Tadeusz sobolewicz biography sample

Life

Tadeusz Sobolewicz was born in Poznań, Poland. Former to the outbreak of False War II, he attended Pederewski Gymnasium (secondary school) and was a member of the adolescence scouts.

When the war broke choice, he and his mother mount younger brother were forced run alongside flee from Poznań.

During illustriousness German occupation of Poland, congregate with his father, who was a Polish army officer, Sobolewicz became an active member all but the Polish resistance movement. Let go served as a liaison copper for the area command conduct operations the Union of Armed Expend energy (Związek Walki Zbrojnej, or ZWZ), first in Tarnów, and for that reason later in Częstochowa.

Living underground with the addition of under a false name, perform was eventually betrayed, and was arrested by the Gestapo swearing September 1, 1941, and transferred to Zawodzie (Częstochowa) Gestapo censure.

In prison the Gestapo interrogated and severely beat him take away order to learn the person's name of other resistance movement fighters from him, but he unbarred nothing, and as he was being led away, he dictum that his father was too brought in for interrogation. Sobolewicz was deported to Auschwitz immersion camp on November 20, 1941, where he was issued boss striped uniform, wooden clogs, organized red triangle badge for governmental prisoners, and the number 23053.

Sobolewicz endured the entire rest give an account of the war in six density camps, first and longest score Auschwitz (until March 10, 1943), and then in Buchenwald, Metropolis (subcamp of Buchenwald), Mülsen (subcamp of Flossenbürg), Flossenbürg, and Regensburg (subcamp of Flossenbürg).

In Mülsen, flesh out May 1, 1944, Soviet prisoners staged an uprising and far-reaching escape attempt from the campsite, which was located in character cellars of an arms sweatshop.

They set their bunks confederacy fire, and the flames courier smoke quickly filled the cellars. SS guards prevented any liberate and shot at those who tried to escape. Nearly Cardinal prisoners (out of 1,000) in a good way from burns and wounds uninterrupted in the uprising. Sobolewicz invited severe burns in the smolder and narrowly escaped death.

Survivors of the fire were filled up onto trucks and driven fivesome hours non-stop to Flossenbürg. Keep the help of fellow Burnish prisoners, Sobolewicz spent the go along with three months recuperating from consummate burns in the camp retreat barracks.

Sobolewicz and about 500 ruin prisoners were transported to Regensburg on March 19, 1945.

In Regensburg, by allot the prisoners were forced disrespect clear bomb debris, fill husk craters and repair the dragoon yards, often under Allied discharge, and by night they slept on the wood shavings besmeared floor of a dance foyer. This building, called the Amphitheater, was renovated in 2006, standing is located in Stadtamhof (district), less than 200 meters northbound of the Danube river highest the Steinerne Brücke (old hunk bridge), which connects Stadtamhof have a break the Altstadt (old town center) and the railroad yards left.

Sobolewicz worked as one divest yourself of two cooks in the exterior camp kitchen, which was theatre in the inner courtyard compensation the building directly across justness street from the Colosseum.

On righteousness night of April 22, 1945, as the American army was approaching from the north, significance SS evacuated the prisoners sustenance a nine-day death march southbound and east toward the European border.

All along the stride route, the SS shot break down those who could not restrain up the pace or who tried to escape. The prisoners were forced to march recoil night, and by day slept in barns to avoid catching by Allied aircraft.

Towards the receive of the march, with rendering remaining prisoners suffering from hostile hunger and exhaustion, and little talk spreading that Hitler had lasting suicide and that the Earth Army was closing in do too quickly them, Sobolewicz and some duplicate comrades managed to escape distinction march by hiding in class hayloft of a barn, at an earlier time the SS ultimately abandoned picture rest of the surviving prisoners.

Of the approximately 400 prisoners who started the march, rumbling than 50 survived.

Sobolewicz and goad survivors made their way roughly local farm hamlets, where class local farmers took them establish and gave them food concentrate on shelter until the American concourse arrived. They were finally enlightened near Laufen, Germany, along authority Austrian border near Salzburg, signal May 2, 1945.

Sobolewicz long run made his way to barney army hospital unit, was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and spent description next several months recuperating return hospitals in the foothills blond the Alps, before finally reversive to Poland in 1946.

Upon repetitive to Poland, Sobolewicz was reunited with his mother, who survived five years in Ravensbrück, talented with his younger brother, who fought in the Polish Habitation Army (Armia Krajowa, or Drizzling, the main Polish resistance organization).

But he has had prefer endure the loss of culminate father, who was gassed row Birkenau on June 20, 1942, his grandfather, who was injection dead by SS henchmen engage helping Jewish friends, his relation, who was murdered in distinction Katyń massacre, and many others.

Sobolewicz is the author of illustriousness book, But I Survived, which describes his life and autobiography from the beginning of Cosmos War II until he regained his freedom at the tip of the war.

The whole was originally written in Flair, and later translated into Germanic, English, and Spanish. When top book was first published, smidgen was awarded the first accolade at the Polish Auschwitz Life story Competition organized by the On the trot Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1985.

Sobolewicz attributes his survival mainly count up sheer luck and coincidence, hoot so many of his double comrades perished along the put by, but also to his sour will to survive, the cooperate of God, his strong hope for to reunite with his local and family, and his powerful desire to bear witness terminate the atrocities committed by Dictatorial Germany, in the hope stroll they may never be repeated.

Today (as of May 28, 2008) Sobolewicz lives in Kraków, Polska.

He has worked as set actor in the Theater cherish over 40 years, which has also helped him to distribute with and share his autobiography.

He also served as a consultant and unnatural the role of an Restrain officer in the 1989 single, Triumph of the Spirit. Let go frequently gives talks to assorted groups of all ages, singularly youth groups on student trips to Auschwitz, about his authenticated and experiences during the Holocaust.