Inside the gas chambers : eight months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz

230 Pages·2009·1.909 MB·English, French

by  Venezia, Shlomo, Venezia, Shlomo, Prasquier, Béatrice, Mouttapa, Jean

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inside the
gas chambers
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I N S I D E T H E
G A S C H A M B E R S
eight months in the
sonderkommando of
auschwitz
shlomo venezia
in collaboration with Béatrice Prasquier
Foreword by Simone Veil
Historical notes and additional material by
Marcello Pezzetti and Umberto Gentiloni
Edited by Jean Mouttapa
Translated by Andrew Brown
polity
Published in Association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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First published in French as Sonderkommando– Dans l’enfer des chambres à gaz
© Éditions Albin Michel S.A.-Paris, 2007
This English edition © Polity Press, 2009
Polity Press
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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK
Polity Press
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Malden, MA 02148, USA
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the
purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
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without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-4383-0
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset in 10.75 on 14 pt Adobe Janson by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
Printed in the United States by Maple-Vail
The assertions, arguments and conclusions contained herein are those of the
author or other contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have
been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to include any
necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
For further information on Polity, visit our website: www.polity.co.uk
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I dedicate this book to my two families: my family from before
the war, and my family from after it. My first thoughts go to
my dearest mother – only forty-four years old at the time of
these events – and my two young sisters, Marica and Marta,
then fourteen and eleven, respectively. I often think sadly of
the difficult life my mother had, being widowed very young
with five children. Making many sacrifices, and struggling
against almost insuperable difficulties, she brought us up in
accordance with wholesome principles, such as being honest
and respecting people. These sacrifices and these sufferings all
counted for nothing, as they were wiped out at the same time
as were my young sisters, no sooner than they had climbed out
of the cattle cars onto the Judenrampeof Auschwitz-Birkenau
on April 11, 1944.
My other family came into being after the great tragedy.
My wife Marika and my three sons, Mario, Alessandro, and
Alberto, know many things better than I do and base their
lives on the essential principles of honesty and respect for
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others. My wife’s tenacity has meant that they have managed
to grow up into men I can be proud of. Marika has also taken
great care of me, and lightened the burden of the infirmities
that ensued from my imprisonment in the camps. She
deserves more than my silent affection. Thank you, Marika,
for all you have done up until now and all that you continue
to do with our six grandchildren: Alessandra, Daniel, Michela,
Gabriel, Nicole, and Rachel, and our daughters-in-law,
Miriam, Angela, and Sabrina.
Your husband, father, and grandfather,
Shlomo Venezia
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The whole truth is much more tragic and terrible.
Zalmen Lewental*
* Zalmen Lewental’s manuscript in Yiddish was discovered in October
1962, buried in the yard of the Auschwitz Crematorium. It was written
shortly before the outbreak of the Sonderkommando revolt, so as to leave
an eye-witness account and some trace of the extermination of the Jews
in the gas chambers. Lewental seems to have died in November 1944,
only a few weeks before the Liberation. Taken from “Des voix sous la
cendre: Manuscrits des Sonderkommandos d’Auschwitz-Birkenau,” ed.
by Georges Bensoussan, Revue d’histoire de la Shoah, no. 171 (January–
April 2001).
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