I wouldn't have survived for even 24 hours in that hell! I have watched hundreds of documentaries and still cannot fully wrap my head around the fact, that this actually happened - not so long ago! Humans truly can be monsters. May the survivors find peace and comfort!
It’s just incredibly hard to fathom the reasons why this happened, I’ve just finished reading about Babi Yar and it’s the stories are totally heartbreaking.....
The amount of shock and horror you would experience in that situation, would break your mind and soul completely. Which explains why he is able to talk about it quite calmly.
For the survivors, there really is no escape from the camps. The experience follows them and dominates their entire lives. And to think there are so many who deny that their ordeal was true, outrageously claiming them to be liars. This is the lowest one can get.
The experiences follow the children/grandchildren etc because the survivors act out all their feelings whether stated or not, through descendants and generations.
Most of these guys are dead or were expelled from the US in The 90s. To actually to have been A camp laborer or Ukrainian guard Would make the person 100+ at This time. The story on these guys Broke when Reagan was president And his AG ed Meise wanted to Vacate the charges. This didn't Happen because the UN and the Hague got involved. They were Victims also but they cooperated and their fate was sealed. Helped Murder six million innocent people. This had to be done no Matter the circumstances of their Imprisonment by the fascist leaders of Germany. And when They were deported, germany Wouldn't accepted them as Citizens.
They lasted about three months then were killed but many went insane long before then. For one day of life you will do a lot but this was too much to bear.
Richard Devonshire On what basis do you say that? These were prisoners. They either worked or were killed. Thanks to them, we have eye-witness accounts like these.
So agree No matter how many times I view documentaries re The Holocaust and hear these heart wrenching survivor stories, I STILL will “never”fathom HOW human beings can be such monsters and kill (kill in any case) but kill especially the way they, the DISGUSTING NAZI’S (SS) did during this terrible terrible TERRIBLE time in history 😔😔😔😡😡😡😡
You mean the Kapo (prisoner supervisor) or Trawniki Maenner ( Soviet POWS used as guards in some camps). The sonderKommando had little opportunity to be abusive - but they would have been brutalized!
And just like that a mother with her child,a mother who had hopes and dreams for her children,a human that had a history with stories to tell......a friend,a daughter,a sister,a wife..... and just like that 2 minutes they were gone.......a human being that laughed,cried and had many more memories to make.....standing naked,scared out their mind with a child clinching with so much fear that most of us can’t even imagine........and just like that 2 minutes and even 3minutes gone! It is so unbelievable that this ever happened and yet there are many people that could care less! The scary thing is that it could happen again!!!
The 2 to 3 minutes....many took longer than that, but every second I’m sure was unspeakable and unimaginable horror to slowly be suffocated and poisoned to death.
The fact that mothers died naked holding their naked children, all of them in agony, is something that fills me with unspeakable horror. The idea of holding your terrified child knowing you will be unable to protect it from the suffering that is coming, trying to comfort it despite being utterly powerless to defend it. It is beyond what my mind can allow.
When I first heard of the existence of the Sonderkommando, my first human reaction was "how could these people betray their own in such a way." My question was answered as soon as I tried to put myself into their position after hearing all of the stories and I was ashamed of even thinking such a thing.
No shame over a gut reaction. I think without the proper context it would even be a reasonable one. But you set aside time and energy to learning more and reached a different conclusion. I find that very admirable. It's difficult to conceive being forced into a life or death situation. To be held captive by tormenters who deny you any moral choices. I'd like to think I would choose death but the urge to survive can diminish the best of us.
@@Mc.Garnagle Too true. I pray I never have to find out. With the world heading in the direction it's in though, we all may soon be seeing a side of ourselves that we never knew existed.
You probably don’t need to hear this, at this point…but, they never had a choice. The sonderkommando’s, as astonishingly horrific as their “jobs” were…., weren’t as bad as the capo’s (in the grand scheme of things). The fact of the matter is that, when you’re reduced to an animal, yet have somehow hung on to the will to live….there’s no exceptions as to what you’ll do to stay alive. They did what they had to, to survive. The endurance, and resilience of the Jewish people, and how they’ve been able to bounce back from this to create and develop the state of Israel, is the story of the millennium. It’s the only story of it’s kind in documented human history.
To Jon M. I don’t know if you have watch a movie called “ the grey zone” with Amira Sorvino and Harvey Keitel. It is about the dilemma of the Sonderkommando. One of the hardest movie I ever watched .
In the 1970s and 80s, as many of what Holocaust survivors remained, you’d relatively often hear on the TV and radio of “never forget” and a news story of a vigil. Hardly much now.
My heart goes out to these people who have to still live with these memories, even after 80 years later. I pray that they will receive rest for their souls.
@@tigertiger1699He did that’s why some survived to tell, against all odds. You should wonder why people allow Satan to use them to do such evil but people don’t obey God instead.
Valuable testimonies for generations to come and a example of how resilient people can be under the hardest conditions. Heartbreaking if you think about it. Watching this makes me even more convinced we should keep this dark page from history alive; to let people know how dangerous fascism is and that we should think for ourselves instead of following other leaders like obedient sheep. Don't forget similiair situations happens or happenend still today in the world...
Take a look at a book caled Onward Christian Soldiers by Donald Day, he was the only staff journalist north of Berlin in around 1917 through 25 in Sweden, Finland, and the Abltic states,, he wrote of the Bolshevik terror of men being sent of in trains to god knows where and followed by the girls and women after they had been sujected to being the Checkists playthings, and of them being packed like sardines with no food, are both scenarios fake, did the WWII stories come from revolutionary Russia's experience, how terrified were the Germans the same would happen to them?
Yes, similar dynamics can exist even in something as simple as a group of friends allowing themselves to be manipulated into doing things etc. the concepts can be applied in many different settings.
The last sonderkommando Dario Gabbai passed away in 2020 ( not sure ) at 97 yrs old. God bless all the sonderkommando’s for what they endured. They had no choice ! Live or Die. What would you do?
Every single keys and circumstance in the world is different, no two cases are the same. There is a lot to be said for not allowing oneself to be manipulated or to perhaps do something that you want to do and blame it on following orders or creating an excuse later.
