Harry Haft is not a name that many boxing fans will be familiar with, which is unfortunate because this is a man who endured more than any boxer in history and who fought for his life on several occasions. He may not be known for excelling in his professional life but he is surely remembered for fighting for his survival.
How Did Harry Haft Manage To Escape Auschwitz?
Herschel Haft, a Jewish man who was born in Belchatow, Poland, in 1925, was imprisoned by the Nazis after his nation was occupied by Germany while he was just a few months shy of his sixteenth birthday.
Before being sent to Auschwitz in 1942, he was detained in a number of camps. He was starving, being pummeled, and it appeared like he would di* soon there. He is known as an Auschwitz survivor. He was 16 years old when he was thrown into de@th matches with adult males at Auschwitz.
You may see the tweet below which confirms that Harry Haft was an Auschwitz survivor.
Harry Haft. Professional boxer. He was an Auschwitz survivor who was forced to fight death matches against grown men at the age of 16… I will never forget his name.https://t.co/PxfV2Kx7lt
— Santiago (@GussieLives) January 31, 2019
Haft was given a lifeline by an SS camp overseer who chose him to participate in bareknuckle fights against other detainees for the enjoyment of the officers due to his inherent strength and remarkable physique – half famished notwithstanding. At the Jaworzno Concentration and Labor Camp, an Auschwitz subsidiary camp, where inmates toiled at the nearby coal mine, these conflicts took place.
Painting Haft as a saint in a world of sinners could make for a good vs. evil story, but reality and people are more complicated than that, especially when they have to deal with a constantly de@dly environment. In a similar vein, Haft started stealing gems for a German officer while tasked with going through the camp inmates’ belongings.
He was discovered during a normal barracks inspection, and following that, he was brutally beaten, nearly ki!!ing him. Despite his refusal to confess, the offending officer stepped in to save him and set up his transfer to Jaworzno.
About 200 prisoners at Jaworzno were transported to the gas chamber each month after working in the mines to exhaustion. Haft also worked there for a while, but after starting to fight he was given easier tasks. His victory in his contests was the only need.
He engaged 76 opponents in this. On a Sunday, there would be three or four opponents in each match, and the winner would be announced when the opposing guy was rendered unconscious.
The SS officials in the camp dubbed Haft “The Jew Animal” due to his skill in combat. He was a young man who was battling for his life while fully aware that every opponent he defeated would d!e.
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Harry Haft, who survived one of the SS’s infamous de@th marches in response to the Red Army’s assault into Poland, saw cannibalism when he was sent to a detention camp in Flossenburg, Germany. Haft, who was trapped in a barracks hut with starved inmates, observed as they started to ki!! and consume one another.
At the age of 23, Harry Haft embarked on a ship bound for New York from post-World War II Germany with the intention of becoming a prizefighter. By the time he arrived in the United States, his life had already been marked by hardship and drama that it could only destroy a man’s spirit or forge it into twisted steel. It was definitely the latter in Haft’s instance.
He got married in 1950 and had three kids. He retired and relocated to Florida with his family, where he passed away from c@ncer in 2007.
In April of 2021, a film about Haft’s unusual life was released. It premiered on HBO under the name “The Survivor” and was based on the book by Alan Haft. Harry Haft is played by Danny De Vito, John Leguizamo, and Ben Foster. The movie is directed by Barry Levinson.
HBO posted an official tweet in which The Survivor, a new HBO Original film about the remarkable true story of Auschwitz survivor Harry Haft premiered on April 27, 2021.
Never count out the human spirit.#TheSurvivor, a new HBO Original film about the remarkable true story of Auschwitz survivor Harry Haft, premieres April 27 on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/tFTAIMsup6
— HBO (@HBO) February 15, 2022
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