How I SURVIVED Four Different Nazi Concentration Camps | Ben Lesser

Summary

In this heart-wrenching testimony, Ben Lesser shares his harrowing experiences surviving four different Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Separated from his family upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ben recounts the horrors he witnessed and endured, including the brutal treatment of Jews and the constant threat of death. Despite unimaginable adversity, Ben's story is one of resilience and survival. After surviving several death marches and narrowly escaping extermination, he dedicates his life to sharing his story, ensuring the world never forgets the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Highlights

• Witnessing the horrific sight of children being separated from their parents and taken to gas chambers. 😞
• Describing the brutal conditions inside the camps, where prisoners faced inhumane treatment and constant fear of death. 😱
• Sharing the story of how Ben managed to avoid selection for death by quick thinking and decisiveness. 🤯
• Recounting the miraculous moments that allowed Ben and his sister to escape certain death. 🙏
• Emphasizing the importance of remembering the Holocaust and teaching its history to prevent future atrocities. 🌍

Key Takeaways

• Family separation: Ben was torn from his family upon arriving at the camps, a devastating moment that set the tone for his traumatic journey. 💔
• Unimaginable brutality: Ben witnessed and experienced horrific acts, including beatings, executions, and the constant threat of death. 😢
• Unbelievable resilience: Despite everything, Ben survived multiple camps, death marches, and narrowly escaped extermination. 💪
• Miracles and luck: Small miracles, like warnings and missed selections, played a crucial role in Ben's survival. 🍀
• Witness and voice: Ben believes he survived to bear witness to the Holocaust's atrocities and educate future generations. 🕊️

Overview

In his recount of surviving four Nazi concentration camps, Ben Lesser gives a chilling glimpse into the cruel reality of the Holocaust. His story starts with the heart-wrenching separation from his family at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a moment that foreshadowed the grim events to follow. Detailing the treatment of Jews - beatings, executions, and forced labor, Ben's narrative unveils the sheer brutality that characterized the camps.

Despite facing unspeakable horrors, including nearly being selected for death by the notorious Dr. Mengele, Ben's resilience shines through his narrative. By sheer quick thinking, luck, and small miracles, he managed to navigate through the deadly trials, avoiding the fate that claimed many others. His story is not just a testimony of survival but also of the fortitude needed to persevere against all odds.

Having emerged from the war's darkness, Ben Lesser devotes his life to educating others about the Holocaust. Through sharing his personal story, he fulfills his role as a witness, ensuring the memories of those who perished are never forgotten. His dedication to teaching the lessons of history seeks to safeguard humanity from repeating such atrocities. This narrative remains a poignant reminder of the resilience of the human spirit amidst profound adversity.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Arrival at Birkenau The chapter 'Arrival at Birkenau' describes the harrowing experience of arriving at the Birkenau concentration camp, a part of Auschwitz, where all the killing was done. The arrival happens at night, and as the gates open, people are ordered to leave all their belongings. Women and children are directed to the right, and men to the left, causing families to be forcibly separated. The narrator clings to their sister Goldie and little brother Tuli, but they are torn apart amidst the chaos.
