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

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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.

Johann Trollmann was born in Germany before the first World War to Sinti parents. Sinti were referred to by the Nazis as: Gypsies - a derogatory term.  Much like the Jews, they were a minority group that the Germans disdained. The Nazis viewed them as an inferior race to be detained and murdered.

Nazism and anti-semitism grew rapidly in the 1930s alongside Johanns boxing career. He became a professional boxer, known for his phenomenal footwork and won the German Light Heavyweight Championship. The Nazis revoked his title because he was Sinti. Johann was deported to concentration camps, and recognized as a famous boxer, forced to fight with his life on the line for the amusement of the SS. Besides death fights, Johann faced numerous other horrors including medical experimentation. This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Johann Trollmann.

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Italian Jew Pacifico Di Consiglio was the epitome of courage and tenacity during World War 2. In spite of Italian Fascism led by dictator Benito Mussolini and Nazis occupying Italy, Pacifico remained assertive. He was increasingly infuriated by the the discrimination he and other Jews faced. He was angered to the point of provocation, where, as a wanted and hunted Jew, Pacifico became the Hunter himself.

As a defiant and dauntless 17 year old, he trained in boxing and began to protect the Jewish community from Italian and German oppressors. A combination of luck and brilliance allowed him to escape captivity in remarkable fashion on numerous occasions, only to thrust himself back into action. This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Pacifico Di Consiglio. 

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Episode information and sources can be found here.

Victor Perez traveled from the Jewish district of Tunisia to the metropolitan city of Paris to pursue his dream of becoming an internationally known boxer. His dream came true as he won the World Boxing Flyweight Championship. He quickly became a celebrity throughout Europe and would date a famous French actress, forming one of the biggest celebrity couples in the 1930s.

Victor would go from riches to rags with the onset of World War 2. He would endure torturous conditions as a prisoner of the infamous Monowitz concentration camp, a labor sub-camp of Auschwitz built by German pharmaceutical company IG Farben and commanded by SS boxing fanatic, Heinrich Schwarz. Victor would box against other inmates: the winner received extra food rations while the loser was killed. This is a story of bravery and resilience. The story of Victor Perez.

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Episode information and sources can be found here.

Check out the trailer for Season 1 of Holocaust Histories - the brand new podcast featuring mind-boggling stories from the Holocaust that you’ve never heard.

Thank you for listening.

Produced by Jonathan Bonder (jonathanbonder.com)

Music by JayBeeBeats (jaybeebeats.bandcamp.com)