In the fall of 1944, ten-year-old Thomas Buergenthal found himself all alone in Auschwitz, destined for the gas chamber

In the fall of 1944, ten-year-old Thomas Buergenthal found himself all alone in Auschwitz, destined for the gas chamber.

Thomas had already survived the Kielce ghetto and a forced labor camp by the time German authorities deported him and his parents to Auschwitz in August 1944. Typically, children were taken on arrival and murdered in the gas chambers, but, because there was no selection when Thomas and his family arrived there, he managed to survive. His mother was taken to the women's section of the camp, but Thomas and his father remained together.

However, Thomas remained in grave danger. The SS guards regularly selected prisoners to be murdered in the gas chambers and as a child Thomas stood out. While he had survived a number of selections by hiding, this time, Thomas had been caught. "They saw me as a child, and they motioned me to go one way, and my father go the other way," Thomas remembered.

"And that's the last I saw of ... my father."

Thomas and other prisoners selected were first taken to a barracks where sick prisoners were housed. There, a Polish prisoner would help save Thomas's life.

"What had happened was that the Polish doctor had torn up card with my name on it, which had a 'X' in black, which meant that I was supposed to go [to the gas chamber]. All the other people were taken out to the gas chamber, and I – he had written a new card for me."

Thomas returned to the main section of the camp. Then, in January 1945, he was evacuated from Auschwitz on a death march and then sent by rail to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was liberated in April 1945.

Thomas was one of very few children under age 15 to survive Auschwitz and the Holocaust.

After the war, Thomas eventually reunited with his mother, who had survived. He later immigrated to the United States. Motivated by his experiences during the Holocaust, Thomas attended Harvard Law School to study international law. Today, he is a renowned international judge, professor, and human rights advocate.

Photos: courtesy of Thomas Buergenthal

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