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Sonderkommando Auschwitz
Per decenni Shlomo Venezia, ebreo di Salonicco di nazionalità italiana, ha preferito mantenere il silenzio. Ha tenuto dentro di sé i mostri e i fantasmi, il marchio indelebile della Storia. Ha messo a tacere le voci raggelanti e i colpi della brutalità umana, come l’inconsolabile pianto di un neonato, sommerso da corpi asfissiati, tra cui quello della sua stessa madre, placato da uno sparo sordo. Ha lasciato che le immagini dell’orrore restassero vivide e mute nella sua mente: capelli tagliati e denti cavati ai cadaveri, corpi inermi trasportati nei forni crematori. L’autore, uno dei pochi sopravvissuti del Sonderkommando di Auschwitz- Birkenau, una squadra speciale selezionata tra i deportati con l’incarico di far funzionare la spietata macchina di sterminio nazista, ha occhi, cuore e mente incatenati ai luoghi dello sterminio. «Non si esce mai» ha detto «dal Crematorio.» Non si dimentica mai. E quando è necessario, nonostante il dolore, si comincia a parlare.
I racconti di Shlomo Venezia sono base di una lunga intervista, che è origine di questa testimonianza lucida e onesta. Accolto con vivo interesse per la sua unicità straordinaria e tradotto in 18 Paesi, questo libro è la forma più nobile di omaggio alle vittime di ieri: la memoria.
I racconti di Shlomo Venezia sono base di una lunga intervista, che è origine di questa testimonianza lucida e onesta. Accolto con vivo interesse per la sua unicità straordinaria e tradotto in 18 Paesi, questo libro è la forma più nobile di omaggio alle vittime di ieri: la memoria.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 24, 2007
260 people are currently reading
7,331 people want to read
About the author
Shlomo Venezia
2books14followersShlomo Venezia was a Greek-born Italian Jew. He was a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Venezia was born in Thessaloniki, where he was arrested with his family in March 1944; they were deported to the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the three main camps that made up the Auschwitz complex. During the selection made by Nazi doctors to separate deportees deemed fit to work from those "useless", which were immediately sent to the gas chambers, Venezia was saved along with his brother Maurice (Morris) and two cousins. During his imprisonment he was forced to work in the Sonderkommando ("special units"), teams of inmates that dealt with disposal and cremation of the prisoners killed in gas chambers. The members of these teams were killed to keep the secret about the conduct of the Final Solution (the systematic extermination of the Jewish people).
Venezia was one of the very few who survived the Sonderkommando corvées, and the only Italian among them; he published his recollections in a memoir published by Rizzoli in October 2007, Sonderkommando Auschwitz. He died in 2012, aged 88, in Rome.
Venezia was born in Thessaloniki, where he was arrested with his family in March 1944; they were deported to the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the three main camps that made up the Auschwitz complex. During the selection made by Nazi doctors to separate deportees deemed fit to work from those "useless", which were immediately sent to the gas chambers, Venezia was saved along with his brother Maurice (Morris) and two cousins. During his imprisonment he was forced to work in the Sonderkommando ("special units"), teams of inmates that dealt with disposal and cremation of the prisoners killed in gas chambers. The members of these teams were killed to keep the secret about the conduct of the Final Solution (the systematic extermination of the Jewish people).
Venezia was one of the very few who survived the Sonderkommando corvées, and the only Italian among them; he published his recollections in a memoir published by Rizzoli in October 2007, Sonderkommando Auschwitz. He died in 2012, aged 88, in Rome.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
October 11, 2020
Διαβάζω τελευταία συνεχώς βιβλία γύρω από το Ολοκαύτωμα, κάτι με τραβά να προσπαθήσω να καταλάβω, να πιστέψω ότι κάτι τέτοιο συνέβη στην ιστορία του ανθρώπου.
Εδώ δεν κρίνεται η λογοτεχνική δεξιοτεχνία, τίποτα τέτοιο. Διαβάζεις με σεβασμό τη μαρτυρία ενός ανθρώπου που δούλεψε σε ένα πόστο τόσο τρομακτικό, τα Sonderkommando, που του άφησε τραύματα για πάντα. Έναν άνθρωπο που επέζησε, αλλά και όχι.
Εδώ δεν κρίνεται η λογοτεχνική δεξιοτεχνία, τίποτα τέτοιο. Διαβάζεις με σεβασμό τη μαρτυρία ενός ανθρώπου που δούλεψε σε ένα πόστο τόσο τρομακτικό, τα Sonderkommando, που του άφησε τραύματα για πάντα. Έναν άνθρωπο που επέζησε, αλλά και όχι.
October 1, 2020
Όταν τελειώνεις ένα τέτοιο βιβλίο, ξέρεις ότι δεν έχουν μείνει και πολλά να ειπωθούν.
Κλίνεις ευλαβικά το γόνυ και αποδίδεις -συμβολικά- τα δέοντα, τιμώντας τη μνήμη του ανθρώπου που είχε το θάρρος να επιστρέψει στο παρελθόν του και να αναμετρηθεί με τους ανελέητους δαίμονες που τον ταλανίζουν, αφήνοντας, ως ένας από τους ελάχιστους επιζώντες sonderkommando, σπουδαία παρακαταθήκη στις μεταπολεμικές γενιές τις εφιαλτικές εμπειρίες που έζησε στην κόλαση των στρατοπέδων εξόντωσης του Γ΄ Ράιχ. Όπως έχει πει και ένας σπουδαίος του ναζισμού: «Η ιστορία προειδοποιεί», και είναι χρήσιμο αυτό να το έχουμε διαρκώς υπόψη μας ακόμη κι αν αυτή έχει τη φιλοδοξία να γίνει κοινό κτήμα με την προφορική της μορφή.
Κλίνεις ευλαβικά το γόνυ και αποδίδεις -συμβολικά- τα δέοντα, τιμώντας τη μνήμη του ανθρώπου που είχε το θάρρος να επιστρέψει στο παρελθόν του και να αναμετρηθεί με τους ανελέητους δαίμονες που τον ταλανίζουν, αφήνοντας, ως ένας από τους ελάχιστους επιζώντες sonderkommando, σπουδαία παρακαταθήκη στις μεταπολεμικές γενιές τις εφιαλτικές εμπειρίες που έζησε στην κόλαση των στρατοπέδων εξόντωσης του Γ΄ Ράιχ. Όπως έχει πει και ένας σπουδαίος του ναζισμού: «Η ιστορία προειδοποιεί», και είναι χρήσιμο αυτό να το έχουμε διαρκώς υπόψη μας ακόμη κι αν αυτή έχει τη φιλοδοξία να γίνει κοινό κτήμα με την προφορική της μορφή.
May 23, 2017
This book contains a very important series of interviews with Shlomo Venezia, who was deported, with his family, from Greece and sent to Auschwitz. Shlomo Venezia’s family were originally of Spanish origin. When Jewish citizens were expelled from Spain in 1492, his descendents arrived in Greece, via Italy. His Italian citizenship was important as he was fairly safe while Italians were in Greece � he was, as he says, an Italian ‘above a Jew.� However, once the Germans arrived in Greece, at the end of 1942, the deportations began.
Shlomo had a hard life even before the war began. His father died when he was young and he had to leave school at twelve to do almost any job he could to make money for his mother and siblings. Indeed, the war really started for him with the Italian invasion of Albania � until then, he and his neighbours had felt distanced from world events. However, once he arrived in Auschwitz, he quickly learnt what his new reality was. Jumping from the high train, he turned to wait to help his mother and sisters down, only to be beaten and separated from them. He never saw his mother, or his young sisters, again.
One of the reasons why this testimony is so important, is that Shlomo worked in the Sonderkommando � isolated from the other prisoners and responsible for working in the Crematorium itself. He is open and honest about his feelings of complicity; even though he obviously had no choice. He felt sullied by death and was intimately involved in the mechanism of death. He had to cut off the hair of female victims. He had to unload those who arrived on trains who were unable to walk to their own death � the elderly, the sick, the handicapped. He was approached by those asking, so poignantly, whether their death would hurt or how long it would take. He became aware that those who arrived from the ghettos, where Jewish people were imprisoned, were far more aware of what would happen than others. One time he even had to witness his father’s cousin enter the gas chamber�
Like so many books about the holocaust, this is a moving memoir and an important testimony. With those who were there � who witnessed these events first hand � growing older, we need to hear their words from themselves. Shlomo Venezia was extremely brave, and honest, in these interviews and they are extremely moving to read.
