeli Jewish Holocaust survivor who worked for Sudeten-German industrialist Oskar Schindler and assisted him in his rescue activities during the Holocaust. Life Early life Stern was bor ...
, an accountant and Pemper's closest friend in Göth's office, persuaded Pemper that Schindler could be trusted. Pemper typed his first letter to Oskar Schindler in March 1943, without the knowledge that Schindler had sympathies for his Jewish workers. Through his work in the office, Pemper discovered in 1944 that the Nazis intended to close all factories not directly tied to the war effort, including Schindler's enamelware factory and the other facilities connected to Płaszów. These closures would likely mean that Płaszów's Jewish inmates would be deported to a
death camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
. Pemper personally alerted Schindler to the plans and persuaded him to switch production from enamelware to anti-tank grenades to save Schindler's workers. Pemper provided Schindler with as little information as possible, for fear that Schindler could possibly implicate him in the sharing of classified Nazi secrets that were retained in the Płaszów camp's administrative office. Pemper helped develop the now famous "Schindler's List" to save as many Jewish workers as possible. In collaboration with Schindler and others in the Płaszów concentration camp including
Itzhak Stern Itzhak Stern (25 January 1901 – 1969) was a Polish-Israeli Jewish Holocaust survivor who worked for Sudeten-German industrialist Oskar Schindler and assisted him in his rescue activities during the Holocaust. Life Early life Stern was bor ...
, he compiled and typed the list of over 1,000 Jewish inmates deemed "decisive for the Nazi war effort." Many on the list worked for Schindler with additional names added just before the transport. Those on the list, including Pemper himself, were transferred to Schindler's new factory located in Brněnec,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, in October 1944. This transfer ultimately saved the lives of those who were on the list. Schindler also included Pemper's father, mother, and brother on the list. However, Pemper's mother Regina, because of illness, was left behind in Auschwitz, but she survived until liberation. At the end of the war, Oskar Schindler gave a speech to his Jewish factory workers, urging: "Don't thank me for your survival... thank your valiant Stern and Pemper, who stared death in the face constantly." Pemper testified against Göth at his September 1946 trial in Kraków following the end of the war. Göth was sentenced to death and executed in 1946.


Later life

Pemper moved to the city of
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
, Bavaria, in 1958 and became a German citizen. He worked as a
management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...
and an intercultural activist, specifically focusing on
Jewish-Christian relations Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian Era. Differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most importa ...
and
reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...
. He kept close contact with Oskar Schindler until Schindler's death in 1974. He served as a consultant for Steven Spielberg's 1993 film, ''
Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...
''. The movie minimized Pemper's role in collaborating with Schindler during the war. Spielberg sought to simplify the film's storyline by creating a composite character, portrayed by actor
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...
, based on the historical roles of Mietek Pemper,
Itzhak Stern Itzhak Stern (25 January 1901 – 1969) was a Polish-Israeli Jewish Holocaust survivor who worked for Sudeten-German industrialist Oskar Schindler and assisted him in his rescue activities during the Holocaust. Life Early life Stern was bor ...
and Abraham Bankier. However, Pemper dismissed his diminished role in the film, saying his accomplishment was not the list that was compiled and typed, but "the multifarious acts of resistance that, like tiny stones being placed into a mosaic one by one, had made the whole process possible," according to ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
''. Spielberg paid tribute to both Pemper and Stern outside of the film, calling them heroes. Pemper himself was portrayed by actor Grzegorz Kwas in the film. In 2001, he was awarded with the Merit Cross 1st Class. Pemper's adopted city of Augsburg awarded him a civic medal in 2003. They also named him as an
honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
in 2007. Pemper submitted to an in-depth film interview in Vienna in June 2005 for UK company Gigatel Cyf (Ltd). Pemper spoke at great length about his experience from childhood to the aftermath of his experiences during the Holocaust, specifically at the Płaszów concentration camp under the control of Płaszów's commandant Amon Göth. Pemper only agreed to the interview after relentless persuasion for over 18 months by another Holocaust survivor named
Edward Mosberg Edward Mosberg (January 6, 1926 – September 21, 2022) was a Polish-American Holocaust survivor, educator, and philanthropist. During the Holocaust, he was held by the Nazis from 14 years of age in Kraków Ghetto, Kraków-Płaszów concentratio ...
, who was himself imprisoned at the Płaszów,
Mauthausen Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regu ...
, and Linz camps. Some of the contents of this unique interview are included in the (UK 2016) – (US 2017) release of the Film – ''Destination Unknown'' and includes testimony not included in Pemper's autobiography ''The Road To Rescue''. ''The Road to Rescue'' was published on 11 March 2011, shortly before Pemper's death. A four-hour-long interview of Pemper (in German) is also available online on the
USC Shoah Foundation USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education, formerly Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Hol ...
website. The interview, conducted on 13 September 1997, covers the period before and during his captivity, and reveals details about Göth and Schindler. Pemper died in Augsburg, Germany on 7 June 2011, at the age of 91. He never married and left no close family. He was buried in Augsburg's Jewish cemetery and municipal flags were lowered to
half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
in his honour. In tribute to Pemper, Augsburg's mayor Kurt Gribl said, "With Mietek Pemper, the city has lost an important builder of bridges between the Jewish and Christian religions and a contributor to reconciliation."


References


External links


The Official Website of Mietek Pemper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemper, Mietek 1920 births 2011 deaths Polish Jews German Jews Amon Göth German autobiographers Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Kraków Ghetto inmates Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp survivors Naturalized citizens of Germany Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Augsburg Polish autobiographers Polish emigrants to Germany Schindlerjuden