• 00:30 - 01:00: First Night at the Camps The chapter "First Night at the Camps" recounts a harrowing experience where the narrator describes the fate of his sister and little brother, who were sent directly to the gas chambers upon arrival. At the barrack, they encounter a Polish inmate in charge, who harshly confronts them with the grim reality. He dismisses any illusions of the situation being temporary or benign by pointing out the chimneys and ashes, stark reminders of the fate awaiting them and the tragic loss of their loved ones.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Daily Life and Loss The chapter "Daily Life and Loss" delves into the emotional turmoil and trauma experienced by individuals during a period of conflict and aggression. The narrative voice recounts a chilling warning about the consequences of disobedience, wherein siblings could end up as 'ashes'. The speaker grapples with disbelief and horror at the thought of losing loved ones in such a manner in the 20th century, which contrasts with their vision of a 'nice life'. The chapter further alludes to a grand mission or crusade aimed at confronting the overwhelming aggression, with an assurance that ultimately, 'good will prevail'. This juxtaposition of everyday life with the catastrophic potential of loss underscores the central tension in the story—the struggle to maintain personal and familial stability in the face of external threats.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Dehumanization and Atrocities The chapter titled 'Dehumanization and Atrocities' begins with a personal anecdote of a family of seven, highlighting their routine life and education. The narrator mentions attending a Jewish school, specifically a Yeshiva, indicating the family's cultural and religious background. The focus is on daily study routines, pointing towards the importance placed on education within the family. The recount subtly introduces the theme of dehumanization, setting a foundation for exploring broader atrocities within the historical context.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Survival and Separation The chapter titled 'Survival and Separation' delves into the narrator's family life, focusing on their father who owned a chocolate factory. He was renowned for creating chocolate-covered candies, specifically shaped like little animals and wrapped in tin foil. The narrator fondly recalls how every day their father would bring these delightful treats home for his children, showcasing his care and thoughtfulness. Additionally, he was involved in a wine and syrup manufacturing venture, adding to the family’s diverse business endeavors.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Mengele's Selection The chapter titled 'Mengele's Selection' begins with an immediate disruption in normal life following the occupation of the city of Karchau. The businesses owned by the inhabitants were confiscated right from the start, signaling a drastic change in their daily lives. One of the most impactful changes mentioned was the cessation of schooling, indicating that educational activities were halted immediately. Within five days of the occupation, the presence of a truck at the gate of their three-story residence marks a significant and ominous turn of events, suggesting possible deportations or other grave actions to follow.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Cruel Punishments The chapter "Cruel Punishments" describes a chilling event where a group confronted the Jewish residents of a building, seeking their whereabouts. The superintendent complied, revealing the apartments of the Jewish families. Among them was a young couple and a family with two daughters and a newborn son, just two months old. The intruders violently forced their way in, leaving an ominous sense of peril and fear.
• 05:00 - 05:40: March to Dachau The chapter titled 'March to Dachau' describes a harrowing experience where individuals are subjected to violent treatment early in the morning. They are awakened at 5:00 a.m. to find their captors searching for valuables. The captors scream and demand that all money, gold, and jewelry be thrown into open sacks. Amidst this chaos, the narrator details a personal account of witnessing their father being beaten as he is forced to open a safe under duress.
• 05:40 - 06:40: Liberation and Reflection The chapter opens with a harrowing scene where the narrator and their sister, Lola, hear terrifying screams from their neighbor's apartment.

How I SURVIVED Four Different Nazi Concentration Camps | Ben Lesser Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Birkenau was part of Auschwitz Birkenau was all  the killing was being done was in Birkenau now   they opened the gate it was still night time and  they yelled leave all your belonging where it is   don't pick anything up women had children to  the right men to the left and I'm holding on   to my sister my sister Goldie a little brother  Tuli and we're being just pulled apart never
• 00:30 - 01:00 to see each other again my sister and my little  brother went directly to the gas Chambers when we   came to the Barrack the stuban Elder stad the  man in charge of the Barrack walks out he was   a Polish inmate and he says ha you Hungarian  Jews you think you're here on vacation think   again you see those chimneys those ashes that  are flying those are your mothers your fathers
