Sam Pivnik
Encyclopedia
Sam Pivnik is a Holocaust survivor (birthname Szmuel Piwnik) born on 1 September 1926 in Bedzin
, in South-western Poland
near the border with Germany
, the second son of Lajb Piwnik, a tailor, and Feigel Piwnik.
As a Jewish family, the Piwniks were forced to live in the Kamionka Ghetto in Bedzin
from early 1943 and on 6 August 1943 the family were deported to Auschwitz II/Birkenau. Sam Piwnik's father and mother, younger sister Chana and younger brothers Meir, Wolf and Josef were murdered on arrival. His older sister Handel survived for a period of around ten days before she was also 'selected' for the gas chambers.
Sam Pivnik was registered in the camp and tattooed with prisoner number 135913. After a period of approximately two weeks in the 'Quarantine' area of Birkenau, Pivnik was assigned to the Rampkommando where he worked unloading newly arrived trains after the prisoners had been taken away for entry to the camp or gassing. This gave him access to food and valuables from prisoners luggage and he was able to use this to keep himself fed and to bribe Kapos, prisoner-overseers and trusties.
On 27 December 1943 Pivnik was admitted to the prisoner infirmary in the Quarantine area KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau, B IIa, Block 9) with suspected typhus. He survived several 'selections' and on 11 January 1944 was admitted to the main prisoners' hospital at KL-Auschwitz II-Birkenau B IIf. Following his recovery from typhus, Pivnik was selected for a work detail to go to KL Auschwitz III/Fürstengrube, a coal mine where he was assigned to the construction detail and appointed as a Vorarbeiter or overseer. During his period at Auschwitz, he came to know both Otto Moll
and Josef Mengele
by sight.
On 19 January 1945 the camp at Fürstengrube was evacuated in the face of the advancing Red Army
and prisoners who were fit enough to move were, initially, marched to a railhead at Gleiwitz. Many of those who were not fit were shot by SS guards led by SS-Oberscharführer Max Schmidt. After a nine day rail journey in which the prisoners were given no additional rations, Pivnik's group arrived at KL Dora-Mittelbau on 28 January 1945. Pivnik spent the next three months on construction work before he - together with approximately 200 other former Fürstengrube prisoners - were evacuated by barge along the River Elbe
to Holstein
in northern Germany
. In Holstein, the prisoners were assigned to farm labour, with Pivnik himself sent to work at Max Schmidt's parents' farm at Neu Glasau.
At the beginning of May 1945, Pivnik and other former Fürstengrube prisoners, were marched to the port of Neustadt
from where they were loaded, on 3 May 1945, aboard the former German cruise ship Cap Arcona which was being used as a prison ship for concentration camp inmates along with the Thielbek, Athen and Deutschland
. Within hours of Pivnik boarding, the flotilla was attacked by fighter-bombers of the Royal Air Force
and both Cap Arcona and Thielbek were set on fire and sunk. As one of the last to board, Pivnik was on an upper deck and was thus able to jump from the ship and eventually swim ashore. Out of approximately 7,000 prisoners on board the two ships, no more than 500 survived.
Pivnik was liberated by the British Army
in Neustadt on 4 May 1945.
Bedzin
Będzin is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza river , the city borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metro area with a population of about 2 million.It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its...
, in South-western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
near the border with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the second son of Lajb Piwnik, a tailor, and Feigel Piwnik.
As a Jewish family, the Piwniks were forced to live in the Kamionka Ghetto in Bedzin
Będzin Ghetto
Będzin Ghetto or the Bendzin Ghetto was a ghetto established for Jews by Nazi German authorities in occupied Poland during the Holocaust. A major ghetto in East Upper Silesia, it was created in May 1942...
from early 1943 and on 6 August 1943 the family were deported to Auschwitz II/Birkenau. Sam Piwnik's father and mother, younger sister Chana and younger brothers Meir, Wolf and Josef were murdered on arrival. His older sister Handel survived for a period of around ten days before she was also 'selected' for the gas chambers.
Sam Pivnik was registered in the camp and tattooed with prisoner number 135913. After a period of approximately two weeks in the 'Quarantine' area of Birkenau, Pivnik was assigned to the Rampkommando where he worked unloading newly arrived trains after the prisoners had been taken away for entry to the camp or gassing. This gave him access to food and valuables from prisoners luggage and he was able to use this to keep himself fed and to bribe Kapos, prisoner-overseers and trusties.
On 27 December 1943 Pivnik was admitted to the prisoner infirmary in the Quarantine area KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau, B IIa, Block 9) with suspected typhus. He survived several 'selections' and on 11 January 1944 was admitted to the main prisoners' hospital at KL-Auschwitz II-Birkenau B IIf. Following his recovery from typhus, Pivnik was selected for a work detail to go to KL Auschwitz III/Fürstengrube, a coal mine where he was assigned to the construction detail and appointed as a Vorarbeiter or overseer. During his period at Auschwitz, he came to know both Otto Moll
Otto Moll
Otto Moll was an SS-Hauptscharführer and part of the staff at Auschwitz. Born in Hohenschonberg, Germany on March 4, 1915 and was executed on May 28, 1946 in Landsberg am Lech....
and Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
by sight.
On 19 January 1945 the camp at Fürstengrube was evacuated in the face of the advancing Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and prisoners who were fit enough to move were, initially, marched to a railhead at Gleiwitz. Many of those who were not fit were shot by SS guards led by SS-Oberscharführer Max Schmidt. After a nine day rail journey in which the prisoners were given no additional rations, Pivnik's group arrived at KL Dora-Mittelbau on 28 January 1945. Pivnik spent the next three months on construction work before he - together with approximately 200 other former Fürstengrube prisoners - were evacuated by barge along the River Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
to Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
in northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In Holstein, the prisoners were assigned to farm labour, with Pivnik himself sent to work at Max Schmidt's parents' farm at Neu Glasau.
At the beginning of May 1945, Pivnik and other former Fürstengrube prisoners, were marched to the port of Neustadt
Neustadt
- Germany :* in Baden-Württemberg:** Titisee-Neustadt, a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald* in Bavaria:** Bad Neustadt an der Saale, the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district...
from where they were loaded, on 3 May 1945, aboard the former German cruise ship Cap Arcona which was being used as a prison ship for concentration camp inmates along with the Thielbek, Athen and Deutschland
SS Deutschland (1923)
SS Deutschland Sometimes called Deutschland IV to distinguish from others of the name was a 21,046 gross registered ton German HAPAG ocean liner which was sunk in a British air attack in 1945, with great loss of life....
. Within hours of Pivnik boarding, the flotilla was attacked by fighter-bombers of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and both Cap Arcona and Thielbek were set on fire and sunk. As one of the last to board, Pivnik was on an upper deck and was thus able to jump from the ship and eventually swim ashore. Out of approximately 7,000 prisoners on board the two ships, no more than 500 survived.
Pivnik was liberated by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in Neustadt on 4 May 1945.