Pope Francis today met former prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau, many of whom lost family members at the camps. The Holocaust survivors included:
Helena Dunicz Niwińska, camp number 64118
Born in 1915, she lived with her parents and brothers in Lviv before being arrested with her mother in January 1943 and taken to Auschwitz on 3 October. A violinist, she became a member of an orchestra in the camp before her mother died in December 1943.
Alojzy Fros, camp number 136223
Born in 1916 in Rybnik, he was arrested for conspiracy in April 1943 and taken to Auschwitz in August 1943. He spent the first two months in the camp hospital before being hired to sort packages for prisoners.
Wacław Długoborski, camp number 138871
Born in 1926 in Warsaw, he was arrested there in May 1943, also for conspiracy, and was deported to Auschwitz in August 1943. He was employed in the camp hospital in Birkenau until the end of January 1945, and after the war he worked as research curator at the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Zbigniew Kaczkowski, camp number 125727
Born in Krakow in 1921, he was arrested in April 1943 and sent to Auschwitz. His mother, Zofia, was employed as a nurse in the camp hospital before dying at the camp. In July 1944 he escaped from the camp but was captured and imprisoned in Block 11 before being deported to Buchenwald, from where he was transferred to Ravensbrück.
Valentina Nikodem, camp number 8737
Born in 1922 in Łódź, Valentina and her mother were taken to Auschwitz in July 1942 after her father killed members of the Gestapo. Her mother died in the camp. Valentina helped women who were giving birth to children, and worked in the packaging department.
Marian Majerowicz, camp number 157715
Born in 1926 in Myszków, he was taken to Auschwitz in October 1943. His parents and brother died there.
Eva Umlauf, camp number A-26959
Eva was two years old when she was taken to Auschwitz with her family in November 1944.