So fantastic that these testimonials exist - I don't think anyone could imagine these atrocities - and what you can not imagine remains unimaginable and unreal. These people talking is our anchor to the past, next to the physical remains of the camps our only anchor to what actually went on in this camps.
We shall always remember, every one who suffered. we shall always remember, in your name, in the name of humanity. as we did in the past, we will remember you, in the present and in the future, we will remember you, every one of you.
In the name of humanity should we not forgive ALL of our forefathers of millenia for what they did or did not do, we are not responsible for them but only for now andhopefully the future, otherwise we remain slaves of that over we we have no influence, a permanently unhappy place.
Imagine in your life how often you see a dead body. Most people maybe one or two times in a lifetime and we remember those occasions. They’re usually sad and difficult times. Now imagine seeing 3,000 people dead every single day. Must have been hell on Earth. 😐
People can be so dispicable. These people who survived this had the will to do so. They were very smart to learn the routines of the soldiers and because they did, they were able to outsmart them.
Darrio Gabbai passed away March 25, 2020. RIP Morris Kesselman passed away May 11th, 2016. RIP Morris Venezia passed away September 2nd, 2013. RIP Linda Breder passed away September 10th, 2010. RIP Anna Heilman passed away May 1st, 20011. RIP
Thank you for visiting our channel. We hope you'll share it with the people in your network. For a complete list of the names of people whose testimonies are in the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's archive, please visit the Testimony Catalogue portal on our website.
Infuriating and depressing. At least people all over the world have easy access to these kind of testemonials in multiple languages and by thousands of different people.
I have the greatest respect for these guys, being able to sit down and recount this sort of thing. I don't think I would be strong enough to keep going let alone being able to talk to people in order to make sure the horrors couldn't happen again. Also, I agree that it may be a good idea to turn off comments for the video. It's not really the place for some of the things being said here
@@ribbone1975 You are something else. Half evil, half apathetic. This happened and it was a crime against the Jewish people and all humanity.These witnesses are critical thinkers . unlike you.Many of them had to do terrible things to survive ,but if the did not they would not have been able to bear witness.
7:17 I had no idea the ashes were sifted... The amount of times the victims were scrubbed for ANY valuables is absolutely astounding. I assume the sifting was done to search for any remaining valuables. Remains of gold teeth, hidden jewels and other valuables. First, they fool them into bringing their valuables with them to the camp. Then, after death, cut off their hair and pulled out their gold teeth. And even after burning, they're literally sifting through the ashes for valuables. Absolutely astoundingly evil.
My heart goes out to all the survivors and the ones that never stood a chance this should never be buried or forgotten this is real and the amount of suffering is beyond comprehension me and my daughter are going to Auschwitz in just over 2 weeks to pay respect to all that suffered there I no it's going to be hard but I want to do it God bless all the lost and the survivors and the ones that sit and 're live this terrible life to share with us are amazing 💔❤
The horrors of the last war will never be forgotten. These poor guys went through hell . No one should judge them for anything. They wore forced labour. Survival is a human instinct. I vivited YadVashiem in Isreal. I saw horrors like lamp shades made of human skin. Shrunken heads. There is a childrens memorial. Its a dark room with 1.5 million tiny lights. I light for one kid. Can u imagine 1.5 million children ? I cant! Todays neo nazis take note!
Harrowing, i read a book written by one of few who escaped Treblinka. He was a sonderkommando there, it affected me deeply and i think i have secondary PTSD from it. Nightmares, depression and i've been drinking more than usual. Thats just from reading a book.
It's so hard to comprehend that this really happened when you're brought up in the world as good as it is today. WW2 was a catastrophe beyond imagination. I really hope we won't experience something like this during the 21st century.
The world is not good. These sorts of atrocities are happening now. The only difference between then and now is the scale of the crimes. There are plenty of people who would speak to this if only they could but there are thousands of camps located in China and North Korea where torture and murder is common place. So I really hope you can appreciate where you are, who your with and with the deepest appreciation and respect for all those who fought and died so you will never have to live under an authoritarian madman. Oh wait...for a second I forgot about Trump.
@@dross2172 If the Dems said Trump's an authoritarian madman, I guess it must be true, right? I mean, they would've had no reason to lie or ever try to paint him in a bad light would they? Coz it's not like they lost an election to him that they were sure they were going to win, with all the bitterness to deal with that would inevitably result from tha- Oh wait....
Please do not forget the horror of the socialist gulags and mass killings. THAT could come back tomorrow, because people are still charmed by those ideas.
I can totally understand how some people think the Holocaust wasn't real because it's almost impossible to hear and understand these horrific acts really happened!! Thankfully these people had the courage to come forward and re-live these atrocities with first hand testimonies!!
This is the equivalent of someone dying going to the pits of hell ,then coming back to tell the story of what they seen...this poor man...God bless his soul
@@David-ci1vn Holocaust deniers are just old fashioned Jew haters hiding their anti-semitism behind pseudo historical conspiracy theories to give their prejudices a whiff of respectability. It's dull and nobody falls for it.
I do believe that the Sonder Kommandos only worked for three months at the most. Their stories of what was happening would be told by them and therefore most were killed and another lot brought in to work.
Kristie C nah they were sent to the eastern front. Also, a camp guard wasn’t a job to brag about within the SS. A lot of these guys were put on these duties coming from desk jobs or other standard guard duties. They weren’t hardened soldiers for the most part
Yeah it's really indescribable. When my life isn't going well I listen to a few of these testimonies. Perhaps is in poor taste for me to use these peoples suffering to find perspective, but maybe they'd appreciate it, idk.
Thanks goodness at least SOME of the many videos dealing with this dark passage of human history, allow comments. So many wish to avoid controversy, so they stifle discussion of all kinds. That said, i can understand this natural impulse. Kudos to the USC Shoah Foundation for not shying away from controversy, and permitting comments!!! (Of course i think that all forms of hate speech should be removed... including all forms of Halocaust denial, or defense of Nazi atrocities).
Seemingly a tough guy, his reddened nose gives away Mr Kesselman's imminent emotion. What visual horrors must be at the edge of his memory each time he closes his eyes.
