75 years of the liberation of Auschwitz: witnessing to the last breath

The cries, the selection, the separation from their families, the smell of crematoriums. Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the survivors have not forgotten anything of their passage in this Nazi extermination camp. Gathered in the library of the Polish city of Oświęcim (Auschwitz in German), some survivors, invited for the occasion, agreed to tell their stories on the eve of the anniversary ceremony on January 27.

"When I arrived in Auschwitz, I knew nothing about this place," said Alina Dąbrowska, a 97-year-old Polish resistance fighter who was deported in May 1943. "My first impression was excruciating. I thought it looked like hell. "

They also explain why, despite their advanced age, it is important for them to participate in these commemorations for the 75 years of the liberation of Auschwitz. pic.twitter.com/YYqls6T5Sk

"They took away our humanity"

Beside him, Benjamin Lesser, a Polish Jew from Cracow, who had fled to Hungary with his family before he was also arrested, describes with precision his first moments in the camp. "They told us to get off the cattle wagons. They were screaming. They took the children to the right, the men to the left. I found myself in front of Mengele [a Nazi doctor who carried out medical experiments in Auschwitz, editor's note He was asking questions. A gentleman replied that he had bad knees. He was sent to the right directly to the gas chambers. I told him that I was 18 years old, that I was in good health and that I could work. He sent me to the left. " At this precise moment, Benjamin does not know it yet, but he sees his mother for the last time. Out of seven of his relatives, he will be only one of the only survivors, along with one of his sisters.

Leon Weintraub also seems to relive this scene. Like his deportation comrade, he still heard the orders shouted with rage by the SS soldiers as clearly. "We were greeted by 'raus raus raus'. We then saw people in striped pajamas. One of them took my collection of stamps. He told me that I would not have any. no need here. I didn't understand what he meant ", remembers this Polish Jew who was deported to Auschwitz in August 1944 from the Lodz ghetto. "We went from a state of being alive to that of a simple tool as long as we were able to work. Little by little, they took away our humanity."

Benjamin Lesser insists on the most important: "We must spread this message throughout the world. No matter your race or your religion. We are all part of humanity. Stop hatred. We are all the same." pic.twitter.com/ocfu6wgF3F

"I couldn't remain silent"

These three survivors do not dwell on their living conditions, or rather survival, in this killing center, where more than 1.1 million people, 90% of them Jews, were murdered. Modestly, Alina Dąbrowska simply remembers heaps of corpses and that deceased friend whom she took her hand to say goodbye to.

After the war, they tried to turn the page. For a long time, they did not speak of Auschwitz. "I did not want to contaminate my family and make them wear this story as a deportee's child," summarizes Benjamin Lesser. The Polish resistance fighter even wanted to forget everything: "One day, I met a woman who had been interned with me, but I told her that I did not remember what she was talking about and that I had not been in camp".

It was only many decades later that they finally agreed to reopen this painful scar. Become American citizen, installed in California, Benjamin Lesser finally opened to his grandchildren: "They asked me questions and they asked me to come to their school to tell my story. The children listened to me with big eyes. I realized that I could not remain silent and that I had to speak. "

Alina Dąbrowska has also gradually become aware of her role as a witness. She now comes to Auschwitz every year with groups of young people. "It is important to keep this place. We can show what happened there with the barracks and the gas chambers," said the old lady with determination. "We are doing everything to ensure that this is not forgotten."

"Love our differences"

At almost 100 years old, these three survivors have indeed only one fear: that this memory will be erased. "People prefer to forget bad times. Unfortunately, we will not live forever. What will happen after we disappear? I don't know. That's why I created a foundation to keep this memory alive and prevent it from happening again. I will do it as long as I am alive, then my grandchildren will continue, "Benjamin Lesser promises. Leon Weintraub is also optimistic: "We are fortunate to be able to change our minds and to make sure that it does not happen again. This is why it is important to have this kind of commemorations ".

After suffering in their hearts and in their flesh, these survivors want to believe that the lessons of the past can lead to a better future. For them, this only happens through one thing: education. "We must love our differences instead of hating them. No matter your race or your religion, we are all part of humanity", insists Benjamin Lesser, as a last passage of witness. "This is the message from the survivors. Spread it."

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