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Sigmund Sobolewski ((:ˈɕiɡmunt sɔbɔˈlɛfskʲi)) (born May 11, 1923) is a Polish Catholic who was the 88th prisoner to enter Auschwitz on the very first transport to the concentration camp on June 14, 1940, and remained a prisoner for four and a half years during World War II. Now residing in Canada, he is an opponent of Holocaust denial and is notable for having confronted modern neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers. ==Auschwitz, 1940-44== Sobolewski, the son of the mayor of a small Polish town, who was also an officer in the Polish army, was detained at Auschwitz at the age of 17 as a result of the anti-Nazi activities of his father.〔Magan Crane, ("A prisoner in World War II," ) ''The Capital'', April 13, 1999.〕 Fluent in German, Sobolewski was pressed into service as a translator. "I survived also because I was young," said Sobolewski. "I didn't realize the seriousness of what was going on. Most of the people who survived were simple people; workers, peasants from Polish villages who couldn't read and write, but who were used to the hard work. Lawyers, doctors, technicians, university graduates: many of them after three or four weeks in Auschwitz had committed suicide because they realized their chances of surviving were very, very slim."〔Andrew Tomlison, ("Living through the Holocaust: One concentration camp survivor remembers Auschwitz" ), ''Gauntlet'', November 1, 2001.〕 He is the sole surviving witness of the October 7, 1944 revolt at Auschwitz-Birkenau, when a group of Jewish prisoners blew up Crematorium Number 4 and attempted to escape. Sobolewski was on the fire brigade and was ordered to put out the fire. He witnessed the execution of 450 Jewish Sonderkommandos in retaliation.〔("The only organized revolt at Auschwitz: The sole surviving witness marks the 50th anniversary of the historical rebellion." ) CBC News, October 6, 1994 (audio).〕 In a 1999 interview, he said, "I survived only to live with the nagging question, 'What distinguished me from (Jews )?'"〔Ramon Gonzalez, ("Auschwitz survivor tells his story" ), ''Western Catholic Reporter'', April 26, 1999.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sigmund Sobolewski」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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