It's easy for some, James...look at the world today. Look at our own warped country. We now have Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists like we never did before. Our Fathers would not be happy. They lost their best friends fighting #$%^%$#! Nazis. We can only do our part to fight that stuff, and remember the Voices of the people here in this clip. We can Do This. Good people are all on the same team.
Such evil was in response to radical extreme leftism but not much was learned it seems as extreme leftism has again lifted its head and again (Sadly) there will be an extreme response.
@@thumbprint7150 Communism and social debauchery were prevalent in society then as it is now, in fact i would say the similarities between 1920s and today are eerily similar. Its what the "final solution" was all about. There will again be a response rightly or wrongly.
@AllieCat356 to me, when you're staring death in the face and the almighty chance puts you in the position to save your own life, it becomese difficult, to say the least, to put in practice what you wrote. this is just my humble opinion. having said that, I firmly believe that testimonies such as these are among the most precious treasure for mankind.
Thank you for this video. I am way not in such Hell, but when he says he survived due to his ability to tell himself to shut up, lower his head, not think beyond the orders given, and last until freedom... he gave me strength. I am obviously afraid, but his words are advice for me. I will also not let evil tryumph without doing my best to outlast it.
“This is what God is you have to be very strong to survive “ 🤯 I couldn’t imagine going through something like this. And the fact that people call it a big lie angers me even more.
A shift was 12 hours? Doing this non stop for 12 hours? Jesus. Sleep and then start again for another round of 12 hours, on and on for 4 months. Jesus. They were usually killed off after 4 months for security and then replaced by new ones.
Watching these testimonies made me more aware to waste less, because these people would of given anything they had left for a scrap of food, a drink of water, warmer clothing,warmer bunks when it was in the lowest below zero weather! I think of these testimonies, and I do not waste as much as possible, cause there may be a time ( really close) that we wished we hadn't wasted so much, and could have those things now. It could happen.
This people are lions. Even after surviving this they were able to build a country, despite all the enemies surrounding it. Now Israel is one of the strongest rising countries in the world! Proud to be Jewish and Israeli! The legacy of this people and their children lives on!
This was 65 years ago. When was this testimony taken? Do the rest of the surviving victims of Birkenau consider the Sonderkommando traitors?This is indeed a rare perspective. Thank you for this video.
Every single case and circumstance in the world is different, and perhaps I we must look at very particular circumstances, because each case will be different in life
Thank you for your testimonies! They are so important. I just cite a title of a book by Primo Levi 'Se questo e un uomo'. Let's never forget and let it never happen again xxx 🙏
@@mrfireblade900cc You haven't got a clue have you. It isn't hard. Each document is evidence of one or more historical events. Many of the documents link up with other documents or with other evidence such as witness testimony so they all corroborate each other. We aren't in the 70s anymore, all of this info is slowly being digitised and/or databased so these connections are easier to make. All of the documents and other evidence create an overall picture of what happened...try again
@@mrfireblade900ccreally? How about the bischoff report showing the auschwitz architecture? Or the einsatzgruppen reports. Theres plenty of documents- you just chose to say theyre fake.
The commentator asks how many Sonders there were, a couple of hundred apparently, but it's irrelevant really. Gambia said that the chamber was so full that they were jammed still upright. In which case on opening the doors and having to cut now cyanide impregnated hair and removing gold teeth or many Sonders could get to that wall of bodies, 2-3 at a time?
How in the Hell could or can these fellows continue with life after participating, seeing, this absolute Dante's Hell? Their life must have been ( or is Hell) from this nightmare. I do not fault them in the least. To do this " job" on a daily basis is incomprehensible even if you managed to become a non seeing, hearing, feeling robot.
These testimonies are so important. I wish videos were around to capture the horrors of the enslavement of Black people in the Americas. I wonder if the world would have the same sympathies for an atrocity that lasted almost 400 years.
Even after visiting this Hell Hole it is still hard to imagine minds of the Germans who put this system together. The survivors must never be able to have a single days peace. It was all over too soon after the war, the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes should have been pursued to the end of their miserable lives. It is to Germanys eternal shame that their nation collaborated on the massive scale that allowed this to happen.
@HereticLikeGalileo I'll ignore that non-sequitur, and merely reiterate that the conditions under which the Sonderkommando were forced to work, and those of the SS and their Aryan collaborators do not stand up to intelligent comparison.
Satan has been able to manipulate those among mankind who refuse to repent and follow Yahshus ha'Mashiach. He will return to eventually destroy satan and kill all unrepentant sinners. Repent, turn from your sin and follow Yahshua according to holy Scripture and be filled with His Spirit.
Yes, so "God" is an angry being who is going to kill people for such heinous acts as smoking and masturbation. When exactly is he coming back, btw? 'Cause it's been almost 2,000 years now...
He is Greek-Italian. His name, Dario Gabbai, is Italian because his father was Italian. But his mother was Greek and he was born and raised in Thessaloniki. He went to Italian schools in Greece.
Gracias por compartir conmigo este triste y lamentable fragmento histórico. Me duelen las crueldades y los crímenes cometidos contra mis padres y madres, mis hijos e hijas, mis hermanos y hermanos presindiendo de su etnicidad, nacionalidad, religiosidad... No tienen sentido esos actos infrahumanos porque todo ser humano integra la única raza, la humana. Todos son de carne y huesos; descienden de Adán y Eva, según Hechos 17:26: "De un solo hombre creó todas las naciones humanas para que poblaran toda la superficie de la tierra, y decretó los tiempos fijados y estableció los límites dentro de los que vivirían los hombres." En Isaías 2:4, Jehová Dios, el Creador y Fuente de vida, padre de nuestro señor Jesucristo, promete: "Él será juez entre las naciones y resolverá los asuntos con relación a muchos pueblos. Convertirán sus espadas en arados y sus lanzas en podaderas. Las naciones no alzarán la espada unas contra otras ni aprenderán más a hacer la guerra." Unos de mis vecinos son judíos y yo, testigo de Jehová. Sus corazones valen mucho más que todo el oro puro y todas las piedras preciosas en el sistema solar. Él es tan generoso hasta el punto de encargarse todos los miércoles de mis dos recipientes de basura sin que yo se lo pida. Son seres encantadores. Mejores vecinos no los puedo mandar a hacer..., pues no existen...