Shlomo had a hard life even before the war began. His father died when he was young and he had to leave school at twelve to do almost any job he could to make money for his mother and siblings. Indeed, the war really started for him with the Italian invasion of Albania � until then, he and his neighbours had felt distanced from world events. However, once he arrived in Auschwitz, he quickly learnt what his new reality was. Jumping from the high train, he turned to wait to help his mother and sisters down, only to be beaten and separated from them. He never saw his mother, or his young sisters, again.
One of the reasons why this testimony is so important, is that Shlomo worked in the Sonderkommando � isolated from the other prisoners and responsible for working in the Crematorium itself. He is open and honest about his feelings of complicity; even though he obviously had no choice. He felt sullied by death and was intimately involved in the mechanism of death. He had to cut off the hair of female victims. He had to unload those who arrived on trains who were unable to walk to their own death � the elderly, the sick, the handicapped. He was approached by those asking, so poignantly, whether their death would hurt or how long it would take. He became aware that those who arrived from the ghettos, where Jewish people were imprisoned, were far more aware of what would happen than others. One time he even had to witness his father’s cousin enter the gas chamber�
Like so many books about the holocaust, this is a moving memoir and an important testimony. With those who were there � who witnessed these events first hand � growing older, we need to hear their words from themselves. Shlomo Venezia was extremely brave, and honest, in these interviews and they are extremely moving to read.
October 6, 2020
Πόσο πρέπει να ντρεπόμαστε, πόσο πρέπει να θυμώνουμε και να μην ξεχνάμε.
Αμέτρητα αστέρια,όχι μόνο 5�
Αμέτρητα αστέρια,όχι μόνο 5�
May 19, 2016
I wasn’t sure how the interview format would work, but it created a wonderful account, better, I think, than if Shlomo Venezia had sat down and written the book on his own. It helped that this man was able to speak in great depth; many of the passages are long.
This really is his autobiography, as he starts with his childhood in Greece, and tells quite a bit about his early life and his family, who were originally from Italy.
He’s ruthlessly honest and I appreciated that, about himself, about the horrendous situation to which he was subjected, everything he relates.
There are 40 pages of historical notes in the back of the book, divided into three sections:
The Shoah, Auschwitz, and the Sonderkommando
Italy in Greece: A Short History of a Major Failure
About David Olère
There’s also a Selected Bibliography in the back.
This is an important addition to the documentation of Holocaust witnesses, particularly as it relates to the Sonderkommando, and I’m glad that it exists.
Some drawings depicting people and conditions in Auschwitz-Birkenau are included, and there are photos of the author and others mentioned in the book in a section in the middle of the book.
This was not an easy book to read but as I read I felt compelled to continue reading. It’s not the first account I’ve read about the Sonderkommando, those men who were forced to work directly with the gas chamber victims after their murders, and who were themselves slated to be murdered, usually after about three months of forced labor. Nobody doing this work was supposed to survive, as there were to be no witnesses. A relative few did survive, and the author was one of them. The fact that he remains adversely impacted by the experience is completely understandable and I’m grateful to him for dredging up what he needed to in order to create this important document.
This really is his autobiography, as he starts with his childhood in Greece, and tells quite a bit about his early life and his family, who were originally from Italy.
He’s ruthlessly honest and I appreciated that, about himself, about the horrendous situation to which he was subjected, everything he relates.
There are 40 pages of historical notes in the back of the book, divided into three sections:
The Shoah, Auschwitz, and the Sonderkommando
Italy in Greece: A Short History of a Major Failure
About David Olère
There’s also a Selected Bibliography in the back.
This is an important addition to the documentation of Holocaust witnesses, particularly as it relates to the Sonderkommando, and I’m glad that it exists.
Some drawings depicting people and conditions in Auschwitz-Birkenau are included, and there are photos of the author and others mentioned in the book in a section in the middle of the book.
This was not an easy book to read but as I read I felt compelled to continue reading. It’s not the first account I’ve read about the Sonderkommando, those men who were forced to work directly with the gas chamber victims after their murders, and who were themselves slated to be murdered, usually after about three months of forced labor. Nobody doing this work was supposed to survive, as there were to be no witnesses. A relative few did survive, and the author was one of them. The fact that he remains adversely impacted by the experience is completely understandable and I’m grateful to him for dredging up what he needed to in order to create this important document.
April 26, 2015
"Trabalhar" nas câmaras de gás
Nascido em território grego, onde foi capturado juntamente com a sua família em Março de 1944, publicou o seu livro de memórias em 2007. Faleceu no ano de 2012 em Itália, Roma. Shlomo Venezia foi o único judeu italiano do Sonderkommando a sobreviver a Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Shlomo conta ao mundo, em formato de entrevista, a realidade daquele "super comando" criado para eliminar os vestígios das câmaras de gás. Pese embora melhor tratados pelos oficiais alemães, todos os indivíduos do Sonderkommando acompanhavam o horror dos seus pares, exterminados em massa diante dos seus olhos. Pior, assistiam aos assassinatos e posterior "incineração". O transporte esse, das câmaras de gás para os fornos crematórios, deveria ser assegurado pelo "comando especial".
A toada de pergunta-resposta resulta em pleno, transmitindo-nos o desconforto e dor que Venezia carregou consigo ao longo das décadas e o apanhado final, em jeito de resumo, favorece o não esquecimento do seu depoimento.
"Uma vez o gás despejado, aquilo durava dez a doze minutos. No fim não ouvíamos um único barulho. Um alemão vinha verificar se toda a gente estava morta olhando através de um óculo colocado na porta larga (...). Quando tinha a certeza de que todos estavam mortos, abria a porta e saía logo depois, após ligar a ventilação. (...) Não conseguíamos distinguir o que resultava do odor específico do gás do que provinha do odor das pessoas e dos dejectos humanos."
Nota: 4.5/5.0
Nascido em território grego, onde foi capturado juntamente com a sua família em Março de 1944, publicou o seu livro de memórias em 2007. Faleceu no ano de 2012 em Itália, Roma. Shlomo Venezia foi o único judeu italiano do Sonderkommando a sobreviver a Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Shlomo conta ao mundo, em formato de entrevista, a realidade daquele "super comando" criado para eliminar os vestígios das câmaras de gás. Pese embora melhor tratados pelos oficiais alemães, todos os indivíduos do Sonderkommando acompanhavam o horror dos seus pares, exterminados em massa diante dos seus olhos. Pior, assistiam aos assassinatos e posterior "incineração". O transporte esse, das câmaras de gás para os fornos crematórios, deveria ser assegurado pelo "comando especial".
A toada de pergunta-resposta resulta em pleno, transmitindo-nos o desconforto e dor que Venezia carregou consigo ao longo das décadas e o apanhado final, em jeito de resumo, favorece o não esquecimento do seu depoimento.
"Uma vez o gás despejado, aquilo durava dez a doze minutos. No fim não ouvíamos um único barulho. Um alemão vinha verificar se toda a gente estava morta olhando através de um óculo colocado na porta larga (...). Quando tinha a certeza de que todos estavam mortos, abria a porta e saía logo depois, após ligar a ventilação. (...) Não conseguíamos distinguir o que resultava do odor específico do gás do que provinha do odor das pessoas e dos dejectos humanos."
Nota: 4.5/5.0
May 10, 2020
I am reading this as we approach Victory in Europe Day. It is 75 years since the end of WWII and in the UK we are having a bank holiday to commemorate that. 75 years is a long time and we will get to the point where anyone that remembers WWII first-hand will be gone unfortunately and this is why we must have records like this to remember. We need to understand, always, what went on to ensure it does not happen again. Generation after generation, time goes by and the past becomes blurry. It needs to be accurately documented.
So, to the book. Shlomo Venezia is interviewed by Béatrice Prasquier. She says ‘This account was compiled from a series of interviews I had with Shlomo Venezia in Rome, with the help of the historian Marcello Pezzetti, between April 13 and May 21, 2006.�
Shlomo was born in 1923 in Salonika, northern Greece which is now known Thessaloniki. His family have Italian nationality. The war really started for them with the invasion of Albania by Italy. The Italians came into Greece and even though he and his family were Jewish they were protected by their Italian nationality. Then on 08-Sep-1943 it was the end of the Italy-Germany alliance. Italy surrendered to the Allied forces. Shlomo knew they stood no chance against the Germans. Deportation was imminent. Between Mar-1943 and Aug-1944 over 50,000 were deported from Greece to Auschwitz. He was sent to Auschwitz on 11-Apr-1944.
