The defiance: a prisoner in a concentration camp stares down Heinrich Himmler, who was one of the masterminds behind the holocaust, 1941
The defiance: a prisoner in a concentration camp stares down Heinrich Himmler, who was one of the masterminds behind the holocaust, 1941
One of the most famous pictures of the entire war shows a soldier staring down Himmler, considered one of the most evil men in history. The picture was taken at Shirokaya Street Concentration Camp, which held 2,000 soviet troops.
With Himmler are other top German officials. Doing this could have resulted in instant death for him.... Read story
The same day Himmler visited, 100 Jews were shot to demonstrate execution techniques. Himmler talked to a young blonde man and asked, “Are you a Jew?”. The man answered, “Yes.” Himmler asked: “Are both your parents Jews?”. Again, he replied, “Yes.” Himmler asked, “Do you have any ancestors who were not Jews?”. “No,” the man answered. “Then I can’t help you,” Himmler said. The young man was then shot in the back of the head.
The soldier is not wearing a shirt to show his emaciated body. Despite being starved and looking weak, this brave soul is full of courage as he stares into the eyes of evil. However, the story of this soldier is incredible but at the same time conflicting.
The soldier seen here is British soldier Horace Greasley. He wrote a book about his experiences called "Do the Birds still sing in Hell?" which tells us about his experiences. According to Greasley, he escaped the camp over 200 times to meet a lover of his called Rosa, the daughter of one of his captors, which he would visit in nearby woods. He returned each time with supplies to hold out his comrades, not leaving them behind. Greasley also survived a death march. Upon coming back to Britain, he learned that Rosa died in childbirth, and he never found out if he was the father. He remarried in 1975 and died in 2010
His story has been criticized for being made up. The soldier seen in the picture is wearing a Soviet uniform, and it is speculated that Greasely was in a different camp at the time. It is also claimed he was not the soldier in the photo. His wife, writer, and other historians still argue, however, that his story is true and needs to be respected.
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