@@luisr.6543 Don Luis: Solo el de reino de Dios, un gobierno celestial establecido por Jehová Dios, logrará justicia absoluta... Primero, los malvados serán eliminados. “Los inicuos, serán cortados de la mismísima tierra.” según Proverbios 2:22. Segundo,, no habrá más guerras. Dios hará “cesar las guerras hasta la extremidad de la tierra.” según Salmo 46:9. Tercero, habrá prosperidad y seguridad. “Se sentarán, cada uno debajo de su vid y debajo de su higuera, y no habrá nadie que los haga temblar.” (Miqueas 4:4.) Cuarto, la Tierra será un paraíso. “Se alegrarán el desierto y la tierra seca. El desierto se pondrá feliz y brotarán las flores silvestres.” (Isaías 35:1, La Palabra de Dios para Todos.) Quinton, todos tendremos trabajo productivo y gratificante. “La obra de sus propias manos mis escogidos usarán a grado cabal. No se afanarán para nada.” (Isaías 65:21-23.) Sexto, no habrá enfermedades. “Ningún residente dirá: ‘Estoy enfermo’.” (Isaías 33:24.) Séptimo, no habrá vejez. “Que su carne se haga más fresca que en la juventud; que vuelva a los días de su vigor juvenil.” (Job 33:25.) Octavo, los muertos volverán a vivir. “Todos los que están en las tumbas conmemorativas oirán su voz [la de Jesús] y saldrán.” (Juan 5:28, 29.) Le deseo lo mejor y una vida fructífera y feliz y pacífica.
Gracias por su mensaje de texto. Sí, los malhechores serán quitados de la tierra; ese día será de gran alegría. El Salmo 91:7-9 dice: "Caerán a tu lado mil y diez mil a tu diestra, pero a ti no se acercará. Solo lo verás con tus ojos cuando seas testigo del castigo de los impíos. Porque dijiste: “Jehová es mi refugio”, has puesto al Altísimo por tu morada”." Le deseo lo mejor y una vida fructífera, feliz y pacífica.
Looks like Sonderkommando (jewish prisoners) suffered more than victims of gassing because they performed painful task and also knew they will be shot or gassed later. Horrific.
I wouldn't have survived for even 24 hours in that hell! I have watched hundreds of documentaries and still cannot fully wrap my head around the fact, that this actually happened - not so long ago! Humans truly can be monsters. May the survivors find peace and comfort!
I agree
It’s just incredibly hard to fathom the reasons why this happened, I’ve just finished reading about Babi Yar and it’s the stories are totally heartbreaking.....
I know however many books I read , it shocks me over and over again, but I feel compelled to listen, to bear witness to what they went through.
What is scary is monsters are still out there
I tbibk you wouldve. When reality changes your reality changes very quickly. Its absolutely insane how far humans can go mentally.
It remains shocking no matter how many times you hear it...
Thank you for posting this and your other videos, these voices deserve to be heard and shown respect. R.I.P.
One for Rock 'n Roll Rest In Peace victims of Jewish communist in Ukraine 12 to 14 million starved to death by communist butchers
The amount of shock and horror you would experience in that situation, would break your mind and soul completely. Which explains why he is able to talk about it quite calmly.
For the survivors, there really is no escape from the camps. The experience follows them and dominates their entire lives. And to think there are so many who deny that their ordeal was true, outrageously claiming them to be liars. This is the lowest one can get.
The bear at Birkenau
@@merrickx Don't forget the eagle, why didn't the bear eat the eagle?
Robert Maybeth but what?
@@robertmaybeth3434 But, what?
The experiences follow the children/grandchildren etc because the survivors act out all their feelings whether stated or not, through descendants and generations.
I'm surprised these people are still sane after going through the insanity of that it's amazing !!!
@Scott Kasaboski Scott- wow, I'd like to hear his story. Hardly anyone got out of Sobibor.
Most of these guys are dead or were expelled from the US in
The 90s. To actually to have been
A camp laborer or Ukrainian guard
Would make the person 100+ at
This time. The story on these guys
Broke when Reagan was president
And his AG ed Meise wanted to
Vacate the charges. This didn't
Happen because the UN and the
Hague got involved. They were
Victims also but they cooperated
and their fate was sealed. Helped
Murder six million innocent people. This had to be done no
Matter the circumstances of their
Imprisonment by the fascist leaders of Germany. And when
They were deported, germany
Wouldn't accepted them as
Citizens.
They lasted about three months then were killed but many went insane long before then. For one day of life you will do a lot but this was too much to bear.
Richard Devonshire On what basis do you say that? These were prisoners. They either worked or were killed. Thanks to them, we have eye-witness accounts like these.
I couldn’t even imagine the horror they went through. Such courage to be able to speak about it. Heartbreakingly sad 😢
So agree No matter how many times I view documentaries re The Holocaust and hear these heart wrenching survivor stories, I STILL will “never”fathom HOW human beings can be such monsters and kill (kill in any case) but kill especially the way they, the DISGUSTING NAZI’S (SS) did during this terrible terrible TERRIBLE time in history 😔😔😔😡😡😡😡
They say sonderkomandoos were worse than some of the ss
You mean the Kapo (prisoner supervisor) or Trawniki Maenner ( Soviet POWS used as guards in some camps).
The sonderKommando had little opportunity to be abusive - but they would have been brutalized!
And just like that a mother with her child,a mother who had hopes and dreams for her children,a human that had a history with stories to tell......a friend,a daughter,a sister,a wife..... and just like that 2 minutes they were gone.......a human being that laughed,cried and had many more memories to make.....standing naked,scared out their mind with a child clinching with so much fear that most of us can’t even imagine........and just like that 2 minutes and even 3minutes gone! It is so unbelievable that this ever happened and yet there are many people that could care less! The scary thing is that it could happen again!!!
The 2 to 3 minutes....many took longer than that, but every second I’m sure was unspeakable and unimaginable horror to slowly be suffocated and poisoned to death.
It has happened , in Bosnia, and in Russia
The fact that mothers died naked holding their naked children, all of them in agony, is something that fills me with unspeakable horror. The idea of holding your terrified child knowing you will be unable to protect it from the suffering that is coming, trying to comfort it despite being utterly powerless to defend it. It is beyond what my mind can allow.