You would think that a book in interview style of Q&A would not work but it does. The questions are short and the answers are long. The questions are not just stock questions. They do lead on from the answers given and it read like a normal factual book.
I will not go into the details of his job within the Sonderkommando (Special Command Unit � Special Detachment) as Shlomo goes over that. It is a ghastly job (understatement of the century). There are the haunting drawings by David Olere in the book to illustrate Shlomo’s answers. He was in Auschwitz at the time of the revolt and the evacuation to Austria.
The book also includes ‘THE SHOAH, AUSCHWITZ, AND THE SONDERKOMMANDO� by Marcello Pezzetti which goes over the process of persecution of the Jews which occurred in three phases. Pezzetti is a historian and Director of the Museum of Shoah in Rome. The other essay is ‘Italy in Greece: A short history of a major failure� by Umberto Gentiloni. The last is ‘About David Olere� by Jean Mouttapa.
So, to the book. Shlomo Venezia is interviewed by Béatrice Prasquier. She says ‘This account was compiled from a series of interviews I had with Shlomo Venezia in Rome, with the help of the historian Marcello Pezzetti, between April 13 and May 21, 2006.�
Shlomo was born in 1923 in Salonika, northern Greece which is now known Thessaloniki. His family have Italian nationality. The war really started for them with the invasion of Albania by Italy. The Italians came into Greece and even though he and his family were Jewish they were protected by their Italian nationality. Then on 08-Sep-1943 it was the end of the Italy-Germany alliance. Italy surrendered to the Allied forces. Shlomo knew they stood no chance against the Germans. Deportation was imminent. Between Mar-1943 and Aug-1944 over 50,000 were deported from Greece to Auschwitz. He was sent to Auschwitz on 11-Apr-1944.
You would think that a book in interview style of Q&A would not work but it does. The questions are short and the answers are long. The questions are not just stock questions. They do lead on from the answers given and it read like a normal factual book.
I will not go into the details of his job within the Sonderkommando (Special Command Unit � Special Detachment) as Shlomo goes over that. It is a ghastly job (understatement of the century). There are the haunting drawings by David Olere in the book to illustrate Shlomo’s answers. He was in Auschwitz at the time of the revolt and the evacuation to Austria.
The book also includes ‘THE SHOAH, AUSCHWITZ, AND THE SONDERKOMMANDO� by Marcello Pezzetti which goes over the process of persecution of the Jews which occurred in three phases. Pezzetti is a historian and Director of the Museum of Shoah in Rome. The other essay is ‘Italy in Greece: A short history of a major failure� by Umberto Gentiloni. The last is ‘About David Olere� by Jean Mouttapa.
November 12, 2017
Some books are beyond ratings and stars. This is one of them.
April 30, 2022
If you are only going to read one book about the Holocaust, let it be this one.
I read this book while also reading to remember Jews are so much more than what was done to us and so I do not fall into believing Jews have a monopoly on ethnic suffering and still keep in mind that this suffering continues today.
I hope I'll get around to writing a review soon but above all, I'm happy to commit to my promise to read a book about the Holocaust for every Holocaust Memorial Day.
I read this book while also reading to remember Jews are so much more than what was done to us and so I do not fall into believing Jews have a monopoly on ethnic suffering and still keep in mind that this suffering continues today.
I hope I'll get around to writing a review soon but above all, I'm happy to commit to my promise to read a book about the Holocaust for every Holocaust Memorial Day.
March 1, 2016
The only thing that stands in the way of a 5 star rating is Schlomo Venezia's self-discipline in the face of the historical method. He refuses to speculate on everything he wasn't an eyewitness to. His testimony to the legendary Sondernkommando uprising of '44 suffers for it, but otherwise he gives incomparable insight into one of the most intruiging aspects of life in Birkenau. The story of his youth in Greece touches upon a different sort of occupation, dictated by the deterioration of the German-Italian alliance and the obscure role of Bulgaria in the Holocaust.
June 8, 2017
Opinião aqui:
Para mim, este foi o pior relato acerca do Holocausto que eu alguma vez li até hoje...
Para mim, este foi o pior relato acerca do Holocausto que eu alguma vez li até hoje...
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November 21, 2018Ειλικρινά το να βαθμολογήσω ένα τέτοιο βιβλίο που περιγράφει τη δράση αυτών των μιασμάτων το θεωρώ άσχημο και ανήθικο. Ενώ γνωρίζουμε δυστυχώς τα γεγόνοτα διαβάζοντας μαρτυρίες επιζώντων νιώθουμε όπως αυτοί... ζωντανοί νεκροί...
Ήταν μια πορεία προς το θάνατο.
Μέσα από την αφήγηση του Σλόμο Βενέτσια ξαναζωντανεύουν αποστεωμένα πρόσωπα, τρομοκρατημένα μάτια, απεγνωσμένοι άνθρωποι που αγνοούσαν τι τους περίμενε. Κάποιοι ήλπιζαν πως θα ζήσουν, όμως οι περισσότεροι έβλεπαν στα μάτια των sonderkommando το θάνατό τους.
Σοκαριστικές περιγράφες, με έκαναν να κλάψω κ να λυγίσω. Με έκαναν να αναρωτηθώ. Η απερισκεψία κ η αλαζονία σε οδήγησε στο μεγαλύτερο έγκλημα κατά της ανθρωπότητας. Ναι, σε εσένα μιλάω...προσέφερες την κόλαση σε εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους. Αυτή την κόλαση που εύχομαι να ζεις εσύ τώρα..
Σκοτώνατε αθώους ανθρώπους για να ικανοποιήσετε τη ματαιοδοξία σας. Βασανίζατε ανθρώπινες ψυχές ρίχνοντας τους αέρια κ μετά τους καίγατε. Πυροβολούσατε μώρα 2-3 μηνών χωρίς κανένα οίκτο. Ξεφτυλίσατε την άνθρωπινη ύπαρξη. Καθάρματα κ κτήνη... αυτό ήσασταν.
Όσοι αντέχετε, διαβάστε το!
Ήταν μια πορεία προς το θάνατο.
Μέσα από την αφήγηση του Σλόμο Βενέτσια ξαναζωντανεύουν αποστεωμένα πρόσωπα, τρομοκρατημένα μάτια, απεγνωσμένοι άνθρωποι που αγνοούσαν τι τους περίμενε. Κάποιοι ήλπιζαν πως θα ζήσουν, όμως οι περισσότεροι έβλεπαν στα μάτια των sonderkommando το θάνατό τους.
Σοκαριστικές περιγράφες, με έκαναν να κλάψω κ να λυγίσω. Με έκαναν να αναρωτηθώ. Η απερισκεψία κ η αλαζονία σε οδήγησε στο μεγαλύτερο έγκλημα κατά της ανθρωπότητας. Ναι, σε εσένα μιλάω...προσέφερες την κόλαση σε εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους. Αυτή την κόλαση που εύχομαι να ζεις εσύ τώρα..
Σκοτώνατε αθώους ανθρώπους για να ικανοποιήσετε τη ματαιοδοξία σας. Βασανίζατε ανθρώπινες ψυχές ρίχνοντας τους αέρια κ μετά τους καίγατε. Πυροβολούσατε μώρα 2-3 μηνών χωρίς κανένα οίκτο. Ξεφτυλίσατε την άνθρωπινη ύπαρξη. Καθάρματα κ κτήνη... αυτό ήσασταν.
Όσοι αντέχετε, διαβάστε το!
March 21, 2012
An extremely harrowing read that takes the reader into a world of unimaginable horror. A truly humbling experience I would like to thank the author for the courage shown to share this important cautionary tale of what the worse man is capable of. I am an avid reader or World War II history and never has a book touched and shaken me as this one has. With that in mind I am glad I did read this book an would encourage all to take the journey as well. Nothing can make up for the wrongs visited upon the victims of the holocaust but we can honor them by remembering them and not forgetting the lessons learnt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2015
This is an amazing story told 60+ years after the fact. It's written "interview-style" where she ask him questions and he gives detailed answers. He didn't tell his story for many years, but finally felt comfortable to share his experience and I'm glad he did. Not may sonderkommand's lived to tell their stories... It's tragic and heart wrenching for sure. A definite book for anyone interested in the Holocaust as it's a perspective that I hadn't read or understood before.
