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Vrba wrote in his diary that, as the Germans were preparing the mass deportations to Auschwitz, the Jewish communities in Slovakia and Hungary placed their trust either in Zionist leadership or in Orthodox Jewish leaders.

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On June 14th, 1942, he was first brought to Majdanek where he met his brother "Sammy" who was later murdered there. After being "duped" into what he thought was "Work Farm" assignment he was transferred to Auschwitz. He spent six months in Auschwitz then was transferred to Birkenau (Auschwitz ll) and had the number 44070 tattooed on his arm.

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Vrba's dad was Elias Rosenberg and he was the owner of a steam saw-mill in Jaklovce. HIs mom was Helena nee Grunfeldova of behy, Slovakia. When Vrba was fifteen he was kicked out of the High School of Bratislava under the so-called "Slovak State's" version of the Nuremberg anti-Jewish laws and forced to be homeschooled.

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While Vrba was at Birkenau he met a fellow prisoner named Alfred Wetzler. Wetzler was 24 years old at the time and they became close friends who both came to trust each other a lot and decided to escape together.

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Vrba is the 4th child form left bottom

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vrba school class photo -vrba is 4th child from left on bottom row

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Rudolf Vrba on the Resistance in Auschwitz (Shoah, 1985)

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"From the testimony of survivors such as Elie Wiesel, it seems clear that the Jewish masses assumed that if something truly horrible was in store for them, these respectable leaders would know about it and would share their knowledge.... It is my contention that a small group of informed people, by their silence, deprived others of the possibility of privilege of making their own decisions in the face of mortal danger."
-Rudolf Vrba

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The impact of Vrba escaping was inspiring. The other prisoners helped anyone that wanted to escape the way he did. He climbed inside a hallowed-out hiding place in a wood pile that was being stored to build the "Mexico" section for the new arrivals. It was outside Birkenau's barbed-wire inner perimeter, but inside an external perimeter the Nazi guards kept guarded during the day.

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In March of 1942, Vrba rebelled against the deportation laws. He ripped the yellow star of David off his clothes and left his house in Czechoslovakia in a taxi. Later, after being intercepted by frontier guards he was sent to the Novaky transition camp in Slovakia, where he later tried to escape, but he was recaptured by a policeman who was suspicious of the Vrba who was wearing two pairs of socks.

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Rudolf Vrba born as Walter Rosenberg in Topolcany, Czechoslovakia on September 11, 1924

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The story of Rudolf Vrba - Revolt & Resistance www.HolocaustResearchProject.org

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Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team