We are killing an I'm too, sentient beings like pigs. We will always be violent.
Lisa Jane Unfortunately, it will happen again. The signs are all around us that we are being led down the same path.
I have no words to describe these poor souls who experienced such atrocities.
When I first heard of the existence of the Sonderkommando, my first human reaction was "how could these people betray their own in such a way." My question was answered as soon as I tried to put myself into their position after hearing all of the stories and I was ashamed of even thinking such a thing.
No shame over a gut reaction. I think without the proper context it would even be a reasonable one. But you set aside time and energy to learning more and reached a different conclusion. I find that very admirable. It's difficult to conceive being forced into a life or death situation. To be held captive by tormenters who deny you any moral choices. I'd like to think I would choose death but the urge to survive can diminish the best of us.
@@Mc.Garnagle Too true. I pray I never have to find out. With the world heading in the direction it's in though, we all may soon be seeing a side of ourselves that we never knew existed.
You probably don’t need to hear this, at this point…but, they never had a choice. The sonderkommando’s, as astonishingly horrific as their “jobs” were…., weren’t as bad as the capo’s (in the grand scheme of things). The fact of the matter is that, when you’re reduced to an animal, yet have somehow hung on to the will to live….there’s no exceptions as to what you’ll do to stay alive. They did what they had to, to survive. The endurance, and resilience of the Jewish people, and how they’ve been able to bounce back from this to create and develop the state of Israel, is the story of the millennium. It’s the only story of it’s kind in documented human history.
To Jon M.
I don’t know if you have watch a movie called “ the grey zone” with Amira Sorvino and Harvey Keitel.
It is about the dilemma of the Sonderkommando. One of the hardest movie I ever watched .
@@jackthepirate9233 No, but I will check it out. Thankyou.
I wish this was mandatory for students to view. I hate when people just ignore it. Learn about it for the sake of those who were murdered.
If not, parents should educate their children. I have taught mine.
In the 1970s and 80s, as many of what Holocaust survivors remained, you’d relatively often hear on the TV and radio of “never forget” and a news story of a vigil.
Hardly much now.
It is
My heart goes out to these people who have to still live with these memories, even after 80 years later. I pray that they will receive rest for their souls.
I wonder why god didn’t help them 🤔
@@tigertiger1699 god? who's that?
Davi Dozz
😬 maybe my point🤔😬
Tiger Tiger yes this event makes me sometimes question God smh
@@tigertiger1699He did that’s why some survived to tell, against all odds. You should wonder why people allow Satan to use them to do such evil but people don’t obey God instead.
Valuable testimonies for generations to come and a example of how resilient people can be under the hardest conditions. Heartbreaking if you think about it. Watching this makes me even more convinced we should keep this dark page from history alive; to let people know how dangerous fascism is and that we should think for ourselves instead of following other leaders like obedient sheep. Don't forget similiair situations happens or happenend still today in the world...
Take a look at a book caled Onward Christian Soldiers by Donald Day, he was the only staff journalist north of Berlin in around 1917 through 25 in Sweden, Finland, and the Abltic states,, he wrote of the Bolshevik terror of men being sent of in trains to god knows where and followed by the girls and women after they had been sujected to being the Checkists playthings, and of them being packed like sardines with no food, are both scenarios fake, did the WWII stories come from revolutionary Russia's experience, how terrified were the Germans the same would happen to them?
Yes, similar dynamics can exist even in something as simple as a group of friends allowing themselves to be manipulated into doing things etc. the concepts can be applied in many different settings.
@@David-ci1vnnot an excuse
The last sonderkommando Dario Gabbai passed away in 2020 ( not sure ) at 97 yrs old. God bless all the sonderkommando’s for what they endured. They had no choice ! Live or Die. What would you do?
Every single keys and circumstance in the world is different, no two cases are the same. There is a lot to be said for not allowing oneself to be manipulated or to perhaps do something that you want to do and blame it on following orders or creating an excuse later.
@@zararoyce319 the SK had no choice none unless they committed suicide .
Kitty Hart was apart of the sonserkommandos and she is still alive. She was in Birkenau
@@JohnJohn-zx5sy
Kitty Hart worked in the "Kanada commando" next to Crematorium III.
"God bless", seriously?
So fantastic that these testimonials exist - I don't think anyone could imagine these atrocities - and what you can not imagine remains unimaginable and unreal. These people talking is our anchor to the past, next to the physical remains of the camps our only anchor to what actually went on in this camps.
We shall always remember,
every one who suffered.
we shall always remember, in your name, in the name of humanity.
as we did in the past, we will remember you,
in the present and in the future, we will remember you,
every one of you.
In the name of humanity should we not forgive ALL of our forefathers of millenia for what they did or did not do, we are not responsible for them but only for now andhopefully the future, otherwise we remain slaves of that over we we have no influence, a permanently unhappy place.
An eye for an eye , a tooth for a tooth
Imagine in your life how often you see a dead body. Most people maybe one or two times in a lifetime and we remember those occasions. They’re usually sad and difficult times.
Now imagine seeing 3,000 people dead every single day. Must have been hell on Earth. 😐
Plus sometimes they came across friends or family members
@@deerheart87 So we're told.
People can be so dispicable. These people who survived this had the will to do so. They were very smart to learn the routines of the soldiers and because they did, they were able to outsmart them.
Darrio Gabbai passed away March 25, 2020. RIP
Morris Kesselman passed away May 11th, 2016. RIP
Morris Venezia passed away September 2nd, 2013. RIP
Linda Breder passed away September 10th, 2010. RIP
Anna Heilman passed away May 1st, 20011. RIP
May their memories be a blessing. 🙌🏾
RIP
God rest their souls
Thank you for visiting our channel. We hope you'll share it with the people in your network. For a complete list of the names of people whose testimonies are in the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's archive, please visit the Testimony Catalogue portal on our website.
🙏 thank you for all you do, extremely important!!!
Infuriating and depressing. At least people all over the world have easy access to these kind of testemonials in multiple languages and by thousands of different people.