February 20, 2024
Το πιο φρικιαστικό πράγμα που έχω διαβάσει�..
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February 16, 201527 gennaio 2014 - Giorno della Memoria
Da qualche anno ho deciso di celebrare la giornata della memoria, il 27 gennaio, leggendo un libro che ricordi la Shoah.
Quest'anno, in un periodo storico in cui il negazionismo sembra farsi largo sempre più prepotentemente, ho deciso di leggere «Sonderkommando Auschwitz» di Shlomo Venezia, perché il rischio di dimenticare, dopo che l'ultimo testimone oculare se ne sarà andato, sarà sempre in agguato, e soprattutto perché, come scriveva Hannah Arendt, «Non si può ricordare qualche cosa a cui non si è pensato e di cui non si è parlato con se stessi»*.
[*Ho trovato questa frase di Hannah Arendt insieme a questo link - - che annuncia l'uscita nelle sale, solo il 27 e il 28 gennaio, del film di Margarethe von Trotta a lei dedicato]
Da qualche anno ho deciso di celebrare la giornata della memoria, il 27 gennaio, leggendo un libro che ricordi la Shoah.
Quest'anno, in un periodo storico in cui il negazionismo sembra farsi largo sempre più prepotentemente, ho deciso di leggere «Sonderkommando Auschwitz» di Shlomo Venezia, perché il rischio di dimenticare, dopo che l'ultimo testimone oculare se ne sarà andato, sarà sempre in agguato, e soprattutto perché, come scriveva Hannah Arendt, «Non si può ricordare qualche cosa a cui non si è pensato e di cui non si è parlato con se stessi»*.
[*Ho trovato questa frase di Hannah Arendt insieme a questo link - - che annuncia l'uscita nelle sale, solo il 27 e il 28 gennaio, del film di Margarethe von Trotta a lei dedicato]
March 17, 2020
Έχοντας διαβάσει αρκετά βιβλία, αλλά και άρθρα σχετικά με το Ολοκαύτωμα, το μεγαλύτερο σχέδιο εξόντωσης που έχει συλλάβει ποτέ ανθρώπινος νους, είχα την τάση να αποφεύγω βιβλία που ανέλυαν άλλη μια από τα ίδια. Σε καμιά περίπτωση υποτιμώντας την πρόθεση ή την προσπάθεια του εκάστοτε συγγραφέα, μα πιστεύοντας ότι είχα εντρυφήσει αρκετά σ� αυτήν την ασύλληπτη φρίκη που στιγμάτισε δια παντός την ανθρωπότητα.
Παίρνοντας λοιπόν στα χέρια μου το Sonderkommando ξεκίνησα κάπως μουδιασμένα και επιφυλακτικά, μα πόσο έξω έπεσα. Μέσω της μεθόδου γραφής που έχει τη μορφή μιας εξομολογητικής στην ουσία συνέντευξης ενός Εβραίου που υπήρξε μέλος της επίλεκτης μονάδας εξοντώσεων των Sonderkommando- που ήταν επιφορτισμένοι να φέρουν εις πέρας το μακάβριο έργο που εκτυλίσσονταν στην καρδιά της κόλασης, στα Κρεματόρια- έπιασα πολλές φορές τον εαυτό μου να νιώθει ένα σφίξιμο στην καρδιά και τα μάτια να βαραίνουν μπροστά στις ανατριχιαστικά λεπτομερείς περιγραφές της “ανθρώπινης� διαστροφής. Όσες φορές κι αν προσπάθησα να εκλογικεύσω όλα όσα έγιναν τότε και οδήγησαν στην γενοκτονία του εβραϊκού έθνους και άλλων πληθυσμιακών ομάδων όπως τσιγγάνων, διανοητικά αναπήρων, ομοφυλόφιλων, πολιτικών κρατουμένων κτλ. δεν κατάφερε να χωρέσει το μυαλό μου πως κάποιοι έβαλαν μοναδικό σκοπό της ζωής τους την εξόντωση των συνανθρώπων τους. Ένα άσβεστο μίσος που άρχισε να σιγοκαίει μέσα από τις συντονισμένες και προσεκτικά δομημένες προσπάθειες του ναζιστικού καθεστώτος, γιγαντώθηκε με ανυπολόγιστες συνέπειες. Από μόνο του το γεγονός πως έθεσαν σε λειτουργία μια ολόκληρη κρατική μηχανή για να “υπηρετήσει� τη σύνθλιψη ανθρώπινων ζωών και κατ� επέκταση όλα τα μέτρα προφύλαξης που πήραν προκειμένου να σβήσουν τα ίχνη του κατάπτυστου έργου τους, να μην αφήσουν τίποτα πίσω που να μαρτυρά τη θηριωδία, να μην φτάσει τίποτα στις επόμενες γενιές, είναι ενδεικτικό της ναζιστικής ψύχωσης. Είναι χαρακτηριστικό πως ο πρωταγωνιστής του βιβλίου αυτού ο Σλόμο Βενέτσια όταν όλα είχαν πια τελειώσει, άργησε πολύ να μοιραστεί τα βιώματά του, μιας και ο κόσμος αφενός δεν ήταν σε καμιά περίπτωση έτοιμος να αποδεχτεί πως η διαστροφή των τεράτων μπορεί να είχε έστω και το παραμικρό ψήγμα αλήθειας και αφετέρου όσοι δεν βρέθηκαν σε στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης δεν γνώριζαν καν για την ύπαρξή τους. Αναφέρει μάλιστα σε κάποιο σημείο του βιβλίου πως όταν άρχισε να μιλάει για όσα έζησε σε έναν Εβραίο κοιτώντας πίσω του είδε κάποιον να κάνει νοήματα στον άλλον ότι ήταν τρελός για δέσιμο. “Ερχόμαστα� από έναν κόσμο τον οποίο είχαν προσπαθήσει να διαγράψουν από την ανθρωπότητα�.. Άλλο τόσο οδυνηρό όμως ήταν και για τον Σλόμο να μοιραστεί εμπειρίες τόσο επώδυνες.
Ένα ακόμη σημείο που θέλω να σταθώ και επιβεβαιώνεται περίτρανα διαβάζοντας το βιβλίο αυτό είναι πως ο άνθρωπος προκειμένου να επιβιώσει γίνεται θηρίο. Είναι απίστευτο τι άμυνες επιστρατεύονται για να μπορέσει να αντέξει και πολλές φορές να ξεπεράσει τα όρια του. Για εκείνους έφτανε να περάσουν ακόμα μια μέρα ζωντανοί στην κόλαση αυτή και να εξασφαλίσουν λίγη περισσότερη τροφή με κάθε τρόπο, το μόνο που θα ανέβαζε τα ποσοστά επιτυχίας στην επιβίωση. “Κάθ� μέρα προτιμούσαν να είναι νεκροί και κάθε μέρα πάλευαν για να ζήσουν�...
Είναι ένα βιβλίο που πρέπει να διαβάσει ο καθένας από εμάς. Οι άνθρωποι που κατάφεραν να επιζήσουν από τα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης έκαναν ό,τι ήταν ανθρωπίνως δυνατό προκειμένου να κρατήσουν άσβεστη την ιστορική μνήμη των γεγονότων, εις πείσμα των προσπαθειών των Γερμανών να αποκρύψουν με κάθε τρόπο τα πειστήρια αυτής της φρίκης, για την οποία πρέπει να αισθάνεται ντροπή όλη η ανθρωπότητα. Ήταν και είναι υπόθεση όλων μας. Εκείνων που τότε δεν κατέβαλαν καμιά απολύτως προσπάθεια για να σταματήσουν τον άκρατο ναζιστικό παραλογισμό, αντιμετωπίζοντας με πρωτόγνωρη παθητικότητα και αδιαφορία τόσους ανθρώπους να έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με μια μοίρα που ποτέ δεν είχαν επιλέξει. Και όλοι εμείς σήμερα να διαβάζουμε, να ενημερωνόμαστε να φροντίζουμε να νιώσουμε έστω και στο ελάχιστο την τρέλα, ώστε επιστρατεύοντας όλες μας τις δυνάμεις να αποτρέψουμε με κάθε τρόπο να συμβούν παρόμοια γεγονότα. Είμαστε επιφορτισμένοι με το καθήκον να διαφυλάξουμε την ιστορική μνήμη, να την περάσουμε στις επόμενες γενιές. Είναι πραγματικά συγκλονιστικό πως οι άνθρωποι που βίωσαν την κόλαση των στρατοπέδων συγκέντρωσης και ενώ γνώριζαν πως το μοιραίο ήταν θέμα χρόνου να συμβεί, έθαβαν στα προαύλια των στρατοπέδων σημειώματα που περιέγραφαν όσα είχαν περάσει, ώστε τίποτα να μην σβήσει, τίποτα να μην χαθεί, να μην περάσει στη λήθη, να μάθουν οι επόμενες γενιές την θηριωδία κάποιων που ήθελαν να ονομάζονται άνθρωποι.