• 01:00 - 01:30 your brothers and your sisters and if you don't  behave and do exactly what you told this is how   you going to wind up ashes I couldn't believe  you mean my sister my little brother ashes this   is the 20th century how is it possible you are  about to Embark upon the great crusade to meet   this mounting aggression and make no mistake  about it good will prevail I had a nice life
• 01:30 - 02:00 at home family of seven and um we went to school  I all I know is that we went to uh Jewish school   to Yeshiva and and to other schools and all I did  this most of the most of the day we studied day
• 02:00 - 02:30 and night seven days a week that's what we did um  my father had a wonderful um Chocolate Factory he   was the first one to make chocolate covered wers  like kidk only in the shape of little animals   with tin foil on it every day he would come home  from work for kids with searches pockets and he   made sure he had some in there and then he also  had a a wine and syrup manufacturing um both of
• 02:30 - 03:00 these businesses were taken away immediately right  right away at the very beginning things started to   happen uh School stopped immediately they wouldn't  let us go to school and on the fifth day of Li of   occupation of the the city of Karchau a truck  pulls up to the gate we lived in a three-story
• 03:00 - 03:30 building and they started to bang on the gate and  the super came running out well what all they want   us know is but the Jewish people lived and he  was quick to oblige he showed our apartment and   there was another young couple on the other side  Jewish uh husband wife two daughters the mother   gave gave birth to an empit little boy two months  earlier and they came breaking down the door and
• 03:30 - 04:00 beating us pistol whipping us we were in bed 5:00  a.m. in their hands they had open sacks and they   were screaming throw in all your valuables money  gold jewelry whatever they can find they threw   in they're beating up my father to open up save  while my father is opening the save we hear this
• 04:00 - 04:30 terrible screaming from our neighbors apartment  my sister Lola and I went through the back door   to the kitchen to their kitchen and we came into  their apartment and this is what we saw this monst   was holding the infant by its legs and Swinging it  and yelling to the parents make them make him shut
• 04:30 - 05:00 up the parents are yelling and the daughters our  baby our baby don't hurt their baby with a smirk   on his face you can see he was enjoying what  he was doing he smashes the baby's head into   the doorpost killing it instantly it's a memories  that won't leave me I get nightmares seeing that   screaming infant and that sudden silent and what  came out from me said my God my father was getting
• 05:00 - 05:30 ready to go into the CCO ghetto because this whole  family went in over 200 to Karchau ghetto while   he was packing a young man comes by the name of  Michael and he says to my father Mr lesser you   know how I feel about your daughter Lola someday  I'd love to marry her said do me a favor come from
• 05:30 - 06:00 the same Community said my parents are moving and  my father gave him a choice to go into Karchau to   NE small community he went to neam said was  Miracle number one because all the people who   went into the ghetto were taken out of the ghetto  and taken to transported to Bełżec and everyone
• 06:00 - 06:30 was exterminated it was an extermination camp so  that was a miracle out of nowhere we lived in The   Farmhouse uh the the farmer lived on one side  and we lived on the other side and uh my father   became a little baker so to feed the family and  somehow it became a little break for him and he
• 06:30 - 07:00 started to bake for the community there was a  baking oven inside the house where we lived and   I baked with him I was 12 years old at the time  so life went on like this for about a year or so   and then my sister Lola gets married to Michael  and after they get married they move out of the
• 07:00 - 07:30 house into a duplex they move into the duplex one  side of the duplex they live the other side the   owner lived who happened to be the mayor of that  community so one day the mayor comes home he says   Michael Lola save yourselves we heard the rumor  there is going to be P laa a raid against the
• 07:30 - 08:00 Jewish people either tonight or tomorrow night  so Michael went out and he hired a wagon with   the driver and We snuck out in the middle of a  night and we left which was Miracle number two   because that night after we left they went from  house to house rounded up all the Jewish people   put them in truck and took him to the forest and  the man would give him shovels they dug a ditch
• 08:00 - 08:30 and everyone was shot thousands of people were all  shot we were lucky we left and the only place we   could go was a place called BNA VNA had a ghetto  inside the ghetto um had a very bad reputation
• 08:30 - 09:00 every so often two or three dump trucks would  come into the ghetto and they would pull out the   children from their beds and throw them into these  dump trucks in the middle of the night you can   imagine the parents are screaming for the children  the scream children are screaming for the parents   they filled up these dump trucks and they started  to move out of the ghetto the parents were running