May this never be forgotten
If you can never forgive you force yourself to remain a prisoner, it's a kind of psychosis.
@@David-ci1vn never forgetting and forgiving are two entirely separate things
@@callicoat1 amen to that!
I have the greatest respect for these guys, being able to sit down and recount this sort of thing. I don't think I would be strong enough to keep going let alone being able to talk to people in order to make sure the horrors couldn't happen again. Also, I agree that it may be a good idea to turn off comments for the video. It's not really the place for some of the things being said here
+flo.a007 I agree that out of respect for Shoah testimonials commentary should be disabled.
Still going on by the werwolf
flo.a007 : I know I can't even handle my petty life in comparison😥
@@redwater4778 They'll have to adapt somehow.
@@ribbone1975 You are something else. Half evil, half apathetic. This happened and it was a crime against the Jewish people and all humanity.These witnesses are critical thinkers . unlike you.Many of them had to do terrible things to survive ,but if the did not they would not have been able to bear witness.
7:17 I had no idea the ashes were sifted... The amount of times the victims were scrubbed for ANY valuables is absolutely astounding. I assume the sifting was done to search for any remaining valuables. Remains of gold teeth, hidden jewels and other valuables.
First, they fool them into bringing their valuables with them to the camp. Then, after death, cut off their hair and pulled out their gold teeth. And even after burning, they're literally sifting through the ashes for valuables. Absolutely astoundingly evil.
It was a privilege to know Anna and to have had her autograph her book for me.
My heart goes out to all the survivors and the ones that never stood a chance this should never be buried or forgotten this is real and the amount of suffering is beyond comprehension me and my daughter are going to Auschwitz in just over 2 weeks to pay respect to all that suffered there I no it's going to be hard but I want to do it God bless all the lost and the survivors and the ones that sit and 're live this terrible life to share with us are amazing 💔❤
The horrors of the last war will never be forgotten. These poor guys went through hell . No one should judge them for anything. They wore forced labour. Survival is a human instinct. I vivited YadVashiem in Isreal. I saw horrors like lamp shades made of human skin. Shrunken heads. There is a childrens memorial. Its a dark room with 1.5 million tiny lights. I light for one kid. Can u imagine 1.5 million children ? I cant! Todays neo nazis take note!
Harrowing, i read a book written by one of few who escaped Treblinka. He was a sonderkommando there, it affected me deeply and i think i have secondary PTSD from it. Nightmares, depression and i've been drinking more than usual. Thats just from reading a book.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
What book?
@@ragman3383 she may be talking about the memoirs of Samuel Wallenberg or Kalman Taigman- both short but devastating reads.
@@cheshirecat1212or Yankel Wiernik.
It's so hard to comprehend that this really happened when you're brought up in the world as good as it is today. WW2 was a catastrophe beyond imagination. I really hope we won't experience something like this during the 21st century.
The world is not good. These sorts of atrocities are happening now. The only difference between then and now is the scale of the crimes. There are plenty of people who would speak to this if only they could but there are thousands of camps located in China and North Korea where torture and murder is common place. So I really hope you can appreciate where you are, who your with and with the deepest appreciation and respect for all those who fought and died so you will never have to live under an authoritarian madman. Oh wait...for a second I forgot about Trump.
@@dross2172 If the Dems said Trump's an authoritarian madman, I guess it must be true, right? I mean, they would've had no reason to lie or ever try to paint him in a bad light would they? Coz it's not like they lost an election to him that they were sure they were going to win, with all the bitterness to deal with that would inevitably result from tha- Oh wait....
Please do not forget the horror of the socialist gulags and mass killings. THAT could come back tomorrow, because people are still charmed by those ideas.
Remember the germans did it
I can totally understand how some people think the Holocaust wasn't real because it's almost impossible to hear and understand these horrific acts really happened!! Thankfully these people had the courage to come forward and re-live these atrocities with first hand testimonies!!
No
Those that say it didn't happen are deniers trying to erase history. It's simple antisemitism
This is the equivalent of someone dying going to the pits of hell ,then coming back to tell the story of what they seen...this poor man...God bless his soul
This is a powerful interview. Everyone needs to watch these posts.
We do all do
Al these so called deniers need to watch these testimonies!
Robert Ulrich they don't care, in large part they support the aims of the final solution.
Right after I'm done watching the testimonies of those poor Alien kidnap victims.
@@JC57515 Rubbish.
@@JC57515 Who invented that expression which in full read "The final solution to the Jewish Question", wan't it Theodor Herzl?
@@David-ci1vn Holocaust deniers are just old fashioned Jew haters hiding their anti-semitism behind pseudo historical conspiracy theories to give their prejudices a whiff of respectability. It's dull and nobody falls for it.
Words will never be enough to explain it. 💔🤭
💔😢
many of the sonder kommandos refused to work and got killed, but a lot worked because their will to live was so high
I do believe that the Sonder Kommandos only worked for three months at the most. Their stories of what was happening would be told by them and therefore most were killed and another lot brought in to work.
Kristie C nah they were sent to the eastern front. Also, a camp guard wasn’t a job to brag about within the SS. A lot of these guys were put on these duties coming from desk jobs or other standard guard duties. They weren’t hardened soldiers for the most part
@@rosemarydudley9954 9gh
One thing that boggles my mind- this actually happened. Think about that. Real people went through this. A real hell on earth.
Yeah it's really indescribable. When my life isn't going well I listen to a few of these testimonies. Perhaps is in poor taste for me to use these peoples suffering to find perspective, but maybe they'd appreciate it, idk.
Thanks goodness at least SOME of the many videos dealing with this dark passage of human history, allow comments. So many wish to avoid controversy, so they stifle discussion of all kinds. That said, i can understand this natural impulse. Kudos to the USC Shoah Foundation for not shying away from controversy, and permitting comments!!! (Of course i think that all forms of hate speech should be removed... including all forms of Halocaust denial, or defense of Nazi atrocities).
People are denying it so u can understand
@@jeanandre6998 That makes no sense but okay.
Seemingly a tough guy, his reddened nose gives away Mr Kesselman's imminent emotion. What visual horrors must be at the edge of his memory each time he closes his eyes.
CAN NOT imagine.
Bless These Men...
