Workmen in Poland find hidden Auschwitz letter

[sabra]

Source: AP

WARSAW, Poland - The note, written in pencil then rolled up and inserted in a bottle, contains the names of seven young people who probably thought they were doomed to die in the notorious Auschwitz death camp.

A construction crew renovating a cellar near the Auschwitz site discovered the bottle hidden in a concrete wall, officials said Monday.

Dated Sept. 9, 1944, the note bears the names, camp numbers and hometowns of the seven prisoners , six from Poland and one from France.

"All of them are between the ages of 18 and 20," the final sentence reads.

"They were young people who were trying to leave some trace of their existence behind them," said Auschwitz museum spokesman Jaroslaw Mensfelt. He said two of the prisoners survived the camp but he did not have further details.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20090427_ap_workmeninpolandfindhiddenauschwitzletter.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. What a great story...

The past reaches out for us still...

I'm so glad this little fragile bit of history has survived for us...

I wonder if any of those folks are still alive, today?

[Forkboy]

2. The ghosts of Auschwitz will, and should, haunt us forever.

I hope some of the familes can take a little peace out of this. :(

[aquart]

3. Peace?

From the names of seven young people terrified not only of death and torture, but of having their very existence expunged from the earth?

Peace. Sure.

On edit: They were taken from Poland? Were any of them named Weiner?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[grasswire]

4. renovating a cellar?

What? Are they turning the camps into apartments or something??

[izquierdista]

6. There is a town there

Oswiecim dates back long before the Nazis built a camp close to the rail line. You never know what you will find when you dig around in the basement of a building that was built 200 years ago.

[Soylent Brice]

5. amazing!

[gratuitous]

8. Make a photocopy and send it to Mr. Ahmadinejad

He'll probably deny it, but he should see the penmanship of a person absolutely scared to death if only for the edification.

[glinda]

9. I was really pleased to see that they mentioned all of the "Groups" of people who

died. Rarely is that ever mentioned ever.

[DURHAM D]

11. I have a different reaction -

Why couldn't they mention homosexuals as one of the groups instead of just putting us under "others".

[glinda]

13. I see your point and they also need to mention "teachers and intellectuals " also.

Many more people than Jews died there. I know. My grandmother fled the "burb" in Krakow which became the area by the gas chambers. She was a Pole.

[bitchkitty]

10. Somehow, this little scrap of info

hurts my heart more than any movie or Holocaust exhibition.

"They were young people who were trying to leave some trace of their existence behind them." Heartbreaking.

[Solly Mack]

12. K&R