• 09:00 - 09:30 behind these trucks screaming for their children  but these cultured people had machine guns at   the end of each truck so they mow down the parents  running behind his truck that resonated throughout   Europe stay away from B GTO because of these  atrocities but we had no choice one day a friendly
• 09:30 - 10:00 Jewish policeman tells Michael my brother-in-law  Michael I heard there's going to be a r tonight   save yourselves now ever since those trugs came  into the ghetto pulling out the children from   their beds every house and every apartment had a  hiding place they called it bunkers that's when
• 10:00 - 10:30 I found out our bunker was this ornate piece  of furniture where you hang your coats and jackets as you open the door you push the closing  apart and the back panel would slide apart there   was a hole in the wall and there was room for  the 12 of us to crawl through that hole and   stand between two buildings now the last person  would Clos the door behind them put the clothing
• 10:30 - 11:00 back closed the back panel and we stood there  it was snowing lucky for us the outside of the   buildings were connected but the the ceilings  were open and it was snowing it was cold we   heard all night long shooting dogs barking people  screaming I never heard such screaming in my life
• 11:00 - 11:30 towards morning it got quiet and we dared to  come out when we came out this is what we found   we couldn't believe people were laying in the  snow half torn apart by dogs some of them were   still a little alive and and blood all over the  place um there were people going around in push
• 11:30 - 12:00 guards and picking up these bodies and pieces of  bodies put it in the pushard and then they were   taking him to the ghetto Square piling them up as  high as they could and these cultured people came   with gasoline cans puted gazoline over the people  and they started a b GTO bonfire of human bonfire
• 12:00 - 12:30 B GTO do I have to tell you how it was that sting  that smell my God that was true hell on Earth and   we knew our sister was hiding in a dog house you  heard ride the dogghouse you picked up the floor   from the dogghouse there was a step ladder there  was room for seven people for food and and bedding
• 12:30 - 13:00 and everything waiting for them I went there to  see what happened to her and I was shocked to   found out my sister wasn't there but everybody  else was in the snow with a bullet hole in the   head all seven people were pulled out and shot  now my sister Lola and her husband were saved
• 13:00 - 13:30 by a Jewish policeman and he took because  anyway it's a long story he took him into   a different hiding place where it was a lather  Tannery in a water tank in a lather Tannery they   were standing kneed Deep in water all night long  freezing and lucky they they heard the same thing
• 13:30 - 14:00 shootings barking dog everything but lucky uh no  one checked the tank and they survived it I ran   away from Poland and a Truck double decker call  on top between the col and the chassis 10 people   would lay on the side sides and and they took us  to the border and we were able to cross and then
• 14:00 - 14:30 we had to cross the Czech border to Hung Hungary  and we arrived into Hungary um days later it's I'm   telling it so fast but we arrived in Hungary was  a free country this was in 1943 in the summer of   43 and in March of 194 4 the Nazis marched into  Hungary like they were invited guests when they
• 14:30 - 15:00 came in they knew every Jewish people where they  live their address and everything and within two   months they were already shipping train loads of  people to the de camps they told us said Germany   needed workers we will all be relocated to German  bring along your valuables that you can carry with
• 15:00 - 15:30 you leave everything else behind anyone found  hiding will be shot and they loaded us 82 kettle car pushed Us in these Kettle cars my sister  and my little brother and I uh unbelievable   story uh but I'm shortening it we're now inside  the kettle car 0 two buckets of water water is
• 15:30 - 16:00 gone no sanitary facilities no toilets uh one  day two days three days those buckets were   filled up with human waste and and it were  kept overflowing um my God and now we were   lucky we had bundles to sit on bundles instead  of sitting on the human waist on the bottom 3
• 16:00 - 16:30 days and three nights and we arrived at a place  called aitz uh it was called osim polish on the   sign and it meant aitz but we didn't stare there  and it continued going for another 3 kilometers   and had arrived to a place called aitz um Burana  Buren was part of aitz Buren was all the killing
• 16:30 - 17:00 was being done was in burino they opened the  gate it was still night time and they yelled   leave all your belonging where it is don't pick  anything up women and children to the right men   to the left and I'm holding on to my sister Lola  and my little brother my sister Goldie a little
• 17:00 - 17:30 brother Tulie and we're being just pulled apart  never to see each other again my sister and my   little brother went directly to the gas Chambers  um I didn't know about gas Chambers who knew but   they took him there and I went with the man  instead of with the children if I have gone   with the children I was 15 and a half years old  I wasn't a child and I wasn't a an adult either
