Reflection of Holocaust victims’ spiritual resistance in the testimonies of Auschwitz Sondercommando members

Abstract

Among the numerous crimes of Nazi Germany and its accomplices during the Second Word War, they attempted the mass extermination of the Jewish people. Those events entered word history under the name Holocaust, in Hebrew  – “Shoa” (disaster, catastrophe). Even though the literature on various aspects of the life and death of Jews in Holocaust period in general and in the  extermination camps  in  particular is  quite extensive, there is  no particular analysis of  the spiritual  resistance of  prisoners. The  article  analyzes  the  reflection of Sondercommando members’ spiritual resistance in the Auschwitz death camp, which became an ominous symbol of the atrocities committed by the Nazis and their collaborators, as presented in their testimonies, called “Scrolls from the Ashes”. The composition of Sondercommando members and their “position” were studied. The authorship issues of the “Scrolls” and the motives for their creation are considered. It gives surviving witnesses’ and descendants’ assessments are given to their activities. The analyzed sources indicate that despite the inhuman conditions and constant threat of immediate destruction, the members of the Sondercommando not only retained their moral spirit, but also demonstrated the will to resist. A striking example of which is the uprising that broke out on October 7th, 1944, near  the  ovens of  Auschwitz-Birkenau crematorium.