Είχε πει κάποτε ο Μάνος Χατζηδάκις: “� μορφή του τέρατος είναι αποκρουστική. Όταν όμως το πρόσωπο του τέρατος πάψει να μας τρομάζει, τότε πρέπει να φοβόμαστε... γιατί αυτό σημαίνει ότι έχουμε αρχίσει να του μοιάζουμε�...
Παίρνοντας λοιπόν στα χέρια μου το Sonderkommando ξεκίνησα κάπως μουδιασμένα και επιφυλακτικά, μα πόσο έξω έπεσα. Μέσω της μεθόδου γραφής που έχει τη μορφή μιας εξομολογητικής στην ουσία συνέντευξης ενός Εβραίου που υπήρξε μέλος της επίλεκτης μονάδας εξοντώσεων των Sonderkommando- που ήταν επιφορτισμένοι να φέρουν εις πέρας το μακάβριο έργο που εκτυλίσσονταν στην καρδιά της κόλασης, στα Κρεματόρια- έπιασα πολλές φορές τον εαυτό μου να νιώθει ένα σφίξιμο στην καρδιά και τα μάτια να βαραίνουν μπροστά στις ανατριχιαστικά λεπτομερείς περιγραφές της “ανθρώπινης� διαστροφής. Όσες φορές κι αν προσπάθησα να εκλογικεύσω όλα όσα έγιναν τότε και οδήγησαν στην γενοκτονία του εβραϊκού έθνους και άλλων πληθυσμιακών ομάδων όπως τσιγγάνων, διανοητικά αναπήρων, ομοφυλόφιλων, πολιτικών κρατουμένων κτλ. δεν κατάφερε να χωρέσει το μυαλό μου πως κάποιοι έβαλαν μοναδικό σκοπό της ζωής τους την εξόντωση των συνανθρώπων τους. Ένα άσβεστο μίσος που άρχισε να σιγοκαίει μέσα από τις συντονισμένες και προσεκτικά δομημένες προσπάθειες του ναζιστικού καθεστώτος, γιγαντώθηκε με ανυπολόγιστες συνέπειες. Από μόνο του το γεγονός πως έθεσαν σε λειτουργία μια ολόκληρη κρατική μηχανή για να “υπηρετήσει� τη σύνθλιψη ανθρώπινων ζωών και κατ� επέκταση όλα τα μέτρα προφύλαξης που πήραν προκειμένου να σβήσουν τα ίχνη του κατάπτυστου έργου τους, να μην αφήσουν τίποτα πίσω που να μαρτυρά τη θηριωδία, να μην φτάσει τίποτα στις επόμενες γενιές, είναι ενδεικτικό της ναζιστικής ψύχωσης. Είναι χαρακτηριστικό πως ο πρωταγωνιστής του βιβλίου αυτού ο Σλόμο Βενέτσια όταν όλα είχαν πια τελειώσει, άργησε πολύ να μοιραστεί τα βιώματά του, μιας και ο κόσμος αφενός δεν ήταν σε καμιά περίπτωση έτοιμος να αποδεχτεί πως η διαστροφή των τεράτων μπορεί να είχε έστω και το παραμικρό ψήγμα αλήθειας και αφετέρου όσοι δεν βρέθηκαν σε στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης δεν γνώριζαν καν για την ύπαρξή τους. Αναφέρει μάλιστα σε κάποιο σημείο του βιβλίου πως όταν άρχισε να μιλάει για όσα έζησε σε έναν Εβραίο κοιτώντας πίσω του είδε κάποιον να κάνει νοήματα στον άλλον ότι ήταν τρελός για δέσιμο. “Ερχόμαστα� από έναν κόσμο τον οποίο είχαν προσπαθήσει να διαγράψουν από την ανθρωπότητα�.. Άλλο τόσο οδυνηρό όμως ήταν και για τον Σλόμο να μοιραστεί εμπειρίες τόσο επώδυνες.
Ένα ακόμη σημείο που θέλω να σταθώ και επιβεβαιώνεται περίτρανα διαβάζοντας το βιβλίο αυτό είναι πως ο άνθρωπος προκειμένου να επιβιώσει γίνεται θηρίο. Είναι απίστευτο τι άμυνες επιστρατεύονται για να μπορέσει να αντέξει και πολλές φορές να ξεπεράσει τα όρια του. Για εκείνους έφτανε να περάσουν ακόμα μια μέρα ζωντανοί στην κόλαση αυτή και να εξασφαλίσουν λίγη περισσότερη τροφή με κάθε τρόπο, το μόνο που θα ανέβαζε τα ποσοστά επιτυχίας στην επιβίωση. “Κάθ� μέρα προτιμούσαν να είναι νεκροί και κάθε μέρα πάλευαν για να ζήσουν�...
Είναι ένα βιβλίο που πρέπει να διαβάσει ο καθένας από εμάς. Οι άνθρωποι που κατάφεραν να επιζήσουν από τα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης έκαναν ό,τι ήταν ανθρωπίνως δυνατό προκειμένου να κρατήσουν άσβεστη την ιστορική μνήμη των γεγονότων, εις πείσμα των προσπαθειών των Γερμανών να αποκρύψουν με κάθε τρόπο τα πειστήρια αυτής της φρίκης, για την οποία πρέπει να αισθάνεται ντροπή όλη η ανθρωπότητα. Ήταν και είναι υπόθεση όλων μας. Εκείνων που τότε δεν κατέβαλαν καμιά απολύτως προσπάθεια για να σταματήσουν τον άκρατο ναζιστικό παραλογισμό, αντιμετωπίζοντας με πρωτόγνωρη παθητικότητα και αδιαφορία τόσους ανθρώπους να έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με μια μοίρα που ποτέ δεν είχαν επιλέξει. Και όλοι εμείς σήμερα να διαβάζουμε, να ενημερωνόμαστε να φροντίζουμε να νιώσουμε έστω και στο ελάχιστο την τρέλα, ώστε επιστρατεύοντας όλες μας τις δυνάμεις να αποτρέψουμε με κάθε τρόπο να συμβούν παρόμοια γεγονότα. Είμαστε επιφορτισμένοι με το καθήκον να διαφυλάξουμε την ιστορική μνήμη, να την περάσουμε στις επόμενες γενιές. Είναι πραγματικά συγκλονιστικό πως οι άνθρωποι που βίωσαν την κόλαση των στρατοπέδων συγκέντρωσης και ενώ γνώριζαν πως το μοιραίο ήταν θέμα χρόνου να συμβεί, έθαβαν στα προαύλια των στρατοπέδων σημειώματα που περιέγραφαν όσα είχαν περάσει, ώστε τίποτα να μην σβήσει, τίποτα να μην χαθεί, να μην περάσει στη λήθη, να μάθουν οι επόμενες γενιές την θηριωδία κάποιων που ήθελαν να ονομάζονται άνθρωποι.
Είχε πει κάποτε ο Μάνος Χατζηδάκις: “� μορφή του τέρατος είναι αποκρουστική. Όταν όμως το πρόσωπο του τέρατος πάψει να μας τρομάζει, τότε πρέπει να φοβόμαστε... γιατί αυτό σημαίνει ότι έχουμε αρχίσει να του μοιάζουμε�...
February 11, 2025
Una testimonianza importante sul terrore dei campi di sterminio, fatta da uno dei pochi sonderkommando sopravvissuti alla Shoah.
Se comprendere e� impossibile, conoscere e� necessario
Se comprendere e� impossibile, conoscere e� necessario
May 27, 2023
E' solo per stomaci forti questa testimonianza dell'inferno dei lager. Ed è una testimonianza particolare, perchè Shlomo Venezia non era un internato qualsiasi: faceva infatti parte del Sonderkommando, la squadra addetta all'accompagnamento dei prigionieri alle camere a gas e al trasporto dei cadaveri nei forni crematori. Un lavoro tremendo, straziante, svolto tuttavia con triste regolarità fino a che è diventato abitudine. Shlomo Venezia è testimone di fatti ed azioni davvero incredibili, ha assistito a scene che la mente umana fatica a credere reali se non in un film..e le racconta con un linguaggio asciutto, diretto, quasi documentario, (tant'è vero che il libro nasce da un'intervista) senza sconfinare in patetismi eccessivi o inutili recriminazioni.
