David Dushman: Difference between revisions
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== Early life and Second World War == |
== Early life and Second World War == |
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His father was a Jewish general, sports physician, and military doctor in the Red Army. His father was deported to a [[Gulag]] in 1938 |
His father was a Jewish general, sports physician, and military doctor in the Red Army. His father was deported to a [[Gulag]] in 1938 during the [[Great Purge]] of [[Joseph Stalin]], where he died ten years later.<ref name="AP"/><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/bayern/auschwitz-befreier-feiert-95-geburtstag-bewegtes-leben-von-david-dushman-art-438214 |title=Auschwitz-Befreier feiert 95. Geburtstag: Bewegtes Leben von David Dushman |author=Helmut Reister |date=30 March 2018 |website= |publisher= |access-date=6 June 2021 |quote=}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=6 June 2021|title=Last surviving Auschwitz liberator David Dushman dies|url=https://www.dw.com/en/last-surviving-auschwitz-liberator-david-dushman-dies/a-57795354|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-07|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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Dushman became a volunteer in the Red Army as a tank driver, and participated in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]] and the [[Battle of Kursk]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{r|auto|:0}} He received more than forty decorations and distinctions, including the [[Order of the Patriotic War]].<ref name="auto"/> |
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In the early afternoon of 27 January 1945, Dushman drove |
In the early afternoon of 27 January 1945, Dushman drove his [[T-34]] tank over the electric fence of [[Auschwitz-Birkenau]] [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camp]] in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied Poland]], thereby initiating [[Liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp|the liberation of the camp]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/holocaust-a-949074.html |title="Wir trauten unseren Augen nicht" |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=26 January 2008 |website= |publisher=[[Der Spiegel]] |access-date=6 June 2021 |quote=}}</ref> In the camp, he witnessed starving people, piles of dead bodies, and later said "we threw them all our canned food and immediately went on to hunt down the fascists", but was not aware at the time of the real purpose of the camp or the scale of the atrocities.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=":0" /> |
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He suffered severe injuries three times as a result of the war, and was one of 69 soldiers in his Red Army division to survive the war out of 12,000.<ref name="AP"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=6 June 2021|title=David Dushman, last surviving Auschwitz liberator, dies aged 98|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/0606/1226352-dushman-auschwitz/|url-status=live|access-date=7 June 2021|website=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> |
He suffered severe injuries three times as a result of the war, and was one of 69 soldiers in his Red Army division to survive the war out of 12,000.<ref name="AP"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=6 June 2021|title=David Dushman, last surviving Auschwitz liberator, dies aged 98|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2021/0606/1226352-dushman-auschwitz/|url-status=live|access-date=7 June 2021|website=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> |
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Revision as of 02:05, 7 June 2021
David Dushman (1 April 1923 – 4 June 2021) was a German Red Army soldier and a fencing trainer of the Soviet Olympic team. He was the last surviving liberator of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Dushman also fought in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk during World War II.
Early life and Second World War
His father was a Jewish general, sports physician, and military doctor in the Red Army. His father was deported to a Gulag in 1938 during the Great Purge of Joseph Stalin, where he died ten years later.[1][2][3]
Dushman became a volunteer in the Red Army as a tank driver, and participated in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk during the Second World War.[2][3] He received more than forty decorations and distinctions, including the Order of the Patriotic War.[2]
In the early afternoon of 27 January 1945, Dushman drove his T-34 tank over the electric fence of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in occupied Poland, thereby initiating the liberation of the camp.[4] In the camp, he witnessed starving people, piles of dead bodies, and later said "we threw them all our canned food and immediately went on to hunt down the fascists", but was not aware at the time of the real purpose of the camp or the scale of the atrocities.[2][3]
He suffered severe injuries three times as a result of the war, and was one of 69 soldiers in his Red Army division to survive the war out of 12,000.[1][5][3]
Later life
After the war, Dushman became a professional fencer. He was the trainer of the national women's fencing team of the Soviet Union from 1952 to 1988. In his capacity as fencing trainer, he witnessed the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was staying right across from the Israeli athletes and described that he was "horrified" by the events, himself being very conscious of his Jewish background at that time.[2]
From 1996 until his death on 4 June 2021, he lived in Munich-Neuperlach, along with his wife Zoja until her death several years prior.[1][3]
References
- ^ a b c "Last of Soviet soldiers who liberated Auschwitz dies at 98". AP News. 6 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Helmut Reister (30 March 2018). "Auschwitz-Befreier feiert 95. Geburtstag: Bewegtes Leben von David Dushman". Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Last surviving Auschwitz liberator David Dushman dies". DW.COM. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ ""Wir trauten unseren Augen nicht"". Der Spiegel. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ "David Dushman, last surviving Auschwitz liberator, dies aged 98". RTÉ. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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