• 17:30 - 18:00 but I decided to go with my uncle my cousin  I figured this is a labor camp they'll feed   you better if you work so I went with them and  it's good thing because I meant with my sister   they would have sent me to G him okay so I went  with them and now I'm coming forward and I see a   doctor uh asking questions and he goes with his  finger like that right left right left that was
• 18:00 - 18:30 do mangela the angel of death he decided who  should live who should die by a flick of a finger so when I came in front of him he  asked a young man comes to 5 kilm La can   you run 5 kilm or would you rather go by  truck he said he had a bad knee he would
• 18:30 - 19:00 rather go by truck poor soul not realizing  that meant certain debt and they sent him   to ride who knew doctors asking you that but  it didn't make sense to me I see Barracks why   would he ask you can you run 5 kilm I figured  he's testing us to see if we're strong enough
• 19:00 - 19:30 to work so I tell my uncle my cousin let me  go first I spoke German and I so I been in   front of him before he asked me a question I  stretched myself out and I saluted him and I said I'm 18 years old I'm healthy and I can work  so he as me con 5 kilm La can you run 5 kilm I
• 19:30 - 20:00 said Y and they sent me to the left and my uncle  followed and my cousin followed to the left and   we went to away big Auditorium they told us to  get on rest get out of your clothes out of your shoes and walk over over to those line of  Barbers they'll cut your hair and then go
• 20:00 - 20:30 into the showers all right I didn't tell you the  whole story because I had diamonds in my shoes so   my uncle gave me those diamonds in my shoes and  his son had diamonds in the shoes they got out   of them because we were ordered to I refused so  I am naked with those beautiful black shoes and
• 20:30 - 21:00 I walk up to these Barbers and they cut my hair  and the Nazis walked back and forth checking us   out no one said a word and they said they send  me to the bed house with my shoes on if they had   seen the shoes on me they would have killed me I  disobeyed an order you know to show an example but
• 21:00 - 21:30 anyway when we came to the Barrack the Sten Elder  dead the man in charge of the Barrack walks out he   was a Polish inmate and he says ha you Hungarian  Jews you think you're here on vacation think again   you see those chimneys those ashes that are fly  those are your mothers your fathers your brothers
• 21:30 - 22:00 and your sisters and if you don't behave and do  exactly what you told this is how you're going   to wind up ashes I couldn't believe you mean my  sister my little brother ashes this is the 20th   century how is it possible after 5 weeks they  took us to DN how and the it was a rock quarry
• 22:00 - 22:30 as they dynamited the mountain it was our job  with sledgehammers to break those um Boulders   into manageable pieces pick it up and throw it the  mining cards run it down to the grinding machines   to make gravel out of it and push those mining  cards back very hard labor hard work I figured   my uncle will never survive this so I bried the  chef in the kitchen with my diamonds to give my
• 22:30 - 23:00 uncle a job in the kitchen he took my diamonds  and he did give my uncle a job in the kitchen   it got easier for him and anyway every day we  came back from work everyone had to go in line   to be counted even the workers in kitchen had to  go through the line so uh we came in line up in
• 23:00 - 23:30 rows of five and they're counting us and counting  and counting usually they count it and they let us   go for our ration and go to our Barracks this time  they keep counting and the commant comes down with   his fr line with his girlfriend says I'm going  to teach the schin Hun the lesson they'll never
• 23:30 - 24:00 forget I'll teach those pig dogs a lesson they'll  never forget what happened three inmates escaped   and because of this he orders his henchmen to pull  out every 10 person in line to receive 25 lashes   so as they're pulling out every 10th personal  line I see my uncle is going to be either a
• 24:00 - 24:30 five or a 10 he was in front so I push him behind  me and I took his place and I was a 10 they took   me in the middle of the yard they call it in the  middle of the yard all Us number tens and they   brought down a bunch of hardwood Stakes and they  bought brought down a saw horse you know what a
• 24:30 - 25:00 saw horse is and this is what they ordered us do  walk over to the saw horse tiptoe bend over but   your stomach cannot touch it 2x4 your heel cannot  touch the [Music] ground one man is pulling your   trouser side the other one does the hitting you  have to count out loud if you miscount you start
• 25:00 - 25:30 from one again so any anything if even if if the  heel touches the ground you start from one again   if your stomach touches the 2x4 you start from  one again the first one got up and he messed up   of course he touched the ground and he touched  to again and again and finally he falls and he
