Suspicions of treason, because ... "every survivor is suspect". The mother was pronounced dead because of a simple mistake and only found years later. The camp was decommissioned long ago, but the numbers tattooed on their hands marked the prisoners for life.
Józef Paczyński, born in 1920. Prisoner number 121 - from the first transport, barber of commandant Rudolf Höss. When asked why he didn't cut his throat, he will have to answer his whole life.
Marceli Godlewski, 1921, Home Army, executor of Kedyw. After many months of interrogation, he ends up in the camp, from which he escapes at the first opportunity.
The moving stories of those who survived Auschwitz can be found in the book by Aleksandra Wójcik and Maciej Zdziarski, Dobranoc, Auschwitz. Report on Former Prisoners ”, which has just been released by the Znak Horyzont publishing house.
Lidia Maksymowicz, the youngest. Trapped as a three-year-old girl. A frightened child hiding under a bunk from Dr. Mengele's sight.
Karol Tendera, prisoner number 100 430. Infected with typhus as part of a medical experiment. He will never come to terms with the fact that one can speak of "Polish extermination camps" with impunity.
Stefan Lipniak, 1924. Forty-four months behind the wires. All youth. He doesn't say much about it, because life isn't just about a camp.
70 years pass. Former prisoners of Auschwitz are still alive and are among us. We meet them on the street, on the tram, at the pharmacy. We pass in a hurry, not paying attention. They still have a lot to tell. Here are their stories.