Stefan Jerzy Zweig
Encyclopedia
Stefan Jerzy Zweig is an author and cameraman and is known as the Buchenwald child from the novel by Bruno Apitz
, Naked Among Wolves
. He survived Buchenwald concentration camp
at age four by being protected by his father and other prisoners.
. The family was split up in August 1944. His mother and sister perished in Auschwitz.
Zweig and his father were brought to Buchenwald in 1944, when Zweig was just three years old. He was arrested with the notation, "Polit Pole Jude" (political Polish Jewish) and was given the prisoner number 67509.
Willi Bleicher and Robert Siewert
, prisoner functionaries, took care of Zweig's welfare. When just a few weeks after his arrival, he was scheduled to be sent to Auschwitz, he was hidden in the infirmary in the typhus ward. Later, when his name appeared on the transport list, it was switched with that of a 16-year old Roma boy, Willi Blum, who had just died. Through such interventions, Zweig was able to survive till Buchenwald was liberated.
and France
before moving to Israel
with his father. In Israel, his father found work as a clerk in the Finance Ministry. Zweig graduated from school and completed his military service in the Israeli army. Following that, he attended the University of Tel Aviv, studying mathematics. In summer 1963, with help from former Résistance
member and French Buchenwald survivor, Pierre Sudreau
, he received a stipend to continue his studies in Lyon
at the Institute for Applied Polytechnology.
The novel, Naked Among Wolves (Nakt unter Wolfen) in 1958 by Bruno Apitz, another Buchenwald survivor became a surprise bestseller in the German Democratic Republic
, where it was published. Frank Beyer
made a film
in 1963, based on the book, with Armin Müller-Stahl in the main role. Two audience members at a Moscow
screening recognized the story, after which East German journalists from the Berlin newspaper, Berliner Zeitung Am Abend tracked Zweig down in Lyon
, where Zweig had just resumed his university studies.
He was offered the chance to study cinematography at the Filmhochschule in the Babelsberg suburb of Berlin in the GDR, where he moved in February 1964. While there, he interned with Beyer. He married an East German teacher and often spoke to groups of school children. In 1972, he moved to Vienna
with his wife and son, with the plan that his father would join them, but he died that year. Zweig later got a job as a cameraman at the Österreichischer Rundfunk, where he worked for many years.
In 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald, Zweig published his own book, Tränen allein genügen nicht (Tears alone are not enough), telling his own story and defending his rescuers from defamation as "Stalinists".
In his 2003 novel, Anders (Different), Hans Joachim Schädlich wrote about distortions of facts in fiction, including Apitz' novel, implying that Zweig, as a four-year old, also shared guilt for the death of Willy Blum.
Zweig's father wrote an article about his son's experience for the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem
, which was published in 1987 under the title, "My father, what are you doing here...? Between Buchenwald and Auschwitz" ("Mein Vater, was machst du hier...? Zwischen Buchenwald und Auschwitz").
Bruno Apitz
Bruno Apitz was a German writer.Apitz was born in Leipzig as the twelfth child of a washer woman. He attended school until he was fourteen, then started training as a printer. During World War I he was a passionate supporter of German Communist Party leader Karl Liebknecht...
, Naked Among Wolves
Naked Among Wolves (novel)
Naked Among Wolves is a novel by the East German author Bruno Apitz. The novel, first published in 1958, tells the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy. It was translated into 25 languages and published in 28 countries...
. He survived Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
at age four by being protected by his father and other prisoners.
Early years
Stefan Jerzy Zweig lived with his parents, Helena and Dr. Zacharias Zweig and his sister, Sylwja Zweig in Kraków GhettoKraków Ghetto
The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major, metropolitan Jewish ghettos created by Nazi Germany in the General Government territory for the purpose of persecution, terror, and exploitation of Polish Jews during the German occupation of Poland in World War II...
. The family was split up in August 1944. His mother and sister perished in Auschwitz.
Zweig and his father were brought to Buchenwald in 1944, when Zweig was just three years old. He was arrested with the notation, "Polit Pole Jude" (political Polish Jewish) and was given the prisoner number 67509.