How can anyone be so Evil.
It's easy for some, James...look at the world today. Look at our own warped country. We now have Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists like we never did before. Our Fathers would not be happy. They lost their best friends fighting #$%^%$#! Nazis. We can only do our part to fight that stuff, and remember the Voices of the people here in this clip. We can Do This. Good people are all on the same team.
Such evil was in response to radical extreme leftism but not much was learned it seems as extreme leftism has again lifted its head and again (Sadly) there will be an extreme response.
@@maxaman64 - Rubbish.
@@thumbprint7150 Communism and social debauchery were prevalent in society then as it is now, in fact i would say the similarities between 1920s and today are eerily similar. Its what the "final solution" was all about. There will again be a response rightly or wrongly.
James Kelly Germans , they created this
@AllieCat356 to me, when you're staring death in the face and the almighty chance puts you in the position to save your own life, it becomese difficult, to say the least, to put in practice what you wrote. this is just my humble opinion.
having said that, I firmly believe that testimonies such as these are among the most precious treasure for mankind.
Deepest respect from Australia
Please can English subtitles be added? Difficult with accents and those of us who are hard of hearing.
Thank you for this video. I am way not in such Hell, but when he says he survived due to his ability to tell himself to shut up, lower his head, not think beyond the orders given, and last until freedom... he gave me strength. I am obviously afraid, but his words are advice for me. I will also not let evil tryumph without doing my best to outlast it.
So heartbreaking to hear these stories
War is an insane idea that results in collective insanity.
2:53 is essentially compartmentalization. Its a common maladaptive response to extreme stress.
Very courageous survivors.
Watching that I am feeling ashamed to call myself a German...although I personally was not involved...may the victims rest in gods peace
Just don’t let history repeat it self. I nobody is blaming the new generation of Germany.
I'm half German it's unbelievable 😥
Such a weak comment... man up dude!
It's all bull crap
@@schmuckpuppet4842based on what?
I would have never survived this hell on earth. BDE👏
We are doing the same thing to millions of innocent animals each day.
“This is what God is you have to be very strong to survive “ 🤯 I couldn’t imagine going through something like this. And the fact that people call it a big lie angers me even more.
indeed this is something that you can t survive mentaly ,theire heroes for me.
Can't imagine the way they had to handle this. So sad
A shift was 12 hours? Doing this non stop for 12 hours? Jesus. Sleep and then start again for another round of 12 hours, on and on for 4 months. Jesus. They were usually killed off after 4 months for security and then replaced by new ones.
Brave men!
Watching these testimonies made me more aware to waste less, because these people would of given anything they had left for a scrap of food, a drink of water, warmer clothing,warmer bunks when it was in the lowest below zero weather! I think of these testimonies, and I do not waste as much as possible, cause there may be a time ( really close) that we wished we hadn't wasted so much, and could have those things now. It could happen.
And there are people who actually believe that none of this happened !
There are no limits to human idiocy. Or human ability to hate.
Why does Germany still exist
@@dianevernon8201 nothing like showing the world what a bigoted twat you are
A nightmare.
God bless these survivors.
Thank you
This people are lions. Even after surviving this they were able to build a country, despite all the enemies surrounding it. Now Israel is one of the strongest rising countries in the world!
Proud to be Jewish and Israeli! The legacy of this people and their children lives on!
These testimonies are live books - true voices /faces of people who survived the evil of Hitlers Nazis! So so sad we should never forget,
Mr Venizia is superb and glad he survived.
I wish this video had subtitles.
Just pay close attention.
This was 65 years ago. When was this testimony taken? Do the rest of the surviving victims of Birkenau consider the Sonderkommando traitors?This is indeed a rare perspective. Thank you for this video.
I dont think they do, but certainly the Sonderkommando were worried about that.
I never heard from survivors that they regarded them as traitors.
a lot of the other camp inmates viewed them as collaborators. These videos were mostly done in the 90's.
Every single case and circumstance in the world is different, and perhaps I we must look at very particular circumstances, because each case will be different in life
Thank you for your testimonies!
They are so important.
I just cite a title of a book by Primo Levi 'Se questo e un uomo'.
Let's never forget and let it never happen again xxx 🙏
If I had the choices they had I would have chose life.
respect!
To everyone?
Not enough of the SS Pigs were made to answer for these horrors.
LOUDER, C.C.
Put subtitle pleaseee
Please never forget
Enabling CC would be fantastic :)
Idiots challenge the numbers of those who suffered . Let those deniers watch this clip !
@Johnny Bravo Just go with the evidence. Something like 30 million documents now in the archives at Bad Arolsen.
@@Jasonstry 50 million and not one single document proving a thing...try again
@@mrfireblade900cc You haven't got a clue have you. It isn't hard. Each document is evidence of one or more historical events. Many of the documents link up with other documents or with other evidence such as witness testimony so they all corroborate each other. We aren't in the 70s anymore, all of this info is slowly being digitised and/or databased so these connections are easier to make. All of the documents and other evidence create an overall picture of what happened...try again
@@mrfireblade900ccreally? How about the bischoff report showing the auschwitz architecture? Or the einsatzgruppen reports. Theres plenty of documents- you just chose to say theyre fake.
“THE GRACE OF GOD IS UNBELIEVABLE HOW THESE PEOPLE SURVIVED THESE ATROCITIES LORD GOD
I Wish there were subtitles in english
They just wanted to live as compared to those who did not... I would have been sick to do this job.
What choice did they have?
Soooo terrible....can not think how u ever can get over this... working there.
The commentator asks how many Sonders there were, a couple of hundred apparently, but it's irrelevant really. Gambia said that the chamber was so full that they were jammed still upright. In which case on opening the doors and having to cut now cyanide impregnated hair and removing gold teeth or many Sonders could get to that wall of bodies, 2-3 at a time?
How in the Hell could or can these fellows continue with life after participating, seeing, this absolute Dante's Hell? Their life must have been ( or is Hell) from this nightmare. I do not fault them in the least. To do this " job" on a daily basis is incomprehensible even if you managed to become a non seeing, hearing, feeling robot.
+1 on you friend. It matters little what side you fall on in this. It is paramount that your side can be freely expressed.
