Berlin: Leon survivors of the German Holocaust black treeA key witness in recent trials of alleged Nazi war criminals, has died at the age of 101, International Auschwitz committee (IAC) told AFP on Monday.
Schwarzbaum died on Sunday night, according to IAC Executive Vice President Christoph Heubner.
“His death represents a great loss to the collective memory. We will all miss his anger and humanity,” Heubner said.
Schwarzbaum testified in 2016 against former Auschwitz camp guard Reinhold Hanning, who was sentenced to five years in prison, but died a few months after the verdict before going to prison.
In late 2021, Schwarzbaum also appeared as a witness in the trial of joseph schuetzon a 101 year old former guard Sachsenhausen Camp
He was to attend the next hearing of that trial this week, Thomas WalterA lawyer specializing in Nazi war crimes told AFP.
In a written statement due to be read by Walther, Schwarzbaum planned to ask the accused to “tell us the historical truth”.
He wrote, “Speak here about what you experienced – as I have for my part.”
Schwarzbaum often expressed anger and regret that so few Nazi war criminals were brought to justice, especially in Germany.
“He didn’t want hate, he wanted justice,” the IAC said in a statement.
Schwarzbaum was born in Hamburg in 1921 to a Polish Jewish family, but grew up in Bedzin, Upper Silesia in present-day Poland before his family was exiled to Auschwitz in 1943.
He was the only member of his family to survive in the camps at Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and a sub-camp of the Sachsenhausen campus north of Berlin.
He later worked as an art and antiques dealer in Berlin, while also campaigning tirelessly to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive through lectures and talks around the world.
“It is with great sadness, honor and gratitude that Holocaust survivors around the world bid farewell to their friend, fellow victim and partner Leon Schwarzbaum, who in the last decades of his life became one of Shoh’s most important contemporary witnesses, Hubner said in a statement.
Schwarzbaum died on Sunday night, according to IAC Executive Vice President Christoph Heubner.
“His death represents a great loss to the collective memory. We will all miss his anger and humanity,” Heubner said.
Schwarzbaum testified in 2016 against former Auschwitz camp guard Reinhold Hanning, who was sentenced to five years in prison, but died a few months after the verdict before going to prison.
In late 2021, Schwarzbaum also appeared as a witness in the trial of joseph schuetzon a 101 year old former guard Sachsenhausen Camp
He was to attend the next hearing of that trial this week, Thomas WalterA lawyer specializing in Nazi war crimes told AFP.
In a written statement due to be read by Walther, Schwarzbaum planned to ask the accused to “tell us the historical truth”.
He wrote, “Speak here about what you experienced – as I have for my part.”
Schwarzbaum often expressed anger and regret that so few Nazi war criminals were brought to justice, especially in Germany.
“He didn’t want hate, he wanted justice,” the IAC said in a statement.
Schwarzbaum was born in Hamburg in 1921 to a Polish Jewish family, but grew up in Bedzin, Upper Silesia in present-day Poland before his family was exiled to Auschwitz in 1943.
He was the only member of his family to survive in the camps at Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and a sub-camp of the Sachsenhausen campus north of Berlin.
He later worked as an art and antiques dealer in Berlin, while also campaigning tirelessly to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive through lectures and talks around the world.
“It is with great sadness, honor and gratitude that Holocaust survivors around the world bid farewell to their friend, fellow victim and partner Leon Schwarzbaum, who in the last decades of his life became one of Shoh’s most important contemporary witnesses, Hubner said in a statement.