Willi Bleicher and Robert Siewert
Robert Siewert
Robert Siewert was a German politician and fought in the German Resistance against National Socialism. He is a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp, where he helped save the life of Stefan Jerzy Zweig, among others....
, prisoner functionaries, took care of Zweig's welfare. When just a few weeks after his arrival, he was scheduled to be sent to Auschwitz, he was hidden in the infirmary in the typhus ward. Later, when his name appeared on the transport list, it was switched with that of a 16-year old Roma boy, Willi Blum, who had just died. Through such interventions, Zweig was able to survive till Buchenwald was liberated.
After liberation
Because of an illness, Zweig stayed in Europe till 1949, living in Poland, SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
before moving to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
with his father. In Israel, his father found work as a clerk in the Finance Ministry. Zweig graduated from school and completed his military service in the Israeli army. Following that, he attended the University of Tel Aviv, studying mathematics. In summer 1963, with help from former Résistance
Resistance
- Physics :* Electrical resistance, a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it* Friction, the force that opposes motion** Drag , fluid or gas forces opposing motion and flow...
member and French Buchenwald survivor, Pierre Sudreau
Pierre Sudreau
Pierre Sudreau is a former French politician. He was born in Paris.He announced his resignation as education minister in October 1962 to protest a proposal by Charles de Gaulle to amend the constitution.-References:...
, he received a stipend to continue his studies in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
at the Institute for Applied Polytechnology.
The novel, Naked Among Wolves (Nakt unter Wolfen) in 1958 by Bruno Apitz, another Buchenwald survivor became a surprise bestseller in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, where it was published. Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer was German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the...
made a film
Naked Among Wolves (film)
Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the 1958 novel, also titled Naked Among Wolves, by Bruno Apitz.-Plot:...
in 1963, based on the book, with Armin Müller-Stahl in the main role. Two audience members at a Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
screening recognized the story, after which East German journalists from the Berlin newspaper, Berliner Zeitung Am Abend tracked Zweig down in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, where Zweig had just resumed his university studies.
He was offered the chance to study cinematography at the Filmhochschule in the Babelsberg suburb of Berlin in the GDR, where he moved in February 1964. While there, he interned with Beyer. He married an East German teacher and often spoke to groups of school children. In 1972, he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
with his wife and son, with the plan that his father would join them, but he died that year. Zweig later got a job as a cameraman at the Österreichischer Rundfunk, where he worked for many years.
In 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald, Zweig published his own book, Tränen allein genügen nicht (Tears alone are not enough), telling his own story and defending his rescuers from defamation as "Stalinists".
Connection to Naked Among Wolves
Apitz did not know Zweig at Buchenwald. He based the novel on his own experiences and on hearsay about Zweig. Some testimonies and parts of the novel don't agree with Zweig's original story. For example, Apitz wrote that a Polish officer who was a prisoner of war and not the father initially smuggled the child into the concentration camp in a suitcase and shortly thereafter, was sent to an extermination camp, where he will presumably be killed.In his 2003 novel, Anders (Different), Hans Joachim Schädlich wrote about distortions of facts in fiction, including Apitz' novel, implying that Zweig, as a four-year old, also shared guilt for the death of Willy Blum.
Zweig's father wrote an article about his son's experience for the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, which was published in 1987 under the title, "My father, what are you doing here...? Between Buchenwald and Auschwitz" ("Mein Vater, was machst du hier...? Zwischen Buchenwald und Auschwitz").
See also
- Buchenwald ResistanceBuchenwald ResistanceThe Buchenwald Resistance was a resistance group of prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp. It involved Communists, Social Democrats, and people affiliated with other political parties, unaffiliated people, and Christians. Because Buchenwald prisoners came from a number of countries, the...
- Joseph SchleifsteinJoseph SchleifsteinJoseph Schleifstein is a Polish-born American who survived Buchenwald concentration camp at the age of four, one of the youngest to survive the Holocaust. He was hidden by his father in a large sack, enabling him to avoid detection by SS guards when arriving at the camp...
, also survived Buchenwald at age four
External links
- Süddeutsche Zeitung, 60 Jahre KZ-Befreiung – Schwerelos in den Abgrund Retrieved April 13, 2010
- Stefan Jerzy Zweig official website Retrieved April 13, 2010