23:14: This is mentioned in the famous graphic novel Maus, part 2.
so sad that something like this would happen
@efesair well said
" Oh My GOD. " 🙏🅰️🅰️🅰️
Thank - you . ( 2023 / Dec / 14 )
These testimonies are so important. I wish videos were around to capture the horrors of the enslavement of Black people in the Americas. I wonder if the world would have the same sympathies for an atrocity that lasted almost 400 years.
Even after visiting this Hell Hole it is still hard to imagine minds of the Germans who put this system together. The survivors must never be able to have a single days peace. It was all over too soon after the war, the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes should have been pursued to the end of their miserable lives. It is to Germanys eternal shame that their nation collaborated on the massive scale that allowed this to happen.
@HereticLikeGalileo I'll ignore that non-sequitur, and merely reiterate that the conditions under which the Sonderkommando were forced to work, and those of the SS and their Aryan collaborators do not stand up to intelligent comparison.
When people talk about God, what God could let such cold blooded murder happen?
It's not for us to say
My mum use to say its man not god
Satan has been able to manipulate those among mankind who refuse to repent and follow Yahshus ha'Mashiach.
He will return to eventually destroy satan and kill all unrepentant sinners.
Repent, turn from your sin and follow Yahshua according to holy Scripture and be filled with His Spirit.
Yes, so "God" is an angry being who is going to kill people for such heinous acts as smoking and masturbation. When exactly is he coming back, btw? 'Cause it's been almost 2,000 years now...
God didn’t do it,the Nazis did
Please avail yourself of the report facility where necessary - button to the right of comments. Lots of deniers below. Lots of bean counters.
This guy is Italian 💪💪💪👏❤️
Anna Luisa Rossini I thought he was Greek? Sure i saw another documentary with him in it.
He has the accent and mimicry of an Italian, for sure 🌟
He is Greek-Italian. His name, Dario Gabbai, is Italian because his father was Italian. But his mother was Greek and he was born and raised in Thessaloniki. He went to Italian schools in Greece.
This story is so sad. It is sad to see what depths humans will stoop to. I'm listening to this with Adagio for Strings as background music.
Sarchasm!
It is NOT a story, IT IS FACT.
@@rosemarydudley9954 😄😄😄
Gracias por compartir conmigo este triste y lamentable fragmento histórico.
Me duelen las crueldades y los crímenes cometidos contra mis padres y madres, mis hijos e hijas, mis hermanos y hermanos presindiendo de su etnicidad, nacionalidad, religiosidad... No tienen sentido esos actos infrahumanos porque todo ser humano integra la única raza, la humana. Todos son de carne y huesos; descienden de Adán y Eva, según Hechos 17:26:
"De un solo hombre creó todas las naciones humanas para que poblaran toda la superficie de la tierra, y decretó los tiempos fijados y estableció los límites dentro de los que vivirían los hombres."
En Isaías 2:4, Jehová Dios, el Creador y Fuente de vida, padre de nuestro señor Jesucristo, promete:
"Él será juez entre las naciones y resolverá los asuntos con relación a muchos pueblos. Convertirán sus espadas en arados y sus lanzas en podaderas. Las naciones no alzarán la espada unas contra otras ni aprenderán más a hacer la guerra."
Unos de mis vecinos son judíos y yo, testigo de Jehová. Sus corazones valen mucho más que todo el oro puro y todas las piedras preciosas en el sistema solar.
Él es tan generoso hasta el punto de encargarse todos los miércoles de mis dos recipientes de basura sin que yo se lo pida.
Son seres encantadores. Mejores vecinos no los puedo mandar a hacer..., pues no existen...
😂😂😂
@@luisr.6543
Don Luis:
Solo el de reino de Dios, un gobierno celestial establecido por Jehová Dios, logrará justicia absoluta...
Primero, los malvados serán eliminados. “Los inicuos, serán cortados de la mismísima tierra.” según Proverbios 2:22.
Segundo,, no habrá más guerras. Dios hará “cesar las guerras hasta la extremidad de la tierra.” según Salmo 46:9.
Tercero, habrá prosperidad y seguridad. “Se sentarán, cada uno debajo de su vid y debajo de su higuera, y no habrá nadie que los haga temblar.” (Miqueas 4:4.)
Cuarto, la Tierra será un paraíso. “Se alegrarán el desierto y la tierra seca. El desierto se pondrá feliz y brotarán las flores silvestres.” (Isaías 35:1, La Palabra de Dios para Todos.)
Quinton, todos tendremos trabajo productivo y gratificante. “La obra de sus propias manos mis escogidos usarán a grado cabal. No se afanarán para nada.” (Isaías 65:21-23.)
Sexto, no habrá enfermedades. “Ningún residente dirá: ‘Estoy enfermo’.” (Isaías 33:24.)
Séptimo, no habrá vejez. “Que su carne se haga más fresca que en la juventud; que vuelva a los días de su vigor juvenil.” (Job 33:25.)
Octavo, los muertos volverán a vivir. “Todos los que están en las tumbas conmemorativas oirán su voz [la de Jesús] y saldrán.” (Juan 5:28, 29.)
Le deseo lo mejor y una vida fructífera y feliz y pacífica.
@@espanolpasoapaso5360 oh si si si 🤡🤪
Gracias por su mensaje de texto.
Sí, los malhechores serán quitados de la tierra; ese día será de gran alegría.
El Salmo 91:7-9 dice:
"Caerán a tu lado mil y diez mil a tu diestra, pero a ti no se acercará. Solo lo verás con tus ojos cuando seas testigo del castigo de los impíos. Porque dijiste: “Jehová es mi refugio”, has puesto al Altísimo por tu morada”."
Le deseo lo mejor y una vida fructífera, feliz y pacífica.
12 hour shifts, man. I think you will be dead inside after a week.
BARBARIC
Abuse of superior power.... shameful...
Looks like Sonderkommando (jewish prisoners) suffered more than victims of gassing because they performed painful task and also knew they will be shot or gassed later. Horrific.
hard to believe america was cashing in on lend lease while this was going on
I think your view of history is mistaken. America was helping England fight against the Nazis.
And losing thousands of aircrew over Germany
God bless you
Where was god?