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Inside the Gas Chambers

Eight Months in the Sonderkommando of Auschwitz

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About this listen

Slomo Venezia was born into a poor Jewish-Italian community living in Thessaloniki, Greece. At first, the occupying Italians protected his family; but when the Germans invaded, the Venezias were deported to Auschwitz. His mother and sisters disappeared on arrival, and he learned, at first with disbelief, that they had almost certainly been gassed. Given the chance to earn a little extra bread, he agreed to become a 'Sonderkommando', without realizing what this entailed. He soon found himself a member of the 'special unit' responsible for removing the corpses from the gas chambers and burning their bodies.

Dispassionately, he details the grim round of daily tasks, evokes the terror inspired by the man in charge of the crematoria, 'Angel of Death' Otto Moll, and recounts the attempts made by some of the prisoners to escape, including the revolt of October 1944.

It is usual to imagine that none of those who went into the gas chambers at Auschwitz ever emerged to tell their tale—but, as a member of a 'Sonderkommando', Shlomo Venezia was given this horrific privilege. He knew that, having witnessed the unspeakable, he in turn would probably be eliminated by the SS in case he ever told his tale. He survived: this is his story.

©2009 Polity Press (P)2022 Tantor 20th Century Military Modern War Heartfelt
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An account told simply and brilliantly. The narrative takes the format of the interview, with questions and answers. While not as scholarly or high brow as other books from holocaust survivors, it is always succinct and to the point. An important book and a must read.

An important account of Auschwitz

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a sad time in someones life who told you what he saw in as less a gory way as he could also seen his brother and cousin on you tube

sad and poignant

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very insightful into what happened and it was very sad and emotional to hear what he and others went through

Brilliant book

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But not 2-6! A vivid account, very rare, albeit 60 yrs after the event. I doubt his story has changed or he has lost any memories.

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I’ve read a number of incredible works on the subject of the holocaust and most focus on the politics and the emotion of it, few focus much on the practicalities of the actual killing and body disposal process and the effect on those forced to be involved. This is a brutal account, expect to be completely horrified.

The frankness

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