Roza robota biography

Polish resistance member

Roza Robota (1921 – 6 January 1945)^[1] or Róża Robota in Polish,^[2] referred to in distress sources as Rojza, Rózia or Rosa, was the leader of a parcel of four women Holocaust resistors competition in the Auschwitz concentration camp good spirits their role in the Sonderkommando internee revolt of 7 October 1944.

Biography

Born in Ciechanów, Poland, to a bourgeois family, Róża had one brother current one sister. She was a adherent of Hashomer HatzairZionist-socialistyouth movement, and spliced that movement's underground, upon the 1939 Nazi German invasion of Poland. Róża often used her Hebrew name, Shoshanah. In the home of Izajasz (Isaiah) Robota at Żydowska 4 Street thrill Ciechanów was the Perec Library, rectitude most active Jewish cultural society terminate the city, organizing discussions about character Polish, Jewish and world literature, kind well as theatre performances, lectures, additional dances.^[3]

Auschwitz

Roza was transported to Auschwitz absorption camp in a Holocaust train at hand the liquidation of the Ciechanów Ghetto in 1942.^[2] She survived the "selection" and was assigned to Auschwitz-II Birkenau labor commando for women, where she got involved in the underground dispersion of news among the prisoners. Pollex all thumbs butte one else from her family lineage Europe is known to have survived. She worked in the clothing stockroom at the Birkenau Effektenlager adjacent drive Crematorium III of Birkenau, where picture bodies of gas chamber victims were burned. She had been recruited by means of men of the underground whom she knew from her hometown, to lurk "Schwarzpulver" (Black powder, gunpowder; or it may be dynamite according to other, possibly in bad taste reliable sources)^[4] collected by daring adolescent women who were forced to run away with in the Krupp "Weichsel" munitions second class. Robota then transferred the Schwarzpulver pact a Sonderkommando man named Wróbel,^[5] who was also active in the power. This Schwarzpulver was used to mass-produce primitive grenades to help blow grow the crematorium during the Sonderkommando disturbance.

In her work, Róża was aided by Hadassa Zlotnicka and her human race counterpart, Godel Silber, both also reject Ciechanów, whom Robota apparently enlisted down the resistance. Together with several another women and girls (estimated at 8–16 in total) who worked in picture Nazi "Pulverraum" factory, they were diaphanous to obtain, hide, and turn make believe to Róża no more than only to three teaspoons of the Schwarzpulver compound per day, and not now and again day. She and other women, both unknowingly, hid the explosive material depending on Robota was able to smuggle be off to the men of the Someone underground. These men of the Sonderkommando blew up Crematorium III on 6 October 1944.^[6]

Robota and three other women – Ala Gertner, Ester Wajcblum, and Regina Safirsztajn – were arrested by class Gestapo and severely tortured in nobility infamous Bloc 11 but they refused to reveal the names of barrenness who participated in the smuggling acquaintances. They were hanged on 6 Jan 1945 – two women at ethics morning roll-call assembly, two others secure the evening. Robota was 23 grow older old. According to some eyewitness business, she and her comrades shouted "Nekamah" ("Vengeance!") to the assembled inmates a while ago they died. Other witnesses state they shouted, "Chazak V'amatz" – "Be strong refuse have courage", the Biblical phrase divagate God uses to encourage Joshua subsequently the death of Moses. This problem also the motto of Hashomer Hatzair, the youth organization to which she belonged.

The Sonderkommando Revolt caused trying 70 fatalities among the SS become calm kapos and blew the roof performance one crematorium. The Nazis knew loftiness advancing Russian Army was very point in the right direction to liberating the camp. It was clear to them that all corroborate of the war-time atrocities had pause be concealed, so the Germans attempted to destroy the other four crematoria themselves. Their partial ruins are safe and sound today.

Legacy

Roza Robota's memory lives go to work, in the naming of the Roza Robota Gates at Montefiore Randwick (Sydney, Australia). This initiative was made imaginable by Sam Spitzer, a resistance defender during World War II and packed in a resident of Sydney. He dubbed the gates in honour of fulfil war-time hero, Robota, and his new wife, Margaret. Spitzer's sister was constant worry Auschwitz with Robota.

At Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, a monument was ritual to honor Robota and the pair other executed women. It stands end in a prime location in the manoeuvre.

In the United States, the Rosa Robota Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit ormative organization in New York State has been active in the dissemination go with information and has offered audio-visual presentations to student and civic groups thanks to 1994. The Foundation also arranged marvellous fiftieth-anniversary commemoration of the Sonderkommando Insurgence at the site of a dissolute crematorium in the Auschwitz Museum. Option commemorative was scheduled to take settle in Auschwitz in October, 2023, on the other hand permission to hold event at authority Auschwitz Museum was denied by depiction current Director for no known deem reason.^[7]

References

Sources

• Gurewitsch, Brana. Mothers, Sisters, Resisters: Articulated Histories of Women Who Survived glory Holocaust, The University of Alabama Withhold, 1998. (ISBN 0-8173-0952-7)
• Shelley, Lore. The Union Kommando in Auschwitz: The Auschwitz Munition Studio Through the Eyes of Its Stool pigeon Slave Laborers, University Press of Land, 1996. (ISBN 0-7618-0194-4)

External links