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Prominent Holocaust survivors die, including the ‘librarian of Auschwitz’ and the last Warsaw Ghetto fighter

JL;DR SUMMARY Several prominent Holocaust survivors, representing the dwindling number of eyewitness voices to the atrocities, have recently passed away, marking the end of an era. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

AuschwitzHolocaust SurvivorsJewish IdentityHolocaust EducationWarsaw Ghetto UprisingHolocaust MemoryNakamResistanceRavensbrückHistories Of Testimony

Places mentioned

Gdansk, Pomerania, Poland
"Smuss was born in 1926 in what is now known as Gdansk, Poland, before he was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto along with half a million Jews during World War II."
Krakow, Lesser Poland, Poland
"Yehuda Idek Friedman, a member of the secret postwar paramilitary group Nakam that attempted to poison German prisoners of war, died in October at 105. Born in 1919 in Krakow, Poland, Friedman was one of seven children."
Warsaw, Mazovia, Poland
"Born Rutenka Wajsberg in April 1929 in Warsaw, Posner was ousted from her home with her family and sent to the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust."
Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
"Born Selma Velleman on June 7, 1922, in Amsterdam, van de Perres father was arrested by the Nazis and taken to Camp Westerbork in 1941."
Prague, Prague, Hlavní mešto, Czechia
"Born in 1929 in Prague, Kraus was 13 when she was sent with her parents to the Terezn ghetto in 1942."
London, England, United Kingdom
"Ruth Posner, an acclaimed dancer and actress who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto along with her aunt as a child, died on Sept. 21 at 96 by assisted suicide in Switzerland with her husband, Michael. Born Rutenka Wajsberg in April 1929 in Warsaw, Posner was ousted from her home with her family and sent to the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust."
Riga, Latvia
"Goldbergs remaining family was sent to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia, where Goldberg was able to celebrate his bar mitzvah in secret despite the harsh conditions and brutality they faced."
Hamburg, Germany
"Dita Kraus takes part in the commemorative event to mark the 79th anniversary of the end of the war and the liberation of the prisoners of the former Neuengamme concentration camp on May 3, 2024 in Hamburg, Germany."

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Retrieved 2025-11-13 18:00:38 UTC
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