Simon Srebnik
Encyclopedia
Simon Srebnik (10 April 1930 — 16 August 2006) was a Polish Jew who was one of only two or three survivors of the Nazi death camp known as Chełmno extermination camp.
. His mother died in a gas van
at the camp. Simon, however, was assigned by the camp SS to a Jewish work detail which maintained the camp.
During his time in the camp, Srebnik participated in the disposal of bodies by gathering bones that had not been burned and then rowing a flat-bottomed boat down the river every day to dump sacks of crushed bone into the Narew River. While rowing, Srebnik entertained the Nazi SS
guards by singing Prussian military songs that the guards had taught him. Some of the bones were those of people who had been gassed. Srebnik also won jumping contests and speed races which the SS organized and forced the chained prisoners of Chelmno to participate in (those who lost these contests were usually killed).
On January 18, 1945, two days before Soviet troops arrived and liberated the camp, all prisoners who remained in the camp were executed by being shot in the head. Srebnik was shot but somehow survived. According to the documentary Shoah
, the bullet "missed his vital brain centers."
, Israel
. He was interviewed by French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann
in 1985. According to the Jerusalem Post, Srebnik died in 2006 at age 76.
Witness in the Adolf Eichmann Trial (session 66-68)
Camp life
Srebnik witnessed his father killed in the Lodz Ghetto. Simon was thirteen years old when he was taken to the Chelmno extermination campChelmno extermination camp
Chełmno extermination camp, also known as the Kulmhof concentration camp, was a Nazi German extermination camp that was situated 50 kilometres from Łódź, near a small village called Chełmno nad Nerem . After annexation by Germany Kulmhof was included into Reichsgau Wartheland in 1939...
. His mother died in a gas van
Gas van
The gas van or gas wagon was an extermination method devised by Nazi Germany to kill victims of the regime. It was also rumored that analog of such device was used by the Soviet Union on an experimental basis during the Great Purge-Nazi Germany:...
at the camp. Simon, however, was assigned by the camp SS to a Jewish work detail which maintained the camp.
During his time in the camp, Srebnik participated in the disposal of bodies by gathering bones that had not been burned and then rowing a flat-bottomed boat down the river every day to dump sacks of crushed bone into the Narew River. While rowing, Srebnik entertained the Nazi SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
guards by singing Prussian military songs that the guards had taught him. Some of the bones were those of people who had been gassed. Srebnik also won jumping contests and speed races which the SS organized and forced the chained prisoners of Chelmno to participate in (those who lost these contests were usually killed).
On January 18, 1945, two days before Soviet troops arrived and liberated the camp, all prisoners who remained in the camp were executed by being shot in the head. Srebnik was shot but somehow survived. According to the documentary Shoah
Shoah (film)
This page is about the film by the name of Shoah. For other uses, see Shoah Shoah is a 1985 French documentary film directed by Claude Lanzmann about the Holocaust...
, the bullet "missed his vital brain centers."
Post-Holocaust years
After the Holocaust, Srebnik settled in Ness ZionaNess Ziona
Ness Ziona is a city in central Israel founded in 1883. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 38,100, and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams.-Nahalat Reuben:...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He was interviewed by French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann
Claude Lanzmann
Claude Lanzmann is a French filmmaker and professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Biography:Lanzmann attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in Auvergne...
in 1985. According to the Jerusalem Post, Srebnik died in 2006 at age 76.
Witness in the Adolf Eichmann Trial (session 66-68)