Witness to Annihilation: Surviving the Holocaust

by Samuel Drix

When the German Army captured Lwów, Poland, in 1941, the city contained a vibrant Jewish community of 160,000 people. By 1945, all but a few hundred were dead.  Witness to Annihilation  is the book that Samuel Drix vowed he would write. Drix endured nearly a year in the Janowska concentration camp, escaped and hid from the Nazis, was liberated by the Red Army, and eventually fled from behind the Iron Curtain to America. This rare Holocaust memoir by a caring physician will both horrify and inspire.

Genres: Holocaust

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one man's harrowing account of his life before and after the Holocaust. He begins the book in 1939 as he is finishing up his one year internship and beginning his first year residency as a doctor. Another Doctor, Dr. Merkel, pointed out that "we are living in historical times, and this is our disaster." Dr. Dix thought that it was exciting to live in historical times with some hint of disaster, believing his peer to be overly alarmed. Like others he believed that Hitler was bluffing. Sadly, he learned that was not the case and like his peer, he learned that living during historical times was indeed a disaster.

The book opens with a lot of historical information on Poland and on the political state of Europe. France had a long standing treaty with Poland stating that they would go to war to defend Poland. Many had the falsce hope that France would save them. This was not to be. Germany was making advances across Europe. In 1939 Russia and Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbenrop Pact and WW2 was around the corner. Still people believed that the war would be a short one, Germany would be defeated, and life would go back to normal. The pack between Russia and Germany had a secret clause - Poland would be partitioned between them.The Western part of Poland would go to Germany. The Easter part of Poland would go to the Soviet Union.

Dr. Dix discussed what it was like to be under Soviet occupation. One thing I found interesting was that during the Soviet occupation Antisemitism was against the law when in the past it was open and legal. Things quickly deteriorated for Dr. Dix, his wife and their young daughter. Rations were extremely low and they had to wear white armbands. Eventually they were place in the ghetto. Disease (typhoid fever and Typhus) were widespread and people were starving. In the Middle of March 1942, during the Passover holiday, German officials announced that the Jewish Ghettos were overpopulated and announded the unemployed, sick and undesirables would be "Relocated".

On Monday, August 10, 1972 Dr. Dix entered Janowska Camp. Five days later he finds his brother there and in 7 days he finds his father in law. Upon meeting his father in law he learns that his Mother in law and his wife have been sent to another camp.

Life in the camp was horrific and atrocities were rampant and occurred on a daily basis. Roll Call was terrifying. Individuals were pulled out and shot at random. Hangings were frequent. Two guards would hide at night and attack those trying to use the latrines at night. Women survived at the camp for 8 months and then they were "exterminated". One account told of how a Man named Heinen had 2 women strip and lie naked on the floor. He had one open her legs and shot her in the Vagina to see if he could kill her that way before shooting her in the head. This man bragged of killing over 400 Jews with his bare hands and was called "Jack the Ripper" at the camp. Heinen almost died of typhus but lilved on on June 24, 1943 escaped the camp.

The author also sprinkled in details of the war and what was happening during his time in a concentration camp and after his escape. He eventually learned that his 2 year old daughter he believed to be safe had been killed by the Nazis. He went on to become a doctor in Germany and then eventually in the United States. He remarried while still in Poland and had a son. In 1967 he testified in the German Court of Stuttgatt and in 1977 in the German Court of Saabrucken.

He eventually began to work for the German Consultant to help Holocaust survivors obtain their retribution from Germany. He wrote that he believed writing his memoir was his sacred duty.

This book is rich in detail and gives a detailed account of what life was like before and after the WW2. I find it hard to say I enjoyed this book (the extermination of people should never be an enjoyable read) but I will say that it was engrossing and insightful. Very well written and sheds light on a lesser known concentration camp.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read too many Holocaust books. This is a very detailed book writen by a jewish doctor , who was in a couple of consentration camps. He was one of only 17 that survived the war. He tells of his upbringing, his well to do life and his whole family. He goes into how almost everyone of them was npicked up one by one and either executed on the spot or sent to a camp and either died, were murdered, or were lucky enough to last thru the war until the allies freed them. Not a plesant read, but the facts arent plesant. There is very little in this book that can make you feel good. History is like that. If you nare into olocaust history6, this is a must read. It was writen in 1994 originally. 240 pages (apx)

[Josh Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for anyone who wants to know what it was really like for a Jew in a concentration camp for nearly a year during the height of WWII. Very graphic, disturbing, sad first hand account of the atrocities that took place in one of the lesser known camps in Southern Poland (modern day Ukraine). Certainly worth the read if it is your style but it was a little too much for me.