Da leggere per approfondire ciò che Auschwitz ha significato.
Da leggere per approfondire ciò che Auschwitz ha significato.
December 9, 2024
Παρόλο που έχω ξαναδιαβάσει βιβλία αυτής της θεματολογίας με το συγκεκριμένο δυσκολεύτηκα αρκετά. Είναι που δεν διαβάζεις μια οποιαδήποτε μαρτυρία από τα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης (όχι ότι μειώνεται η θηριωδία αλλά αν έχεις ασχοληθεί με το Ολοκαύτωμα είσαι κάπως εξοικειωμένος με αυτά που θα διαβάσεις)αλλά βλέπεις με τα μάτια ενός επιζήσαντα Sonderkommando. Για όσους δεν γνωρίζουν τους Sonderkommando αποτελούσαν αποκλειστικά Εβραίοι των οποίων το έργο ήταν να αδειάζουν τους θαλάμους αερίων από τα πτώματα και να τα οδηγούν στους φούρνους για την καύση και οι οποίοι είχαν την ίδια κατάληξη μετά την διαλογή που γινόταν ανά τρεις μήνες. Ελάχιστοι επέζησαν.Ένας από αυτούς είναι ο Σλόμο Βενέτσια που έγραψε το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Οι περιγραφές είναι αρκετά ζόρικες, δεν αντέχονται εύκολα. Κάτι εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρον από την συγκεκριμένη μαρτυρία είναι ότι αντιλαμβάνεσαι την δύναμη που έχει το ένστικτο της επιβίωσης απέναντι σε οποιαδήποτε κατάσταση. Η ηθική και η αλληλεγγύη δεν μπορούν να το νικήσουν(υπάρχουν και κάποιες εξαιρέσεις)και αν το σκεφτείς σε βάθος αυτό είναι τρομακτικό. Δεν χωράει καμία κριτική. Αυτό που μένει είναι θυμός, λύπη και σίγουρα καμία λύτρωση, ειδικά βλέποντας σήμερα την ακροδεξιά να κερδίζει έδαφος.
February 11, 2018
What perhaps makes this “easier� to read is that it is presented in an interview format � Schlomo Venezia is recounting his story, and you can hear it in the (translated) text, in how conversational it is. And yet, it is also just the slightest bit distant � the distance necessary to be able to recount such horrors time and time again, the distance that allows one to relive it, have it surround one, without completely reconsuming him or her. The interviewer’s questions help direct Venezia’s story, but in an unobtrusive way; more often than not, they seek clarification on some point, or bring the previous question’s answer back around to another area (though a couple seemed slightly pointed � but then, that is not a no-no, either). Venezia’s story itself is clear, it progresses through time linearly, with enough details to help you see what he saw, but not so many that you feel overwhelmed by his witness.
As the title says, it recounts his eight months as part of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz, in addition to the months and years preceding his deportation with his family. As an Italian Jew living in Greece, he had some protection as a result of his Italian heritage and with Italy being a German ally, but it was not enough to protect him and his family from the harshness of the Reich’s pogrom. They too had to struggle to survive occupation, to make ends meet on the black market, until they were ultimately deported. His time as a Sonderkommando seems to pass quickly in the interview, from the sheer amount of detail he includes, the major events he recalled from the eight months, as well as the day-to-day moments which created his time in the camps, especially the ones that stuck out to him and stood out in his memory.
Venezia’s story is nicely supplemented with drawings by another Sonderkommando survivor, David Olère, as well as several appendixes, mostly of more specific historical context by various other contributors. Olère’s images give an easy visual to what Venezia describes (though his descriptions are clear enough as it is), and camp maps help show the placement of the events Venezia describes. The historical summary is very informative, I just wish I had had more time with the book to read it slower, really put it into my historical narrative that I have been building in my head with all of these diverse WWII/Holocaust readings I have done over the years. Besides the footnotes scattered throughout the book noting works for further reading, there was also a decent-sized bibliography at the end as well, for those who wish to delve deeper into different areas/topics brought up over the course of Venezia’s story.
Venezia is one of the very few Sonderkommando who survived to tell their story after WWII, and it is a story and a history very much worth the read. It illuminates so much of what went on “behind the scenes� so to speak, and clearly rejects any possibility of Holocaust denial � here is the undeniable and irrefutable proof that so many people died, and how they could seem to merely vanish in such a short time. The Nazi concentration camp machine was effective, to say the least, in its mission of mass murder and the covering up of the murders, and the Sonderkommando were the ones who directly saw the process of countless people going in to gas chambers, their corpses being taken out for ordered scavenging, and then burning the corpses and grinding up the bones to all but eliminate the evidence of the Nazi crimes in the camps. This is the hidden side of the story, the one that was never meant to make it out of the camps, but thanks to people such as Venezia who were lucky and clever enough to survive (for there is an element of cleverness, of gauging the situation and making a split-second, life-saving decision) it can be heard and read by countless numbers of people, so that maybe, just maybe, it will never happen again.
Quotes:
People kept on hoping that, if they did what they were told, they’d be spared. The reality was the complete opposite. � page 23
Typos:
…persons targeted by legislation � -- page 164 � no final period at the end of the sentence.
…January1943� -- page 192, no space between month and year.
As the title says, it recounts his eight months as part of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz, in addition to the months and years preceding his deportation with his family. As an Italian Jew living in Greece, he had some protection as a result of his Italian heritage and with Italy being a German ally, but it was not enough to protect him and his family from the harshness of the Reich’s pogrom. They too had to struggle to survive occupation, to make ends meet on the black market, until they were ultimately deported. His time as a Sonderkommando seems to pass quickly in the interview, from the sheer amount of detail he includes, the major events he recalled from the eight months, as well as the day-to-day moments which created his time in the camps, especially the ones that stuck out to him and stood out in his memory.
Venezia’s story is nicely supplemented with drawings by another Sonderkommando survivor, David Olère, as well as several appendixes, mostly of more specific historical context by various other contributors. Olère’s images give an easy visual to what Venezia describes (though his descriptions are clear enough as it is), and camp maps help show the placement of the events Venezia describes. The historical summary is very informative, I just wish I had had more time with the book to read it slower, really put it into my historical narrative that I have been building in my head with all of these diverse WWII/Holocaust readings I have done over the years. Besides the footnotes scattered throughout the book noting works for further reading, there was also a decent-sized bibliography at the end as well, for those who wish to delve deeper into different areas/topics brought up over the course of Venezia’s story.
Venezia is one of the very few Sonderkommando who survived to tell their story after WWII, and it is a story and a history very much worth the read. It illuminates so much of what went on “behind the scenes� so to speak, and clearly rejects any possibility of Holocaust denial � here is the undeniable and irrefutable proof that so many people died, and how they could seem to merely vanish in such a short time. The Nazi concentration camp machine was effective, to say the least, in its mission of mass murder and the covering up of the murders, and the Sonderkommando were the ones who directly saw the process of countless people going in to gas chambers, their corpses being taken out for ordered scavenging, and then burning the corpses and grinding up the bones to all but eliminate the evidence of the Nazi crimes in the camps. This is the hidden side of the story, the one that was never meant to make it out of the camps, but thanks to people such as Venezia who were lucky and clever enough to survive (for there is an element of cleverness, of gauging the situation and making a split-second, life-saving decision) it can be heard and read by countless numbers of people, so that maybe, just maybe, it will never happen again.
Quotes:
People kept on hoping that, if they did what they were told, they’d be spared. The reality was the complete opposite. � page 23
Typos:
…persons targeted by legislation � -- page 164 � no final period at the end of the sentence.
…January1943� -- page 192, no space between month and year.
March 1, 2013
Just like my Native American books everyone should read this book. It is not for the faint of heart. Just knowig that Shlomo got out alive after all the atrocities he had to endure and what he had to do in the gas chambers is unreal. It's very sad and I just can not understand all of the evil in the world. It's so much worse than we will ever know.....
