HOLOCAUST HiSTORIES

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Noah was a French Jew born the same year Hitler published Vol.1 of Mein Kampf. He was just 14 years old when he founded a French resistance group. They attempted to rescue Belgian Jews by smuggling them to Switzerland. Noah was eventually captured and sent to Auschwitz, where he trained at the boxing gym with Victor Perez. There was one big difference between the two - Victor was a professional and talented boxer; while Noah was pretending to be…a dangerous decision Victor warned him about. Meanwhile, back in Strasbourg, the Nazis were attempting to create a collection and display of Jewish skeletons.  This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Noah Klieger.

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Jonas Kessler was a German Jew who grew up alongside Nazism. When he was 10 years old, his father died fighting for Germany during World War 1...1 of 12,000 German Jews. Jonas was a natural athlete, participating in various sports. He trained at 1 of the 2 Jewish boxing gyms in Germany at the time. Jonas fell in love and had two children but when the Nazi Party was elected into power in 1933, things became increasingly dire for German Jews like Jonas. His life was uprooted as he attempted to escape to Belgium and Poland. He would eventually be sent to the same concentration camp Oskar Schindler had a factory. This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Jonas Kessler.

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This episode is a continuation from the last. It’s recommended to listen to episode 5 before this. Here is the conclusion to the story of Teddy.

Special thanks to Basti!

Music video for Basti - Teddy: https://tinyurl.com/bastiteddy

Basti Insta: https://www.instagram.com/basti_rap_channel/

Basti YouTube: https://bit.ly/BastiYoutube

Basti Spotify: https://bit.ly/BastiSpotify

Tadeusz Pietrzykowski was the Warsaw Bantamweight Champion prior to the outbreak of World War 2. His prominence in Poland led to his nickname - Teddy. Teddy was not Jewish but faced persecution from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union due to his Polish nationality. In World War 2, Polish citizens - especially in the city of Warsaw - faced particular horrors and in greater numbers. More Poles were killed than any other European Country - excluding Germany. Poland also had the highest death rate in World War 2 sitting above 17%, including about 90% of the Jewish population.

 

Teddy would be sent to Auschwitz where his boxing abilities would be tested under the extraordinary circumstance of life or death. Teddy joined an underground resistance group inside the camp, and engaged in an assassination attempt of a Nazi leader. He confronted danger courageously on numerous occasions during the war - just like many Polish citizens. The first mass uprising in German Occupied Europe took place in Warsaw followed by another, even larger scale uprising the next year. This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski.

 

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Salamo Arouch & Jacko Razon were born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, the only city in Europe to have Jews as the majority of the population. They trained together at a boxing gym, Salamo eventually becoming a successful boxer while Jacko became a professional footballer.

Then World War 2 started and both joined the Greek military. Both experienced hell in concentration camps and both boxed other prisoners with their life on the line. The fate of the two was remarkable and similar. So similar, that when a movie is made about Salamos story decades after the war, he would be sued for stealing it from Jacko. This is a story of bravery, resilience and greed. The story of Salamo Arouch and Jacko Razon.