How does a Jew living in the United States at the outbreak of WWII end up being the warden in the most notorious Nazi concentration camp of the Nazi?
Yakov Kozalchik was better known as “The Warden of the Block of Death. ” What was he doing at Auschwitz? Why did the governments of Poland and Czechoslovakia request his extradition? And why was no tombstone erected to honor him?
Fifty years after Kozalchik’s passing, Brigadier General (res.) Amir Haskel, a pilot in the Israeli Air Force and a researcher of the Holocaust, begins exploring the amazing life story of Kozalchik.
Little by little, he uncovers the hidden and unheralded actions of this larger-than-life Jew. As Haskel digs deeper he realizes that the man who many called “The Hangman” was, in fact, a hero.
About the Author
Brigadier General (res.) Amir Haskel, born in 1953, is one of the founders of the “Witnesses in Uniform” mission, which brings IDF soldiers and officers to Poland to commemorate and learn about the Holocaust. Since retiring from military service in 2003, he has delved into Holocaust research and has guided IDF delegations to Poland.