April 23, 2021
SONDERKOMMANDO
μέσα από την κόλαση
των θαλάμων αερίων
Σλόμο Βενέτσια
Μετάφραση : Κυριακή Χρα
Πρόλογος : Σιμόν Βέιλ
Ο Σλόμο Βενέτσια είναι Ελληνοεβραίος ιταλικής καταγωγής. Γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε στη Θεσσαλονίκη μέχρι τον εκτοπισμό και τον εγκλεισμό του στο στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης του Άουσβιτς.
Με τη μορφή συνέντευξης / συζήτησης μας αφηγείται τη ζωή του στη Θεσσαλονίκη κατά την περίοδο της γερμανικής κατοχής. Έπειτα ήρθε η σειρά και της οικογένειας του, προστατευμένης λόγω ιταλικής καταγωγής όσο υπήρχε συμμαχία Ιταλίας - Γερμανίας, να οδηγηθεί στη φρίκη του Άουσβιτς. Περιγράφονται οι συνθήκες διαβίωσης στο κολαστήριο και οι μέθοδοι εξόντωσης κυρίως ανθρώπων πολωνικής και εβραϊκής καταγωγής. Η μαρτυρία αυτή όμως επικεντρώνεται στο σώμα των Sonderkommando που δημιουργηθεί στα μέσα του 1942, μετά την κατασκευή του Μπίρκεναου (Άουσβιτς ΙΙ). Πρόκειται για μια ομάδα κρατουμένων που είχαν επιλεγεί να δουλεύουν στα κρεματόρια των στρατοπέδων και ζούσαν απομονωμένοι από τους υπόλοιπους κρατούμενους. Η διοίκηση των Άουσβιτς - Μπίρκεναου κρατούσε με κάθε τρόπο κρυφές τις κτηνωδίες του ολοκαυτώματος. Επιφορτισμένοι με το πλέον δυσβάσταχτο καθήκον, οι Sonderkommando ήταν αναγκασμένοι να αδειάζουν τους φούρνους αερίων και να μεταφέρουν τους νεκρούς στα κρεματόρια, αφού άλλες ομάδες κρατουμένων κούρευαν τα πτώματα και αφαιρούσαν τα χρυσά δόντια του. Ο όγκος των μαζικών εκτελέσεων όμως ήταν τόσο μεγάλος που τα κρεματόρια δεν επαρκούσαν για την αποτέφρωση τόσων πτωμάτων οπότε είχαμε μαζικές καύσεις νεκρών.
Εικόνες αποτρόπαιες, η πιο μελανή περίοδος της ανθρωπότητας, πράξεις που ξεπερνούν την παράνοια.
" Από το κρεματόριο κανείς δε βγαίνει ζωντανός. "
"I'm not alive. People believe memories grow vague, are erased by time, since nothing endures against the passage of time. That's the difference; time does not pass over me, over us. It doesn't erase anything, doesn't undo it. I'm not a live. I died in Auschwitz but no one knows it."
Charlotte Delbo
"We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively witnessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere."
Primo Levi
μέσα από την κόλαση
των θαλάμων αερίων
Σλόμο Βενέτσια
Μετάφραση : Κυριακή Χρα
Πρόλογος : Σιμόν Βέιλ
Ο Σλόμο Βενέτσια είναι Ελληνοεβραίος ιταλικής καταγωγής. Γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε στη Θεσσαλονίκη μέχρι τον εκτοπισμό και τον εγκλεισμό του στο στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης του Άουσβιτς.
Με τη μορφή συνέντευξης / συζήτησης μας αφηγείται τη ζωή του στη Θεσσαλονίκη κατά την περίοδο της γερμανικής κατοχής. Έπειτα ήρθε η σειρά και της οικογένειας του, προστατευμένης λόγω ιταλικής καταγωγής όσο υπήρχε συμμαχία Ιταλίας - Γερμανίας, να οδηγηθεί στη φρίκη του Άουσβιτς. Περιγράφονται οι συνθήκες διαβίωσης στο κολαστήριο και οι μέθοδοι εξόντωσης κυρίως ανθρώπων πολωνικής και εβραϊκής καταγωγής. Η μαρτυρία αυτή όμως επικεντρώνεται στο σώμα των Sonderkommando που δημιουργηθεί στα μέσα του 1942, μετά την κατασκευή του Μπίρκεναου (Άουσβιτς ΙΙ). Πρόκειται για μια ομάδα κρατουμένων που είχαν επιλεγεί να δουλεύουν στα κρεματόρια των στρατοπέδων και ζούσαν απομονωμένοι από τους υπόλοιπους κρατούμενους. Η διοίκηση των Άουσβιτς - Μπίρκεναου κρατούσε με κάθε τρόπο κρυφές τις κτηνωδίες του ολοκαυτώματος. Επιφορτισμένοι με το πλέον δυσβάσταχτο καθήκον, οι Sonderkommando ήταν αναγκασμένοι να αδειάζουν τους φούρνους αερίων και να μεταφέρουν τους νεκρούς στα κρεματόρια, αφού άλλες ομάδες κρατουμένων κούρευαν τα πτώματα και αφαιρούσαν τα χρυσά δόντια του. Ο όγκος των μαζικών εκτελέσεων όμως ήταν τόσο μεγάλος που τα κρεματόρια δεν επαρκούσαν για την αποτέφρωση τόσων πτωμάτων οπότε είχαμε μαζικές καύσεις νεκρών.
Εικόνες αποτρόπαιες, η πιο μελανή περίοδος της ανθρωπότητας, πράξεις που ξεπερνούν την παράνοια.
" Από το κρεματόριο κανείς δε βγαίνει ζωντανός. "
"I'm not alive. People believe memories grow vague, are erased by time, since nothing endures against the passage of time. That's the difference; time does not pass over me, over us. It doesn't erase anything, doesn't undo it. I'm not a live. I died in Auschwitz but no one knows it."
Charlotte Delbo
"We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively witnessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere."
Primo Levi
September 25, 2023
Ce livre est un recueil d'entretien comprenant le témoignage de Shlomo Venezia. Juif Grec d'origine Italienne, il a été forcé durant son séjour à Auschwitz d'intégrer le Sonderkommando. Il était donc un des détenus qui envoyaient ses congénères dans les chambres à gaz, qui récupéraient leurs affaires, sortaient les corps et les brûlaient. Ce témoignage horrible et insupportable est indispensable dans un monde où les derniers témoins vont petit à petit disparaître du fait de leur âge. On apprend dans ce récit les rapports de domination, les moyens psychologiques des nazis pour faire accepter aux gens leur situation, les anecdotes des survivants pour tenir ou pour s'entraider et les événements encore méconnus. Une expérience de lecture intense.
March 24, 2024
<<Σκέψου ότι πολλές φορές κι εγώ ακόμα νομίζω ότι ήταν όλα ένα κακό όνειρο, ότι δεν έγιναν ποτέ στ'αλήθεια. Φαντάσου οι άλλοι τί θα σκέφτονται!>> Κι εγώ για αυτόν ακριβώς το λόγο επειδή όλα τούτα είναι τόσο αδιανόητα, πιστεύω ότι όσοι μπορούν να μιλήσουν πρέπει να το κάνουν.
September 29, 2023
Sonderkommando λοιπόν. Χρειάστηκε ψυχραιμία και χρόνος, μου πήρε περίπου μια βδομάδα για να τελειώσω τις 200 σελίδες καθαρού κειμένου (οι υπόλοιπες είναι ο πρόλογος και ένα εξαιρετικό ιστορικό υπόμνημα). Ξέρω ότι είμαστε πολλοί αυτοί που κυνηγάμε τα βιβλία που ασχολούνται με τον δεύτερο παγκόσμιο πόλεμο. Υπάρχει τεράστια διαφορά όμως ανάμεσα στο να διαβάζεις ένα μυθιστόρημα και στο να έχεις στα χέρια σου μια αληθινή μαρτυρία. Και το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο είναι μια καταγραφή υπό μορφή ερωτήσεων και απαντήσεων των αναμνήσεων του Σλόμο Βενέτσια, ενός Ελληνοεβραίου που εκτοπίστηκε στο Μπίρκεναου και κατάφερε να επιβιώσει.