• 25:30 - 26:00 falls the comant goes over kicks him in the face  get up he couldn't he pulls out the revolver and   shoots him his frine his girlfriend walks over  to the Comon gives him a hug and a kiss he just   performed a heroic act he killed him number two  the same way he too fell and commant kicked his
• 26:00 - 26:30 face he couldn't get up he shut him number three  was a little younger and he messed up too I mean   couldn't he so he yelled out please have mercy  on me don't shoot me so the comment on say then   stand up and come over here and face me the poor  guy try to stand up he takes five steps his knees
• 26:30 - 27:00 gave out from under him he falls the minute he  falls we com down shoots him now it's my turn   Ben lesser next to line I remember going up to  that thing and saying to myself Ben this is it   you want to live in another 5 or 10 minutes you  better do exactly what you're told and I walk   over tip to bend over without touching the 2x4 one  man is pulling my trousers and I start to kind I
• 27:00 - 27:30 dry Fe and every time they hit me I feel a line  of blood coming through my BS six seven finally I I made it you could hear a pined drop in the  Camp No One Believes that anyone could survive
• 27:30 - 28:00 this the man who was pulling my trousers says to  me in yish go over and thank him so I stand up   blood is running down my legs and I walk over  to him I salute him D her coming down when he   hears that he puts his hand on my shortt col  twist me around facing the number 10 who are
• 28:00 - 28:30 still to be beaten he says now I told you  could be done if you do it like this y you   have nothing to worry about while this is going  on there's a commotion at the gate they caught   those three inmates blooded you couldn't  recognize them they were pulling them in   by the hair and they came in and when the comment  down that just like a child gets sick of a toy he
• 28:30 - 29:00 simply ordered all of us number 10 to go  back in line and he tells his henchmen to   bring in a portable Gallow to hang those  three men and then yet to go back in line   and watch if if you dare to close your eyes  got whipped you had to watch how they hung
• 29:00 - 29:30 each one and I remember the third one was  a little younger they put the news around   him and um he started say a prayer there  is a Jewish prayer that's five words sh Isel five words and they heard it they kicked the  stool out from under him after the third W and
• 29:30 - 30:00 they wouldn't let him complete God is one uh two  words um there such say this from Z Now be marched   seven weeks seven weeks we marched TOA 460 kilom  from dur learn how to Bal in bald we were accepted
• 30:00 - 30:30 counted they put us in the Barrack and we slept  there next morning we had to leave because Bal   is also being evacuated so we lined up and they  took us to a bunch of kettle cars 82 cattle car   and I tell my cousin I push him up I says find  a spot against the wall that we can rest our
• 30:30 - 31:00 back against the wall I remember going to aitz  with people all around you was terrible anyway   he did after an hour inside the kettle car they  opened the door and they threw in 80 breads 80   loaves of breads a loaf of bread for each person  pictured this those people who were next to the   door were grabbing four or five Breads and I my  cousin against the wall we had nothing we don't
• 31:00 - 31:30 know where we going for how long so I started  to climb over the sitting inmates to see if   I can get to the door and wrestle out the bread  from somebody who had several of them and while   I'm climbing this inmate had the pocket knife  and he stabs me I feel a stab I feel my mouth
• 31:30 - 32:00 is filling up with blood but I can't stop I have  to get a bread I continue anyway I got a bread I   came back to my cousin he says happening just  Ben you bleeding I put my finger here and went   right through my tongue I have big GH anyway uh  one week two week I had enough sense I rationed
• 32:00 - 32:30 that bread between my cousin and I behav a half  size of a half neck each day for two weeks it   lasted everybody is dying around me dying there's  no water and no food and after 2 weeks I'm out   of breath too and it it wasn't another week of  travel and we arrived at a place called da and
• 32:30 - 33:00 we arrived to D they ordered everyone who can  walk to walk out of the bar out of the kettle   car and and four of us walked out of the 80 of us  everybody else was dead and we arrived inside and   how what we saw inside is unbelievable anyway  3 days later we were liberated um and after
• 33:00 - 33:30 Liberation out two GIS walked up to me and they  handed me a can of spam and they opened it up   it smelled so good we made a mistake we ate some  of it and became came down desia my cousin dies   in my arm the night after Liberation from deser  I don't know what he died from but he died why
• 33:30 - 34:00 why was I chosen to survive all that hell the  only answer I seem to find is that God needed   a witness someone who can talk about it tell  the story because most of us couldn't even   most survivors can't talk about it it hurts me  too I have sleepless nights but someone has to
• 34:00 - 34:30 do it and I devoted my life the last 25 years I  do nothing else but travel and speak on Zoom who   every have the world Listen keep the world from  acquiring Amnesia remember remember this happened for