The Christ from Auschwitz Christ from Auschwitz

by Zofia Posmysz

Zofia Posmysz, born August 23, 1923, was a student at a trade school in Krakow, Poland when the Second World War began. She had studied German in school, and in a bid to avoid deportation by the Nazis, she found work as a waitress in a German Army canteen. When she was 18, while studying at an underground university, she was arrested for associating with fellow students who were distributing anti-Nazi German leaflets. She was sent first to the main camp at Auschwitz, but was later transferred to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. There she met fellow prisoner Tadeusz Paolone-Lisowski, who gifted her a medallion with an image of Jesus Christ that was secretly made in the camp by another Auschwitz prisoner. Tadeusz would tragically die at Auschwitz and Zofia would survive several concentration camps before being liberated. This is her telling of this history. She lived from the end of the war until recently in Warsaw. Zofia Posmysz died August 8, 2022 at the age of 98 in Oswiecim, Poland - the city where the Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp was located - and is buried in the same city, according to her wishes. The book is published in both Polish as well as English and is supplemented with photographs and artwork - a total of 61 pages.

61 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

Zofia Posmysz-Piasecka (née Posmysz) was a Polish journalist, novelist, and author.

She was a resistance fighter in World War II and survived imprisonment at the Auschwitz and Ravensbrück concentration camps. Her autobiographical account of the Holocaust in occupied Poland Passenger from Cabin 45 became the basis for her 1962 novel Passenger, subsequently translated into 15 languages.​ The original radio drama was adapted for an award-winning feature film, while the novel was adapted into an opera by the same title.

Reviews

[herbatk a · Rating 5 out of 5]

for some reason original text isn't on goodreads??
maybe that's better bc my review will reach more people?

okay so i came here to tell you that this story is very moving.
Mrs Zofia Posmysz writes about her time in hell - kl auschwitz.
well, the story only covers some of that time - a couple of weeks or months. just a small part. it's upsetting and scary, of course it is. although Zofia's poetic writing style probably makes it easier to read.

in comparison with other stories from the nazi german camps, this one is lighter. it mostly focuses on a connection with another prisoner and on author's inner world, emotions.

i feel connected to the author even though i've never met her. i know people who knew her though. and i know things about her. she was such a good person

i haven't physically read the story, i listened to it. i'll read more of Zofia's books

read it please. it's short. and important (and very interesting! i haven't said much abt the plot - why is christ in the title? it's for you to find out)