Δεν υπάρχουν πολλά να πεις: ο Σλόμο μας μεταφέρει την απόλυτη φρίκη που έζησε στο στρατόπεδο. Δεν είναι ότι έμαθα κάτι καινούργιο, όσα περιγράφει ως γεγονότα είναι λίγο- πολύ γνωστά. Λογικά οι περισσότεροι θα έχετε δει ντοκιμαντέρ για το θέμα, ίσως να έχετε διαβάσει και άλλες μαρτυρίες, το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο όμως νομίζω πως δεν πρέπει να λείπει από τα αναγνώσματά σας. Είναι η αλήθεια του Σλόμο μέσα από τα μάτια του, τα γεγονότα που τον σημάδεψαν. Όπως λέει ο ίδιος στο τέλος της συνέντευξης "έχει πεθάνει μέσα του η ζωή" παρότι επέζησε. Τα απλά λόγια με τα οποία διηγείται δημιουργούν πολύ έντονες εικόνες, και σε αυτό βοηθούν πολύ και τα σκίτσα που υπάρχουν εμβόλιμα στο κείμενο και απεικονίζουν τα όσα περιγράφει ο Σλόμο.
Εξαιρετικό, καταπληκτικό για το είδος του, μοναδικό και διαφωτιστικό, φριχτό και δυστυχώς απολύτως αληθινό. Το μόνο (πολύ σοβαρό) πρόβλημα είναι ότι είναι εξαντλημένο, αλλά αν το βρείτε κάπου, σε βιβλιοθήκη, παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο ή όπου αλλού, πάρτε το αμέσως.
Δεν υπάρχουν πολλά να πεις: ο Σλόμο μας μεταφέρει την απόλυτη φρίκη που έζησε στο στρατόπεδο. Δεν είναι ότι έμαθα κάτι καινούργιο, όσα περιγράφει ως γεγονότα είναι λίγο- πολύ γνωστά. Λογικά οι περισσότεροι θα έχετε δει ντοκιμαντέρ για το θέμα, ίσως να έχετε διαβάσει και άλλες μαρτυρίες, το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο όμως νομίζω πως δεν πρέπει να λείπει από τα αναγνώσματά σας. Είναι η αλήθεια του Σλόμο μέσα από τα μάτια του, τα γεγονότα που τον σημάδεψαν. Όπως λέει ο ίδιος στο τέλος της συνέντευξης "έχει πεθάνει μέσα του η ζωή" παρότι επέζησε. Τα απλά λόγια με τα οποία διηγείται δημιουργούν πολύ έντονες εικόνες, και σε αυτό βοηθούν πολύ και τα σκίτσα που υπάρχουν εμβόλιμα στο κείμενο και απεικονίζουν τα όσα περιγράφει ο Σλόμο.
Εξαιρετικό, καταπληκτικό για το είδος του, μοναδικό και διαφωτιστικό, φριχτό και δυστυχώς απολύτως αληθινό. Το μόνο (πολύ σοβαρό) πρόβλημα είναι ότι είναι εξαντλημένο, αλλά αν το βρείτε κάπου, σε βιβλιοθήκη, παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο ή όπου αλλού, πάρτε το αμέσως.
February 17, 2018
This is by far the hardest book I have ever read. I almost gave up at one point but what kept me going was my wanting to find out how the author escaped to tell this important but horrific story. The details are very graphic and I think what surprized me most was that the gass that was used in the extermination of so many innocent lives, including women, children and even babies, was not one that leant itself to a humane death at all. I also hadn't thought about the magnitude of disposing of so many bodies. I was left feeling ashamed to even belong to the same species as these cruel perpetrators. However, I am still glad I read this first hand account, because now I know.
January 20, 2019
Tíživé a mrazivé čtení. U kterého si člověk říká, jak je vůbec možné, že se takové zrůdnosti opravdu děly? Bylo to nelehké čtení, ale musím říci, že formou rozhovoru se mi četlo daleko lépe, než když jde o knihu s dějem (mám však na mysli srovnání knih s tímhle tématem a v tomto prostředí). Překvapilo mne, že jsem na svůj čtecí vkus knihu “slupla� poměrně rychle. Přitom to byla pro mne doposud nejtíživější, nejděsivější a nejbrutálnější kniha o holocaustu.
Rozhodně je to čtení pro silnější povahy.
Určitě si dám "načas", než zase se pustím do další válečné knihy.
Rozhodně je to čtení pro silnější povahy.
Určitě si dám "načas", než zase se pustím do další válečné knihy.
July 13, 2020
Shlomo Venezia was a part of the Soderkommando at the Birkenau concentration camp, also known as Auschwitz II. He was a part of the workforce who had to put people in the gas chambers, take their bodies out and burn them; he had to murder his own people to keep his life. It is a harrowing account of the cruelty man can inflict. Although it is a small book only 250 pages long but its too intense to call it a quick read. The book is written in an interview format, Shlomo answers candidly and with utmost honesty, and the interviewer knows to probe at the points that matter.
March 18, 2025
"The German whose job it was to control the whole process often enjoyed making these people, who were about to die, suffer a little bit more. While waiting for the arrival of the SS man who was going to release the gas, he amused himself by switching the light on and off to frighten them a little more. When he switched off the light, you could hear a different sound emerging from the gas chambers; the people seemed to be suffocating with anguish, they'd realize they were going to die. Then he'd switch the light back on and you heard a sigh of relief, as if the people thought the operation had been canceled."
Shlomo Venezia was an Italian-Jew that lived in Greece. Eventually he and his family were deported out of Greece and sent to Poland to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He sadly lost most of his family. He was also given one of the worst jobs as a Nazi concentration camp. He was sonderkommando, a special group that had to clean the "showers" and dispose of the bodies.
I have read Holocaust memoirs, and they all were dark, but this was unsettling at times. I had to stop and take a break from reading it, but I had to persevere and finish this book. A powerful piece of history was being told, and I owed it to Mr. Venezia and all victims to the Nazi atrocities to get to the end.
This book was different because it was an interview. A question was asked, and Mr. Venezia provided an answer. Unlike most Sonderkommandos, he was not killed. Most were murdered by the Nazis to keep the "showers" a secret. Fortunately, he survived and was able to tell the world his story.
The things he witnesses can be described were cruel, inhumane, dehumanizing, and evil. When he described witnessing people stripped naked and forced into the gas chambers was absolutely chilling to read. These people knew they were going to die and there was no hope. Children in tears and their parents trying to comfort them the best they could in their last moments.
There were drawings in this book that provided a visual of what Mr. Venezia saw. They are just as tragic as a real photo. The charcoal sketches really do a good job presenting the history of the Holocaust and Mr. Venezia's experiences.
There are other events that happen in the book, but it is best for you to read it and hear his story. It is not an easy book to read because of the horror described, but it is not poorly written at all. In fact, the writing is engaging, and I wanted to keep reading, but a part of me just needed to put the book down and process everything. This is definitely one of the best Holocaust memoirs out there. It provides a story we do not hear. We know about the gas chambers, but to have someone tell you his job cleaning the chambers after the crime is a different perspective.
Shlomo Venezia was an Italian-Jew that lived in Greece. Eventually he and his family were deported out of Greece and sent to Poland to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He sadly lost most of his family. He was also given one of the worst jobs as a Nazi concentration camp. He was sonderkommando, a special group that had to clean the "showers" and dispose of the bodies.
I have read Holocaust memoirs, and they all were dark, but this was unsettling at times. I had to stop and take a break from reading it, but I had to persevere and finish this book. A powerful piece of history was being told, and I owed it to Mr. Venezia and all victims to the Nazi atrocities to get to the end.
This book was different because it was an interview. A question was asked, and Mr. Venezia provided an answer. Unlike most Sonderkommandos, he was not killed. Most were murdered by the Nazis to keep the "showers" a secret. Fortunately, he survived and was able to tell the world his story.
The things he witnesses can be described were cruel, inhumane, dehumanizing, and evil. When he described witnessing people stripped naked and forced into the gas chambers was absolutely chilling to read. These people knew they were going to die and there was no hope. Children in tears and their parents trying to comfort them the best they could in their last moments.
There were drawings in this book that provided a visual of what Mr. Venezia saw. They are just as tragic as a real photo. The charcoal sketches really do a good job presenting the history of the Holocaust and Mr. Venezia's experiences.
There are other events that happen in the book, but it is best for you to read it and hear his story. It is not an easy book to read because of the horror described, but it is not poorly written at all. In fact, the writing is engaging, and I wanted to keep reading, but a part of me just needed to put the book down and process everything. This is definitely one of the best Holocaust memoirs out there. It provides a story we do not hear. We know about the gas chambers, but to have someone tell you his job cleaning the chambers after the crime is a different perspective.
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