By student K. F
When the Holocaust is taught in schools, students learn about the conditions of the camps and ghettos and the lives of the people within them. However, we seldom hear about how many people defied the Nazi regime and maintained their morale. There are many forgotten examples of how people resisted and helped to protect others.
The Vrba-Wetzler report, named after its authors (Alfred Wetzler and Rudolf Vrba) is a 40-page eyewitness account of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and an example of resistance to the Holocaust as it was used to create awareness of the realities within the concentration camps during the Nazi regime. In order to write this account, Vrba and Wetzler made a daring escape from the confines of the camp. In April 1944 Alfred and Rudolf examined previous failed escape attempts to plan their own successful escape. A group of prisoners worked outside the perimeter of the camp in an area only guarded during the daytime which the men used to their advantage. Vrba and Wetzler hid in a pile of wood surrounded by petrol soaked Russian tobacco as throughout their planning of their escape they had learnt that this tobacco deterred the sniffer dogs. They hid for three days until the evening of April 10th 1944, by which time the guards had given up searching for the two missing men. After this ingenious escape they then endured an 80 mile walk to Slovakia which took eleven days for them to complete.
After the exhausting journey, the pair made quick contact with a local Jewish Council in Slovakia in order to spread awareness of what they had witnessed at Auschwitz. Alfred and Rudolf were separated in order for each account to be taken so that the testimonies could be compared and a report written. The report consisted of a detailed description of the camp and its process of extermination, it also contained details of transports including nationalities of those on board that Vrba had remembered from his time working in Auschwitz. Despite the vital information in the report, it was not released, most likely in an attempt to protect negotiations the council was taking part in with the Nazis in order to save some of the community. However, it was released by the press in Switzerland and soon Britain and America were reporting on the true nature of Auschwitz-Birkenau (the extermination branch of the camp). By June 1944, appeals were made by World Leaders to the Hungarian Government to halt the deportations of Jews with some success as they stopped on July 9th 1944 and did not continue until the government was overtaken by Nazis in November 1944. Alfred and Rudolf’s efforts thus brought an awareness of the purpose of Auschwitz-Birkenau to a wide international audience and can be considered a form of resistance that saved many Jewish lives.
Personal note from K. F:
Whilst learning about the Holocaust through this project with the Holocaust Educational Trust, one quote that stuck with me was from Elie Wiesel: ‘when you listen to a witness, you become a witness.’ This will stay with me forever. Remembering the Holocaust and its victims, as well as listening to testimonies from survivors is vital to making sure that history does not repeat itself. I hope that if you take anything away from reading this blog, you will remember this quote and share its message.
Edited by Mr L. M. Potts
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